Title: GREETINGS FROM THE CHAIR-ELECT
Author:
Section/SPIG: International Health
Issue Date:
I very much look forward to taking on the responsibility of IH Section Chair. However, I must admit that Ray Martin is going to be an extremely hard act to follow. So I request your support and guidance as we embark on this new venture.
As the section belongs to the membership, it is exceptionally important that you speak your mind and offer ideas about the direction in which the section should head, and about the objectives we should intend to reach. The IH Section must reflect your interests and your vision if it is to be vital. We need to focus on addressing the needs of our section, while increasing our relevance to and support for international health work throughout the world. There is no reason that these next two years should not be our best years yet. But it will take a collective effort.
During the recent meeting for chair elects, I tried my best to express the section’s collective voice. While I find that we have very supportive colleagues, I must say that we will have to be very creative if we are to successfully engage APHA in supporting our interests. The best way to ensure adequate representation of our section's views within the APHA structure is to have section members named, or nominated and elected, to the many committees that do the association's work. Getting our members in APHA leadership positions should be a major objective for this year. It would also be quite useful for members to volunteer their time and energy by serving on our Section Nominations Committee, which has for many years been ably run by Lani Marquez, and signaling your willingness to serve in elected leadership positions.
I would like to express our deepest collective gratitude to Betsy Bassan and her remarkably committed team at Chemonics. Betsy has served as the program chair during the past year. Her dedication and efficiency has resulted in one of the best and most active programs for the 2004 Annual Meeting. She and her team could be role models for myself and others in the section. During 2005 I hope that we can build on the standard of excellence that she has established.
As a way to encourage diverse participation in the section, I would like to try something new. I will be discussing with the leadership my desire to create a Chair Advisor Position(s). To these I would appoint individuals that can not only provide input in section affairs but who can also bring a new voice or perspective to the section.
During the spring and summer the section leadership met to brainstorm about our future. These sessions have been stimulating and productive. There are several themes that have arisen from them that I would like to share with you, as they will offer direction during the coming year.
The leadership easily reached consensus that the IH Section needs to increase its membership. We note that many professionals who are actively engaged in international community health work have yet to join the IH family. The section will identify various ways that we can enhance the attractiveness of IH to practitioners and provide them with services they are not currently receiving. The section will develop a Needs Assessment Team for this purpose. I would like to see IH develop training packages for section members. Henry Perry and Kate Tulenko have been excellent in advancing this type of work in the section, and I would like to encourage more of this type of work.
In this line, we need to attract new MPH’s and other health professionals. We need to imaginatively think how to reach out to the schools of public health and excite young people to shape the section as well as to join the IH Section team. I am committed to this and invite schools of public health to be proactive in engaging their students to participate. I would like IH to reserve a small amount of funding dedicated to support young professionals who wish to be engaged in the section's affairs.
There are other new initiatives that I hope the section will undertake next year. During the November meetings, Ray Martin has invited the membership to attend several meetings. At that time we will learn about the Annual Meeting theme for 2005. It is not too early to begin to think about your participation in 2005. I would like to invite everyone to begin thinking one year ahead. I would like us to have the most comprehensive set of panels that have ever been presented at APHA for the 2005 Annual Meeting, that reflect our IH professional culture, being diverse and cutting edge. There is no time like the present to begin brainstorming at your own institutions. I encourage you all to submit individual abstracts and to work with the program chair to develop a stimulating set of sessions.
I would like to conclude by wishing you all a most successful and stimulating conference. Please make the IH Section stimulating by joining in section affairs. Be a catalyst for change!