The New England Public Health Training Center (NEPHTC) had the opportunity to attend two conferences this fall; the Maine Public Health Association (MPHA) annual conference in Portland, Maine at the beginning of October and more recently, the American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting and expo in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

MPHA was hosted in collaboration with the UMaine-Institute of Medicine with the theme “Innovations in Public Health”. The conference showcased a broad array of programs, projects, and initiatives – formal and informal – that aim to improve individual and community health and demonstrate strategy, innovation, and creativity in addressing complex public health challenges. NEPHTC proudly served as a sponsor and exhibitor (pictured below). Candice Bangham, Senior Program Manager at NEPHTC noted “Many people came by the NEPHTC table to learn more about our free training offerings. There were so many people who were already engaged with NEPHTC trainings, and also folks who had never heard about us. Overall, the conference had a huge draw of folks across fields and disciplines all working on important public health initiatives across Maine; it was a really inspiring day and group of people”. Matt Wellington (pictured below), Associate Director at MPHA, hosts their podcast “Healthy Maine Talks“ and interviewed public health professionals on the spot, asking them to share what public health means to them.

Each year, APHA’s Annual Meeting and Expo convenes about 12,000 public health professionals and partners from around the world to engage, collaborate and grow. The Annual Meeting brings together a broad spectrum of professionals across a variety of disciplines.

The APHA 2024 theme was “Building Trust in Public Health and Science.” The Public Health Training Center Network (PHTCN) represented all regional PHTCs as an exhibitor and many regions presented under the Academic and Practice Linkages in Public Health Caucus. Maurine Crouch, Program Manager at the Office of Public Health Practice (NEPHTC), presented “Pathway programs intentional improving processes to reflect community: Student Success stories from the Rockies, the Southeast, and New England”, on behalf of NEPHTC and two other PHTCs (Region IV and 8).