Vermont Public Health Association

04/29/2025

Very excited to welcome so many of you at our Annual Meeting tonight! We have close to 100 registrants, the LARGEST Annual Meeting VtPHA has ever put on.

When: 4:30pm Today (Tuesday, 4/29)
Where: Hula, 50 Lakeside Ave, Burlington, VT
Tickets and a lot more info: https://vtpha.org/vtphas-2025-annual-meeting/

Come join with other public health champions for a panel discussion on "Advancing Public Health in an Age of Misinformation." Help honor our Public Health Champion Awardees. Socialize, network, and enjoy the company of your public health peers.

See you there!

Join us at VtPHA’s 2025 Annual Meeting! Date: April 29, 2025Time: 4:30pm – 7:00pmLocation: Hula, Reef Room, 50 Lakeside Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401Food: Appetizers by Sugarsnap CateringPrice: Members – $30; Students – $20; Non-Members – $45Membership: Not a VtPHA member? Join before you r...

04/21/2025

Many thanks are in order for our bold partners at Braver Angels.

Last Thursday, VtPHA hosted a workshop with two Braver Angels facilitators on "Managing Difficult Conversations in Public Health."

At a time when political polarization only seems to deepen, public health workers must have the skills to speak effectively across ideological divides. This is not an easy task, but Braver Angels is working to provide our communities with tools to bridge the gaps.

Special thank you to our facilitators Beth Malow and her fearless partner Leslie Lopato. VtPHA looks forward to finding more opportunities to add similar programming in the future.

Know of a speaker or workshop that you think fits the bill? Reach out on Facebook and let us know.

04/18/2025

On Wednesday, VtPHA hosted a diverse panel of public health practitioners to share their thoughts on the hiring landscape, how candidates can position themselves for success, and what skills and attributes are most needed for a career in public health.

Our panelists included workforce development specialists from Vermont's two largest health employers, a professor that helps students make the leap from the classroom to employment, and a recent graduate who shared her job search experience. They were:

Jae Basiliere, Ph.D., Vermont Department of Health
Noah Barclay-Derman, University of Vermont
Michael Leyden, The University of Vermont Health Network
Evelyn Gearty, The Vermont Community Foundation

Due to a serious Zoom outage, we needed to change meeting platforms in the minutes leading up to the event. Apologies to anyone that missed the email with that change.

A recording of the entire discussion can be found here. Thank you to our wonderful panelists!
https://vtpha.org/panel-discussion-recap-finding-a-job-in-public-health/

04/18/2025

On Friday, April 11th, 2025, to celebrate National Public Health Week, VtPHA hosted a unique Public Health Caucus meeting that brought together public health students from Dartmouth College and the University of Vermont with Vermont legislators for a roundtable discussion on the state’s most pressing public health issues.

Two themes resurfaced time and time again: political polarization and misinformation. When neighbors stop talking to neighbors and facts become indistinguishable from fiction, public health suffers.

In this context, how can Vermonters be effective champions for community health and wellbeing?

As students and legislators at the roundtable articulated, public health will not be improved without addressing the growing dysfunction in our civic dialogue. Without relationships and trust, there will be no healing.

Thank you to University of Vermont senior capstone students Yangdon Fenner, Ella Kenney, and Ariana Lewis for helping to make last Friday’s roundtable discussion such a success! Thank you, too, for the time and insights shared by panelists Megan Fuerst, Sarah Kelleher and Johanna Miller (She/Her) and all of the legislators that took time from a busy day to engage with these students.

04/16/2025

REMINDER: Public Health Career Panel Today at 4:30pm

VtPHA is happy to present the third in our series of three public health career panels for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Date: April 16, 2025
Time: 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Location: Virtual
Click here for more details and to register: https://vtpha.org/career-panel-finding-a-job-in-public-health/

With speakers representing some of the state's largest health employers, a recent grad who successfully found work, and a public health professor preparing his students for the workforce, we hope that this panel will provide timely insights into the public health employment landscape and actionable strategies to improve job seekers' competitiveness in an uncertain market.

