NBPHE Leadership

A LETTER FROM OUR LEADERSHIP

A strong profession is built on foundational elements like accredited educational pathways, core competencies, defined job profiles, and individual certification. Two decades ago, public health leaders recognized the need to strengthen our professionalism by creating a certification for the field of public health. Today, the Certified in Public Health (CPH) certification stands well-established and respected. It welcomes graduates of formal academic programs and those with practical experience. We should take pride in this accomplishment and encourage public health professionals to add the “CPH” credential to their names.

The National Board of Public Health Examiners has worked to create a credible, rigorous, and meaningful certification program that measures our workforce's knowledge. Guided by a five-year strategic plan to strengthen and expand credentialing in public health, we are diligently creating opportunities to collaborate with partners, practitioners, and stakeholders.

Thanks to the dedication of our board of directors, our testing committees, and numerous NBPHE volunteers, we have created a forward-looking certification program to meet public health needs now and in the future. We are also advancing new initiatives, including a certification for disease intervention professionals, and exploration of a credential for public health nurses and one based on public health essentials.

We believe the future of certification lies with the public health community itself. We invite you to join us on this journey, whether by pursuing certification, advocating for its value, volunteering your expertise, or sharing ideas about how we can better support the profession. Get certified!

We look forward to working with the public health community to bring our goals and ideas to life.

The NBPHE Board of Directors

David Buys, PhD, MSPH, CPH, FGSA

Chair

- Associate Vice Provost,

Mississippi State University

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Lori Freeman, MBA

Secretary/Treasurer

- Chief Executive Officer,

National Association of County and City Health Officials

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Jaime Corvin, PhD, MSPH, CPH

Chair, Certification Committee

- Associate Dean,

University of South Florida College of Public Health

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Nizar Wehbi, MD, MPH, MBA, FACHE, CPH

Chair, Governance Committee

- Former North Dakota State Health Officer,

North Dakota Department of Health

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Paul Halverson, DrPH, FACHE, CPH

Immediate past Chair

- Dean of the Oregon Health & Science University,

Portland State University School of Public Health

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Kaye Bender, PhD, RN, FAAN

At-large

- Former Executive Director,

Mississippi Public Health Association

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Charlene Cariou, MHS, CPH, CHES®

- Public Health Program Manager II,

Southwest District Health (ID)

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Joseph Kanter, MD, MPH

- Chief Executive Officer,

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials

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Joneigh Khaldun, MD, MPH, FACEP

- Chief Executive Officer,

Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB)

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Allison Lewis, MA

- Executive Director,

Association for Prevention Teaching and Research

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Laura Magaña, PhD, MS

- President and CEO,

Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH)

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Laura Rasar King, EdD, MPH, MCHES

- Executive Director,

Council on Education for Public Health

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Matt Richardson, DrPH | MPH | FACHE

- Director of Public Health,

Denton County Public Health

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Pauline Rolle, MD, MPH, CPH

- Medical Director,

Ascension Medical Group Pediatric & Southeast Georgia Primary Care

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NBPHE Staff Members

Allison Foster, MBA, CAE, CPH

- President

Shantal Johnson, BS, CS

- Director of Certifications

Melissa Boyette, CPH

- Director of Partnerships

Gillian Plaunt

- Director of Marketing

Ashley Mueller, CS

- Manager of Education Programs

Elise Hamrick

- Marketing & Communications Intern

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