ASTHO Members and Staff Named to Inaugural List of 40 Under 40 Public Health Leaders

May 15, 2019

ARLINGTON, VA—Members and staff of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) received recognition today from the de Beaumont Foundation for their contributions and leadership in the public health field.

The de Beaumont Foundation’s inaugural "40 Under 40 in Public Health" list honors several health officials, health department staff, and ASTHO staff and affiliates, including:

  • Jonathan Ballard, Chief Medical Officer, New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
  • Christa Cupp, Public Health Educator, Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Division of Public Health, Office of Policy and Practice Alignment
  • Julian Drix, Asthma Program Manager, Rhode Island Department of Health
  • Eric Harkness, Director, Office of Health Policy, Tennessee Department of Health
  • Jeffrey Howard, Commissioner and Chief Medical Officer, Kentucky Department for Public Health
  • Joseph Kanter, Assistant State Health Officer and Region One Medical Director, Louisiana Department of Health
  • Joneigh Khaldun, Chief Medical Executive and Chief Deputy Director for Health, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
  • Carolyn Mullen, Chief of Government Affairs and Public Relations, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
  • Kaitlyn Neises-Mocanu, Special Assistant for Policy, Sustainability, and Development, Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation
  • Jamila Porter, Director of Programs and Evaluation, Safe States Alliance (ASTHO Affiliate)
  • Lauren Powell, Director, Office of Health Equity, Virginia Department of Health
  • Alison Traynor, North Dakota Suicide Prevention Program Director, North Dakota Department of Health 
  • Mariah Wilberg, Communications Specialist and Health Educator, Minnesota Department of Health

"I am thrilled and honored to see ASTHO leaders represented on this list," says Michael Fraser, ASTHO's chief executive officer. "Their inclusion speaks to the passion, commitment, and tireless effort demonstrated every day by both ASTHO and the state and territorial public health leaders we represent in order to improve the nation's health."

 A panel of judges selected these individuals based on their fresh perspectives, creative problem-solving, and innovative health solutions in communities across the country. Nominees for the "40 Under 40 in Public Health" list included a wide range of public health professionals, including health commissioners, directors of health equity, doulas, and epidemiologists.

For more information about the "40 Under 40 in Public Health" honorees and their accomplishments, visit de Beaumont Foundation's 40 under 40 page.

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ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. territories and freely associated states, and Washington, D.C., as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to ensuring excellence in public health practice.