On January 24th, 2012, NHPHA invited NH policymakers to join them for a Public Health & Policy talk and luncheon at St. Paul's Church Hall on Centre Street in Concord, NH.

The number in attendance was encouraging despite mulitple luncheon opportunites offered to NH legislators that day.

All who attended enjoyed an introduction to the NHPHA, a talk from one of our Champions, as well as a presentation from keynote speaker, Steve Norton, Executive Director of NH Center for Public Policy Studies. His presentation centered on the public health impact of an aging population in New Hampshire.
Steve's presentation

Kathy Mandeville, NHPHA Champion and Public Policy Committee Co-Chair, delivered an informative presentation on how public health and public policy go hand in hand.
Kathy's Presentation

Thank you to all who joined us! Stay informed on upcoming legislative events in months to follow.

A special thank you to the HNHfoundation for funding this educational event.

NHPHA Public Health Stories

What does public health mean to you?

 With the birth of a new website, the NHPHA has devoted a section for our valued members to tell their public health stories. Every month, we’ll be highlighting one of our members and tell their story.

 Spotlight 1: Jeanie Holt, NHPHA President

            1. How long have you been doing public health work?

Sometimes it is hard to decide when I started doing “public health work”. I can remember cleaning up trash, building and repairing hiking trails, and taking around flyers for polio vaccination days as a child! Public health and health promotion has been a part of my life ever since. But more formally, I really began working in public health in 2000 when the NH Minority Health Coalition hired me to direct a CDC grant to plan and test community interventions to prevent diabetes and hypertension in Latino and African-descendent communities in Hillsboro County.

2. How did you first get involved with NHPHA?

I attended NHPHA annual meetings for the first time in 2005 when Kathy Mandeville was Association President. Now, Kathy and I are the same age but I remember seeing her as so knowledgeable and capable and feeling pretty young and inexperienced! Five years later I am President of the Association?! When I look at the list of people who have served NHPHA as presidents or as Board members, I still like a public health novice. But I am so lucky that so many of these folks are still very involved and always so available to me!

3.What do you do as a public health “champion” or worker?

What I most want to do as a public health champion is to inspire and mentor younger folks and create an environment in which they can thrive. In my work as Association President, I have opportunities to interact with people working in public health across the state and beyond. I look for opportunities to reach out to students, to meet with people who are new to public health, and to create a broader understanding of and respect for public health. In addition to my Association work, I teach public health. Two years ago, I teamed up with my sister, a professor of finance, to create and teach a course on Microfinance and Public Health. We are preparing to teach this the 4^th time. This year will be the 3^rd time we have taught it to semester abroad students in the Dominican Republic—you can follow our experiences on our blog http://microfinancepublichealth.wordpress.com/.
                                                        

4.Tell me about yourself?

Many of you know my husband, Dennis, who works at NH DHHS and is finishing his MPH after a long career as an engineer. We are ridiculously proud of our 5 sons and 5 grandchildren. John is married to a hydrogeologist and works as a database programmer. They have 2 school-aged children. Ben works for Apple computers as a software engineer. He and Abbie have a 5-year-old son. Jeff does lighting research for Sylvania. He and his wife, Alyson, are adopting a baby born in Ohio on January 6, 2012. Greg is a professional dancer—which means he basically supports himself by writing grants, fellowships, and the like. Maybe I should beg for some services for NHPHA from him! Steve teaches Spanish in a private middle school. He and spouse, Stevie, have adopted a beautiful baby girl, born May 30, 2011, in New Jersey.

And I am a rock climber. Most of the time, Dennis and I climb in a gym—Vertical Dreams in Manchester. Grandkids, work, NHPHA, and school have stolen a lot of our climbing time this past year. In prior years we climbed 4 to 7 times a week; this year I was lucky to get in one evening a week. Once Dennis graduates we sure hope to get back to the gym more regularly.

When you open a new building, you have a ribbon cutting ceremony.  I could not find much about the origins of this tradition but sources say it has been around for “more than a century.”

When you launch a new ship, you break champagne over the bow apparently an ancient custom that migrated from Europe to the United States.

But the launch of a new website?  A quick Google search revealed that “launch lunches” were popular in the 1990s—I don’t remember getting invited to any!  And they became “lavishly competitive affairs” (I don’t remember any lavish affairs!) with logo strewn giveaways (I don’t have the tee-shirt to prove it so I guess I haven’t “been there” or “done that”).

Well, ours is not a lavish affair though we are very excited about our new website and about sharing it with you all.  Our launch will not feature giveaways, unless you choose to “giveaway” a donation to NHPHA to help cover the costs of the website.  But we will have lots of fun!  

We will launch our new website during our Annual Open House on December 9, 2011 from 5 – 7 PM at our Park Street office (Suite 403B). You will see our new website, and, at the same time, reconnect with colleagues, meet other public health activists, and enjoy yummy appetizers!  You won’t want to miss it!

Jeanie Holt, NHPHA President