1227: Manisha Juthani Reflects on Her Time as ASTHO President

JOHN SHEEHAN: 

This is Public Health Review Morning Edition for Tuesday, October 20, 2026. I'm John Sheehan with news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

Public health leaders are navigating conflicting information, political division, and growing challenges to public trust. Today, Manisha Juthani, outgoing ASTHO president and commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, reflects on her term leading ASTHO and the importance of effective, nonpartisan public health communications. She discusses strategies for meeting people where they are, communicating across political divides, and helping state and territorial health officials learn from one another.

Dr. Manisha Juthani, welcome back to the show.

MANISHA JUTHANI: 

Thanks for having me.

SHEEHAN: 

So, as you reflect on your time as ASTHO's president, what sticks out? What were some memorable moments?

JUTHANI: 

So, going into this year, to me, it was very clear that public health communications is something that is front and center for so many of us, and particularly in this moment because people are hearing so much conflicting information as it relates to public health, and at least 50% of what health commissioners, health officials are trying to do in their states is communicate with people and be able to meet people where they're at and be able to connect with people in a way that doesn't undermine their own sense of self, and really try to communicate public health principles. And so, that really was the focus of my year: public health communications. And I do feel good about what we were able to accomplish in that way, whether it was communicating with the public together as members of ASTHO or as individual states, working with policymakers, working with jurisdictions within our states; I do feel gratified that I was able to help elevate that conversation and do that with partners equally in red and blue states, and bring people together. So that's probably what I'm most proud of as it relates to public health communications and in my role as ASTHO president.

SHEEHAN: 

That's really interesting, and I think unique maybe for leadership to cite communications as such a big priority. Could you dig a little bit more into that and maybe provide some takeaways for leadership?

JUTHANI: 

Absolutely. So the reason I think it is so important is that right now we are in communication bubbles in many places where people are hearing the same voices and narratives, depending on who you're listening to and what outlets you read or hear. For some people, it's social media. There's obviously the traditional press, and I have felt very strongly in my own personal role as a health commissioner. And when I came into this role, starting in COVID, it was my job as a physician and a public health professional to try to share the information that I had from my knowledge and expertise with people in the public in a way that they could relate to and make it something that they could incorporate in their own day-to-day life in a way that was meaningful, and I think, as ASTHO president, I feel like I was able to do that just on a larger scale. So, for example, I had the opportunity to participate in a shadow hearing in Washington D.C. with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, and this was a session where they really wanted to hear about on-the-ground realities that state health agencies were hearing, and I felt very gratified that there were people in Congress who one wanted to hear from us, but two, I was able to communicate some of that information in a way that was trying to stay away from the politics of it, and more focus on the realities for people on the ground and in the work that they do, and in the public health realities that they're facing. We've always been able to do this. For example, ASTHO has had a respiratory viral disease desk briefing. I've had the opportunity to participate in that for the last several years and lead it this year. And again, when you have blue states and red states coming together, sharing the same message about how we can prevent people from getting sick from respiratory viruses, it is very gratifying to feel like, despite the challenges that we have throughout our country right now, and the way in which, unfortunately, some of these public health conversations have become political. State health officials still come together in a way that's nonpartisan and that really focuses on people's health. And so, I've tried to do that in the meetings that. We run on a weekly basis for health officials, creating an environment where people hopefully feel that they have an opportunity to share what they really think and what's going on in their individual states, and really use that as opportunities to work together and learn from each other, and make it a collegial conversation where we can have differences of opinions and approach, but that again, at the end of the day, state health officials are really just trying to do what is best for their communities. And one of the ways that we in Connecticut have done that is we started a vaccine promotion campaign, which is called "Protect Who Matters Most," and it is a series of Schoolhouse Rock-style videos. Four of them that are educational in different ways, and really trying to meet people where they're at and use language that is acceptable, approachable, and is something that maybe can resonate with people in ways with fun, different lyrics and songs and characters that we are using to partner with schools and daycares and local health departments and pediatricians and others, and that is just amplification of the communications theme that I'm sharing today, and one of the things that I've really enjoyed from that is that our Director of Communications and our Chief Marketing Officer in Connecticut have been able to share that message out with other states, and other states have been coming forward to adapt those videos that we have to their states, where they can use the exact same material, but just give a shout out to Connecticut as the origin of these, but then put their own branding on it, and that is something that ASTHO has been able to pull forward and bring forward, and you know when I was president this year, I was also able to host a board meeting here in Connecticut.

