Dear Colleagues:

As I sit here reflecting on the past two years as your chair, it is hard to separate out all the activities we’ve done and the things we have accomplished. First of all, I want to acknowledge your elected Leadership, the Section and Governing Councilors who respond quickly to issues and participate actively in decision making and program planning.  I want to give special thanks to our Section Secretary Deborah Allen, without whom I could not have done this job. She is organized, energetic, and gave freely of her time.

Joseph Telfair, our Governing Council Whip, Jane Pearson, who so expertly guided our student fellows, Clare Feinson, who pestered me for my newsletter greetings and got me moving, Jonathan Kotch, a past chair who remains a stalwart participant and consultant, Kay Johnson, another past chair who continues to provide leadership and expertise, Ben Gitterman, our Action Board representative, and Carol Nelson, our intrepid program chair, who wrestles with our choices for meeting times and sessions with good humor.

The committee structure is strong, and each year we have submitted at least one resolution or policy paper.  The collaboration with the leadership before submission to the Association has made our Governing Council support stronger. We have also had some active, interesting, and exciting business meetings!  Our paper submissions are up, and our presentations at the Annual Meeting are diverse. Thanks to the members in the Annual Meeting host cities for organizing such fun Saturday night dinners! I am looking forward to this year.

We are known throughout the Association as the Section with the model student fellowship program. With the leadership of the secretary-elect and the committee putting together the student paper session, we have a continuing stream of well-qualified, committed students in our Section actively learning the process of APHA participation.  We have been greatly assisted in this effort by the Kellogg Foundation for several years, and most recently by the Colgate Foundation and the MCH education program. Many of our Section members participate in the MCH education program as faculty.

MCH is represented at the Association leadership level by two Executive Board members. The incoming president of the Association, Deborah Klein-Walker, served as the chair of the MCH Section some time ago and set our Section on a trajectory of change much like she influenced the Executive Board and will guide the Association. We are truly excited to have our membership so involved in the whole Association. And why not? We all know that maternal and child health issues cross every sub-section of public health!

I am grateful to my mentors, especially Linda Randolph, whom I assisted when she was Section chair. I am thrilled that another mentor, Ruth Watson Lubic, midwife extraordinare and visionary community activist for mothers and children, is the recipient this year of the Martha May Elliot Award.

All in all, it has been a great experience and I know I leave Barb Levin, the incoming Chair-Elect, a strong group to work with.

Don’t worry, I have two more years on the Intersectional Council, so you will be seeing me!

Jan Weingrad Smith, CNM, MS, MPH
Chair MCH Section 2002 -2006