Board Member Spotlight: Lori Freeman

Board Member Spotlight: Lori Freeman, MBA
CEO, National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)
Secretary/Treasurer of the Board, National Board of Public Health Examiners

Lori Freeman has spent her career advancing the people and systems that protect our communities’ health. As CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and Secretary/Treasurer of the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE), she brings a powerful dual perspective, one rooted in the realities of local public health and in the vision for a strong, credentialed workforce. “NBPHE serves a crucial role as a provider of credentials to my very workforce,” Lori says. “It’s a truly symbiotic relationship.”

A Mission That Hit Home

Lori’s path into public health wasn’t linear. It was, as she puts it, “a fateful taking of a path along the way.” After earning her MBA and arriving in Washington, D.C., she began working with national nonprofits and discovered a passion for mission-driven work. Her first full-time role was as Director of Membership for the American Public Health Association, a position that opened her eyes to the breadth and purpose of public health.

Her connection to the field deepened profoundly after personal loss. “My mom and sister passed within 18 months of one another from preventable disease,” she shares. “That moment brought me to NACCHO in 2009 to focus on meaningful, mission-driven work to create health for all.”

Today, Lori leads NACCHO’s efforts to support over 3,300 local health departments across the country, many of which employ the very professionals NBPHE certifies.

Strengthening the Workforce Through Certification

For Lori, NBPHE’s work is more than a credential, it’s a commitment to the quality, readiness, and recognition of the public health workforce.

“The greatest value I can bring to this Board is the perspective of local health departments, what they need in their professional toolbox to serve at the highest level,” she says. “NBPHE helps ensure that those professionals have the knowledge, confidence, and credibility to meet that challenge.”

As the field evolves, Lori sees certification as a stabilizing force amid uncertainty. “Public health is in an undetermined metamorphosis,” she explains. “NBPHE can represent a sure thing, a trusted standard, when the environment feels unclear. When things get risky, we turn toward knowledge, education, and credentials. That’s where NBPHE’s mission shines.”

She believes the CPH credential not only validates expertise but also builds pride and momentum for professionals seeking to grow.

“It’s worth pursuing for both personal and professional reasons,” Lori emphasizes. “It’s about doing something for yourself that no one can take away, and it signals to employers that you’re invested in lifelong learning. A credential stands above and beyond a degree.”

Lori also sees certification playing a role in promotion of health equity and workforce diversity, sharing, “the credentialling process itself opens up an opportunity that levels the playing field for every person who meets the criteria. Around the world, any public health professional can seek this credential. Both in principle and practice, certification promotes and strengthens equity within the profession and within communities.”

Listening, Adapting, and Leading Forward

Lori is also pragmatic about the barriers professionals face when considering certification – the time, cost, and competing priorities – and she sees those as opportunities for NBPHE to innovate and expand its reach.

“We can continue to evolve credentialing with the needs of the field,” she says. “As public health roles change, NBPHE has the chance to help the workforce stay competitive through shifting skill sets and emerging technologies.”

Her optimism for the next decade is clear. “There have never been more ways to learn, grow, and advance skills,” Lori says. “AI and new technologies are changing everything again. Those are opportunities to get ahead, to stay relevant, and to ensure the workforce remains strong.”

Always Moving Forward

Reflecting on her years of service, Lori is proud of the direction the NBPHE Board has taken. “This Board is always moving forward, always looking for new ways to stretch and grow NBPHE’s impact,” she says. “It’s action-oriented, strategic, and deeply committed to serving the field. I’m so happy to have the opportunity to serve alongside these colleagues and staff.”

Lori’s motivation comes from a passion for what she does. “If there is a challenge that I have every day, it is finding new and interesting ways to talk about how meaningful public health’s work is to every person, no matter their age or education level or understanding,” she shared, adding, “And that I get to work every day with public health professionals who are achieving so much for the good of their communities.”

For Lori Freeman, public health certification isn’t just a professional milestone, it’s a mark of dedication to a field that saves lives and strengthens communities every day.