And many thanks to our panelists:

Jae Basiliere, Ph.D., Public Health Workforce Director, Vermont Department of Health
Noah Barclay-Derman, Lecturer, Global Health Minor Director for the Public Health Sciences Program, University of Vermont College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Michael Leyden, EMS Training Center Manager, The University of Vermont Health Network
Evelyn Gearty, David Rahr Community Philanthropy Program Assistant Fellow, The Vermont Community Foundation

04/13/2025

There is an undeniable political schism in our country, and people are unwilling - practically unable - to engage in dialogue about important issues with those on the "other" side.

This breakdown in civic dialogue is unsustainable. It also creates a communication challenge for public health workers who, by dint of their jobs, need to be effective at reaching as many people as possible.

Join VtPHA and speakers .Malow MD, MS, and Leslie Lopato, MD, to learn how to better bridge this growing divide and manage difficult conversations in public health.

When: April 17, Noon - 1pm
Where: Virtual
Cost: Free

More info and registration: https://vtpha.org/april-lunch-and-learn-managing-difficult-conversations-in-public-health/

This workshop-style lunch-and-learn will provide concrete tools on listening to, understanding, and authentically but effectively engaging with people that hold different value and beliefs.

Hope to see you there.

04/11/2025

VtPHA is excited to present the third in our series of three public health career panels for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Date: April 16, 2025
Time: 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Location: Virtual
Click here for more details and to register: https://vtpha.org/career-panel-finding-a-job-in-public-health/

Originally, we had structured this panel around clinically-focused public health careers. Due to growing disruptions and uncertainty facing many areas of public health, we've shifted the panel focus to the broader topic: Finding A Career In Public Health.

With speakers representing some of the state's largest health employers, a recent grad who successfully found work, and a public health professor preparing his students for the workforce, we hope that this new topic will provide timely insights into the public health employment landscape and actionable strategies to improve job seekers' competitiveness in an uncertain market.

And many thanks to our panelists:

Jae Basiliere, Ph.D., Public Health Workforce Director, Vermont Department of Health
Noah Barclay-Derman, Lecturer, Global Health Minor Director for the Public Health Sciences Program, University of Vermont College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Michael Leyden, EMS Training Center Manager, The University of Vermont Health Network
Evelyn Gearty, David Rahr Community Philanthropy Program Assistant Fellow, The Vermont Community Foundation

04/10/2025

Join us at VtPHA’s 2025 Annual Meeting! Participate in a panel discussion on "Advancing Public Health in the Age of Misinformation," network, visit students presenting posters from Dartmouth, Middlebury College, and University of Vermont, and help honor recipients of VtPHA's Public Health Champion Award.

Date: April 29, 2025
Time: 4:30pm – 7:00pm
Location: Hula, Reef Room, 50 Lakeside Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401
Food: Appetizers by Sugarsnap
Price: Members – $30; Students – $20; Non-Members – $45
Membership: Not a VtPHA member? Join before you register to get your discount!

For more info and to register, go to: https://vtpha.org/vtphas-2025-annual-meeting/

If you have any questions about the event, including accessibility, please contact events@vtpha.org or call 802.316.4107.

And of course - Thank you to our fantastic sponsors!
Silver Sponsor: New England Public Health Training Center
Bronze Sponsor: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont
Partner: The University of Vermont Health Network
Partner: VPIRG

Join us at VtPHA’s 2025 Annual Meeting! Date: April 29, 2025Time: 4:30pm – 7:00pmLocation: Hula, Reef Room, 50 Lakeside Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401Food: Appetizers by Sugarsnap CateringPrice: Members – $30; Students – $20; Non-Members – $45Membership: Not a VtPHA member? Join before you r...