JUTHANI: 

We were able to showcase some of what Connecticut has to offer and bring board members to a sub-base, which is a proud and shining beacon for many people in our state that we have a sub base in our state and bring board members to see that and talk with each other and got that presentation about protect who matters most directly to them and and I think that being able to communicate that out further to board members and to the larger ASTHO membership has been very gratifying to see that hopefully something that's really supposed to be a learning tool and a communication tool in a fun and exciting way is something that could live beyond just Connecticut and could live beyond just my presidency and ASTHO.

SHEEHAN: 

Absolutely. Once again, the power of communications and storytelling: any other accomplishments that you're most proud of?

JUTHANI: 

I would say that we have had times in this year when it has been a challenge to navigate public health, whether it be on vaccines, whether it be on changing immigration issues, and we have had some challenging things that individual states have had to deal with, and giving our members the opportunity to have time and space to talk about that in our own meetings, and be able to support each other in a way that we can show that State Health Officials can really work together to be able to amplify issues around health and access, quality of care, and really uplifting those who cannot uplift themselves. That has been a very gratifying experience, and I can say that one of the challenges for some states in the current environment is finding that common ground, and the fact that I've been able to bring red and blue states together to be able to do that, and leaving no one out, bringing everybody to the table, people who may not have felt that ASTHO was a place for them at specific moments for whatever reason that may be in their own jurisdiction or otherwise, I think bringing the opportunities I've had within Connecticut, so within our delegation, federal delegation. Obviously, we have Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, who is a staunch supporter of public health, and being ASTHO president, it's been remarkable to be able to see how we can elevate the conversation with two people in the state who are very pro public health and have had various opportunities, whether it is locally within Connecticut or even on a national stage, to highlight issues like food insecurity or, even for example, most recently the cyclospora outbreak that happened, and being able to partner with Rosa as an example of that, and see how both our messages were amplified by the roles that we each had, and I think that those are discrete examples of where using the platforms that we've had, but again, communicating in a way that could reach as many people as possible is part of what I'm most proud of.

SHEEHAN: 

As you think about the role, are there any insights you could pass on to Dr. Daniel Edney, the next ASTHO president?

JUTHANI: 

Well, Dr. Edney is the utmost professionals and I'm sure he does not need my guidance at all. And I'm sure he will do wonderfully. But what I would say is one of the things I've really appreciated and learned a lot from being an ASTHO member for the last five years that I've been in this role is that I've seen presidents in the time period that I've been here from Maine, from Alaska, from Kentucky, from Alabama, and now Connecticut, and we have all focused on where we have common ground. And although we may be from all different parts of the political spectrum, making sure that people of all different states and backgrounds feel welcome, feel like they have a voice that they can express and share is what, to me, is one of the greatest values of ASTHO, and that in this particular environment, the fact that state health officials have been able to continue doing that at ASTHO is really important.

SHEEHAN: 

Well, Dr. Manisha Juthani, thanks so much, and thank you for serving in this role.

JUTHANI: 

Thanks so much, John.

SHEEHAN: 

Manisha Juhani is commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health and the outgoing ASTHO president.

SHEEHAN: 

Join ASTHO on October 28 for the webinar "Understanding and Utilizing Public Health Authority for Suicide Prevention," examining how public health authority can be leveraged to support policy goals. The session will explore how statutes, rules, and agency policies can be used to advance suicide prevention efforts, including data sharing, fatality review, and other formalized partnerships. Designed for health department staff, the webinar will highlight how public health authority underpins the policy levers available to address public health goals and challenges, with a particular focus on suicide prevention. Register at the link in the show notes.

SHEEHAN: 

The Brain Health and Caregiving (BHC) Learning Community is a cohort-based learning experience that will support state teams in learning about and implementing promising policies, models, and strategies for advancing brain health and caregiving. BHC Learning Community participants will engage in a series of virtual learning sessions and receive technical assistance from ASTHO to help identify and execute sustainable actions to support brain health and caregiving in their state. Learn more and apply for this opportunity at the link in the show notes.

SHEEHAN: 

This has been Public Health Review Morning Edition. I'm John Sheehan for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.