Greetings from the Chair

Stephen Gilson 

In this newsletter, I am pleased to report on progress. Our efforts to engage APHA in dialog about full and equal access resulted in a productive meeting among Catherine Graham, Steven Barnett, Jim Rimmer, Georges Benjamin, Frances Atkinson, Anna Keller, Priya Bose, Pooja Bhandari and me. Guided by an agenda that was developed collaboratively, open and frank dialog ensued focusing on the negative implications for all APHA members resulting from barriers to full and equal access to APHA resources.

APHA staff made earnest commitments to implementing our requests for a fully accessible website, accessible publications, and meeting access. Moreover, the role of the Disability Section was clarified such that while we may engage in access advancement, we are not the access police.

We will meet again formally in the fall with APHA staff to follow up on progress and ask for ongoing vigilance in their implementation of full access.

From my perspective, I see three major directions for us.

First, members of our section need to seek and pursue membership as well as leadership positions within APHA's broader structure. Rather than talking just to ourselves, we need to be in constant dialog with others who do not have accessibility as a primary agenda. Second, I am requesting that at least two Disability Section members volunteer for important service positions, one sitting on the APHA Program At-Large Committee and the other on the Equal Health Opportunity Committee. The APHA Program At-Large Committee is actively involved in the design and content of APHA specialized sessions, and other activities such as helping to identify the Keynote Speaker and focus of the Annual Meeting. Participation in the Equal Health Opportunity Committee will give us voice in a committee devoted to equality of access in health opportunity and services. Third, I am suggesting that each of us stay current with the opportunities to become actively involved throughout APHA by regularly reading The Nation’s Health. It is within this publication that opportunities for the involvement of Disability Section members in key positions within APHA may be identified.

Thus, we are now at a critical juncture in our work. As we ask APHA to be responsive to our needs, we must be equally as committed to vigilance, voice and change. I am charging each of us to speak out beyond our Section, and to engage outside of our Section in diverse roles within the central administration, other Sections, with SPIGs, with Forums, with Caucuses, and with APHA-wide committees.