04/01/2025

Registration is now open for Vermont's Immunization and Infectious Disease Conference! With threats to our frontline public health infrastructure mounting daily, this conference is important and timely.

The conference is being held on May 21st in Burlington, VT.

From the conference website:

"Make and strengthen connections with colleagues and experts while exploring how community partnerships and collaboration improve health outcomes in our communities.

This conference is ideal for primary care providers, nurses, school nurses, public health professionals, students, clinicians, pharmacists, community partners and infection preventionists. Topics covered include H5N1 bird flu, wastewater surveillance, vaccine confidence and more.

Don’t miss this opportunity to come together and strengthen the future of public health. We look forward to seeing you on the waterfront in beautiful Burlington, Vermont this May."

Vermont Immunization and Infectious Disease Conference Wednesday, May 21, 2025Hotel Champlain | Burlington, VermontRegister Now! The Power of Community Partnerships: Strengthening Public Health Together Join us on the shores of Lake Champlain to learn about the latest in infectious disease and immu...

03/24/2025

Get your calendars out! April 1st, from 4:00pm - 5:30pm, the American Public Health Association will host a town hall where experts will talk about the science behind vaccines, how misinformation affects public health, and the role of policies in building trust and ensuring access.

Discussion will touch on how local, state and federal policies impact vaccination efforts, ways to address vaccine hesitancy, and how to make vaccines more accessible to all communities.

This event is free to all, so everyone can have a chance to join the conversation on vaccines and public health policy.

We hope to see you there.

Recent efforts to spread misinformation and challenge public confidence in vaccines have led to confusion and growing vaccination hesitancy. Join us for a town hall where experts will talk about the science behind vaccines, how misinformation affects public health, and the role of policies in buildi...

03/07/2025

As a discipline, public health has breadth and depth. It is a big umbrella or, perhaps, an even bigger tent, home to many categories and subcategories of the field.

At VtPHA, we felt the need to create some “standard” categories for separating our work into different buckets. This is an imprecise and maddening task at times, but also important to help the public and decision-makers break down the complexity of this broad and deep field.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, we started by looking at the categories used by the American Public Health Association, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Vermont Department of Health. From there we added, subtracted and combined until we thought we had a workable list. The result? See for yourself below.

Have we missed something important? Don’t like our choice of words? We’re going for something that is functional and not too unwieldy, mindful that perfect is surely the enemy of the good. That said – let us know if we’ve missed the mark.

Adolescent Health
Antibiotic Resistance
Blindness and Visual Impairment
Chronic Disease
Climate
Data + Reporting
Dental Health
Deafness and Hearing Loss
Digital Health
Disability and Aging
Environmental Health
Epidemiology
Food and Nutrition
Global Health
Gun Violence
Health Administration
Health Equity
Healthy Community Design
Housing
Income and affordability
Infectious Disease
Injury & Violence Prevention
Insect-Borne Diseases
Maternal and Child Health
Mental Health
Obesity
One Health
Preparedness and Emergency Response
Respiratory Disease
School-Based Health Care
Sexual & Reproductive Health
Substance Misuse
To***co
Transportation Safety
Vaccines

03/05/2025

Interested in immunizations and infectious diseases? Mark your calendar for an important upcoming conference.

On Wednesday, May 21st, the Vermont Immunization and Infectious Disease Conference will be held at Hotel Champlain in Burlington, VT.

This conference is ideal for primary care providers, nurses, school nurses, public health professionals, students, clinicians, pharmacists, community partners and infection preventionists. Topics covered include H5N1 bird flu, wastewater surveillance, vaccine confidence and more.

Registration will open soon. Check out the site for more info.

Vermont Immunization and Infectious Disease Conference Wednesday, May 21, 2025Hotel Champlain | Burlington, VermontSave the date! Registration opening soon The Power of Community Partnerships: Strengthening Public Health Together Join us on the shores of Lake Champlain to learn about the latest in ...