From the New Chief Medical Officer: An Introductory Note

March 17, 2025 | Susan Kansagra

I am excited to start this new journey with ASTHO. Having worked in local and state governmental public health over the last two decades, I have had the privilege of collaborating with many public health teams. These interactions have given me a deep appreciation for the vital role of state, territorial, and local health departments and our country’s public health workforce as whole. This appreciation is what drew me to ASTHO, and I am honored to add my voice to the organization’s mission to support, equip, and advocate for state and territorial health officials in advancing the public’s health and well-being. There are a few areas that I will lean into in my new role.

Reminding Ourselves and Others That People Trust Public Health

Maintaining trust in sound public health recommendations is imperative as we can see from the current measles outbreak, H5N1 spread, and decreasing childhood vaccination rates. One of my goals is to remind people that they already place their trust in public health recommendations every single day. From working in chronic disease, I’ve learned that social norms drive behaviors. For example, people who smoke tend to overestimate smoking prevalence, and may believe it’s more common than data support. Just sharing the true prevalence helps align perception with reality and can encourage people to smoke less. The same concept can apply to public trust. While it can feel like we are losing ground, let’s remind ourselves and others that the vast majority of people have and continue to place their trust in public health every day.

Advocating for Workforce and Funding

While public health gets attention during times of crisis, public health professionals aren’t just there during outbreaks, natural disasters, and emergencies. They are working behind the scenes daily. When you are dropping off a child to day care or school, eating at a restaurant, giving birth, taking a dip in a pool, visiting a loved one in long term care, or getting a tattoo, your local and state public health staff were involved in each of these settings to ensure your safety and well-being. Every day, people are relying on the country’s public health infrastructure and workforce—many of you—and they are better off because of what you do. Our nation invests a fraction on public health and prevention compared to what we spend on treating disease and illness. But that doesn’t make our work less important. On the contrary, it’s more important than ever.

Preventing Chronic Disease

I spent a large portion of my public health career working in chronic disease prevention both in New York City and North Carolina before taking on larger leadership roles. I worked on numerous policies and programs that supported healthy eating, tobacco-free living, and healthier environments. While chronic disease received attention and very modest funding a decade ago, that has shifted over the years. The renewed conversations about chronic disease prevention are an opportunity that I hope we can take advantage of by focusing on evidence-based policies and programs that work.

Moving Forward, Together

I feel fortunate to be joining a great public health team, both at ASTHO and across the country. Thank you for your service every day, for being a steward of health resources, and for making lives better. I look forward to being part of a team supporting you, sharing your collective impact, and advocating for the difference you make.