NHPHA’s 2025 Annual Meeting Charts a Resilient Path Forward for Public Health
The New Hampshire Public Health Association (NHPHA) 2025 held its Annual Meeting in Concord on April 24, 2025, and like previous years, included poster presentations from regional public health students. It was a refreshing and informative take on topics as varied as hand hygiene in the NICU and Cannabis use among cancer survivors.
More than 130 public health professionals, students, and advocates gathered at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord to discuss the theme "Navigating Uncertainty: Building Resilience in Public Health in New Hampshire." The event featured student poster presentations, a panel discussion with leaders from New Futures, the Center for Justice & Equity, and Dartmouth’s Center for Advancing Rural Health Equity, and a community conversation on the future of public health in the state.
Bright Minds, Big Ideas: What Public Health Students Taught Us This Year at the Annual Meeting:
One of the highlights of the New Hampshire Public Health Association’s 2025 Annual Meeting was a dynamic panel discussion featuring leaders from across the state who are driving efforts to build a more equitable and resilient public health system. The panel included Kelsey Bouchard of New Futures, Johnna Ferguson-Cunningham of the NH Center for Justice & Equity, and Dr. Elizabeth Carpenter-Song from Dartmouth’s Center for Advancing Rural Health Equity. Together, they explored how public health practitioners can navigate political and economic uncertainty while continuing to serve diverse communities. From rural health disparities to the challenges of maintaining trust in institutions, the panel offered both data and personal stories, underscoring the urgent need for continued collaboration, funding, and community-driven solutions. Their conversation helped set the tone for a day focused on reflection, learning, and action.
Guests from public health, acute care, academia, environmental health, housing and a number of other professional domains were introduced to 11 student research projects via poster presentations around the meeting space. Both graduate and undergraduate student scientists shared their work , including projects studying college students behaviors associated with cancer risk, cannabis use in NH and VT cancer survivors, and community health needs in the NH Lakes Region. A panel of judges awarded NHPHA’s “best student poster” award to Precious Chigwada for her undergraduate project ‘Assessing the Nutrition Environment in Carroll County’ at the University of New Hampshire.
Following time to engage with the poster presenters, a panel of experts shared their wisdom and experiences using collaboration as a tool to shrink health disparities, especially in rural areas of NH. Kate Frey (Vice President of Advocacy/New Futures), Jo Porter (Chief Strategy Officer/NH Center for Justice & Equity), and Dr. Sally Kraft (Vice President of Population Health/Dartmouth Health) spoke to the challenges and opportunities they’ve found in partnerships that improve health for NH’s most vulnerable populations.
Below is a list of the students and their topics:
Precious Chigwada
Assessing the Nutrition Environment in Carroll County
Jenna Finnerty
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Family and Visitor Hand Hygiene Improvement Program
Joana Lame
Cannabis use among short- and long-term cancer survivors in Vermont and New Hampshire
Christopher Lopez
The Intersection Between Clinical Pharmacy Practice and the Local Health Department
Alanna O’Keefe
Behaviors Associated with Cancer Risk and Prevalence of Family History among College Students
Trevor Massey
Alison Rataj
Geographic Variation of Antidementia Medication Use Among U.S. Nursing Home Residents with Dementia
Aizhe Qian
Madison Bailey
Lauren Romanauskas
Public Health 101: Building Curriculum for High School Students
Sarah Davidson
Attendees also participated in a “Social Change Ecosystem” exercise, revealing that members see NHPHA as both a Weaver—connecting stakeholders and ideas—and a Guide—turning knowledge into action. These insights reaffirm NHPHA’s central role in leading and supporting public health statewide.
Key conclusions from the meeting included:
NHPHA can lead work to build stronger cross-sector alliances: “Who else brings together the academics, the public health workers, policy folks?!”
We can contribute to narrative change to support public health investments: “we amplify and provide a platform…empowering community members who benefit from public health services to share their story.”
Members want more visible advocacy, especially in defending data-driven public health practices: “Use our knowledge to translate what we know so others can reap benefits.”
Members also value NHPHA’s role in speaking for those who cannot speak freely in the current climate: “NHPHA must act as an independent voice outside the state and local health departments as they…have limited power to speak”
NHPHA’s efforts to foster mentorship, professional development, and student engagement are a core part of our mission: “There is a world of experience within the membership to be shared”
NHPHA provides a source of support for the public health workforce: “We need to be there for each other to provide comfort during difficult times, supporting members who may be disillusioned by the fight we're fighting.”
Recognition that beliefs must be rooted in equity, especially for rural communities, underserved populations, and the public health workforce.
As New Hampshire faces new challenges, the NHPHA Annual Meeting made one thing very clear: our state’s public health community is ready to meet the challenges of this moment—together.