It was a beautiful week in Anaheim at the NACCHO 360 conference. The first part of the week, I attended the SACCHO Council meetings  - State Associations of County and City Health Officials. These public health associations similar to MHOA operate nationwide, advocating for and supporting local public health professionals. We gather monthly virtually and in person twice a year with support from NACCHO, and I find such value in connecting with other public health leaders. 

Once the conference kicked off, I joined 2,500 local health professionals including MHOA Board of Directors members Amy Donovan-Palmer and Pooja Shelke, and Thalita Campelo, an MHOA communications committee member. We were particularly impressed by the conference's opening remarks from NACCHO's new President, Damon Chaplin. He's a former New Bedford (MA) Health Department director, and is now the Minneapolis Commissioner of Health.

I'm thrilled to share that Damon will join MHOA members virtually on Aug. 6 at 1 p.m. for the 3rd installment of our Summer Lunch & Learn series, Moving Forward - Local Public Health in MA and Beyond. This will be a great opportunity to hear from a public health leader who has experience within and outside Massachusetts, and is actively working through NACCHO to advocate for local public health at the federal level.  

MHOA's affiliate relationship with NACCHO includes memberships for MHOA members (are you using yours?), and three complimentary conference registrations for MHOA leadership to use. We look forward to hearing from Amy, Pooja, and Thalita about all the great public health work they learned about this week! And if you're not currently an MHOA member, join today to take advantage of NACCHO membership and our insightful Summer Lunch & Learn series. You won't want to miss the next one- Stories From the Field. It features three MA local health professionals - Victoria Selser, Jayne Smith and Tom Carbone - and their extraordinary work. Finally, our Mentorship Program Webinar will round out the series on Aug. 18. Participants will learn more about the program and how to apply.

We hope all our members are able to take time this summer for professional development and to rest & recharge!

Teresa Wood Kett, executive director