2009 APHA Candidates.doc

							                                    2009 APHA Candidate Statements

                  To view all candidates – bios, full CVs and candidates’ statements:
                                        http://www.apha.org/about/gov/candidates/


APHA president, Executive Board candidates named: Governing Council to vote at APHA’s 137th Annual Meeting




        Maureen Lichtveld, MD, MPH President-Elect Candidate
        see http://askmyl.blogspot.com/

Biography
Maureen Lichtveld, M.D., M.P.H, member of APHA’s Science Board and active since 1987, has a 28 year career in
public health and currently is Professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Tulane University
School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Her research interests include environmentally-induced disease such as
asthma and cancer; health disparities, environmental health policy; community-based participatory research; disaster
preparedness, and public health systems. She holds an endowed chair in environmental policy and is Associate Director,
Population Sciences, Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium. In 2008, Dr. Lichtveld received the Herbert Nickens Award
from the National Intercultural Cancer Council for leadership in cancer health disparities and educating minority health
professionals in cancer care. In 2007, she was awarded Woman of the Year by the City of New Orleans for her
contributions to science and well being. As Tulane University’s leading scientist in environmental health, she played a key
role in addressing issues of science, policy and practice post-Katrina locally, regionally, and nationally. For example, as
the Principal Investigator for Head Off Environmental Asthma in Louisiana, an NIH-funded study, she provides scientific
oversight for all clinical, environmental, and community engagement aspects of this novel pediatric asthma intervention
examining the relationship between exposure to Post-Katrina mold and exacerbation of Childhood asthma. In 2005, Dr.
Lichtveld moderated APHA’s Annual Meeting historic opening session dedicated to disparities Post-Katrina. She is an
active member of the Council on Education for Public Health’s accreditation team, corporately sponsored by APHA.

Dr. Lichtveld completed a successful 18 year career at CDC in several leadership capacities. As Associate Director for
Workforce Policy and Planning, she collaborated with APHA’s leadership to address shortages, credentialing and
certification. She led ATSDR’s Minority Health and Environmental Justice program, conducting numerous community-
based studies in minority and disadvantaged populations nationwide. Honors include Environmental Health Scientist of
the Year.

Among her scholarly contributions is AJPH’s (5/09) publication on Influenza preparedness in immigrants and refugees.
As AJPH’s peer reviewer, she also serves on several journal editorial boards. Dr. Lichtveld is an expert consultant to IOM
on contemporary environmental health, public health systems, and disaster preparedness issues. She provided technical
expertise to develop the first ever cultural competencies jointly informing curricula at schools of medicine and public health
nationwide.

Candidate Statement
EVERY DAY A HEALTH DISPARITIES DAY
When 99% of all new cancer cases are projected to occur in minorities and 66% in the elderly, health disparities are no
longer “their” problem but a national public health priority. No need for more investments that- while well-intended- have
failed to deliver significant progress in 20 years. Reflecting on the four overarching questions from the Guide to
                                   2009 APHA Candidate Statements

Community Preventive Services, the public health community spent sufficient resources and time to proof “something has
to be done”. Disease-specific efforts have largely emphasized “what should be done” and “how should it be done”. Does
the resounding negative answer to “is it working” compels us to fix what is broken? I propose a much bolder approach:
Let’s NOT fix it!
APHA is in a unique position to build not RE-build a public health system-driven, trans-disciplinary roadmap to
systematically up-root health disparities. How? As President-Elect I commit to collaboratively leveraging the science,
policy, practice, and advocacy power of our organization to deliver on three issues:
            National Health Disparities Policy– APHA must be the table, not only a mere seat to bring about effective
         health disparities policies informed upstream by those who suffer the most;
            Culturally Competent Public Health Workforce- dedicated investments in APHA’s Student Caucus can deliver
         emerging public health leaders equipped to practice in our increasingly diverse communities struggling to
         overcome historic health disparities-- from New Orleans to New York City;
            Research with the People for the People- APHA’s trans-disciplinary strength embodied by all the sections--
         from epidemiology to environmental health-- is a formidable force capable of making community-based
         participatory research the go-to strategy for finding sustainable health disparities solutions.
None of this can be achieved without taking an “e pluribus Unum” approach—one driven by Advocacy, Partnership,
Holism, and Assets.




Linda Rae Murray, MD, MPH President-Elect Candidate

Biography
Dr. Murray has spent her career serving the medically under served. She has worked in a variety of settings including a
Workers Clinic in Canada, Residency Director at Meharry Medical College, Bureau Chief for the Chicago Department of
Health under Mayor Harold Washington. More recently Dr. Murray served as Medical Director of the federally funded
health center, Winfield Moody, serving Cabrini Green Public Housing Project in Chicago. Dr. Murray served as Chief
Medical Officer - Primary Care for the twenty three primary care and community health centers comprising the
Ambulatory & Community Health Network of the Cook County Bureau of Health Services, one of the largest public health
systems in the nation.

Dr. Murray has been an active member of a wide range of local and national organizations including serving as a member
of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and the Board
of Scientific Counselors for the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Board of Directors of
Trinity Health ( a large Catholic Health system).

Today she serves as the Chief Medical Officer for the Cook County Department of Public Health of the Cook County
Health & Hospital System , the state certified public health agency for suburban Cook County. She practices as a general
internist at one of the County’s south side community health centers , is an attending physician in the Division of
Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Stroger (Cook County) Hospital . Dr Murray is an adjunct Assistant
Professor at the University of Illinois School of Public Health (Occupational & Environmental Health and the Health Policy
& Administration Departments). She plays a leadership role in many organizations including NACCHO’s (National
                                     2009 APHA Candidate Statements

Association of City & County Health Officers) Health Equity & Social Justice Team, and serves on the board of the
Chicago based Health and Medicine Policy Research Group.
Dr. Murray has been an active member the Illinois Public Health Association and APHA for many years. She has served
in a variety of leadership positions in her primary section , Occupational Health and Safety, served on a wide number of
APHA committees and has served two terms on APHA’s national executive board. She has been a voice for social justice
and health care as a basic human right for over forty years.

Candidate Statement
We remain a nation where racism, class, and gender status still determine the distribution of resources and health status.
We have failed to mobilize the political will to provide medical services to all. We have failed to spend adequate resources
in prevention activities, confronting the AIDS epidemic, ensuring a healthy environment for our children, guaranteeing a
safe and healthy workplace and many other critical public health needs. In such times a strong and vocal APHA is critical.

A basic prerequisite for healthy people is a world at peace. Peace is not possible without social and economic justice.
Justice demands that millions of people are in motion fighting for basic dignity and human rights. Today, for the first time
in many years, there is an open debate about how to improve the life and health of Americans. APHA must keep our focus
on the activities we know will improve health. A national single payer medical insurance system that guarantees universal
access to medical care will serve as the first baby step toward needed programs that address the fundamental
determinants of population health.

The common ground we stand on in APHA is far wider than our differences of emphasis and choice of tactics. The real
answers to our problems will be answered by how we work together in coalition with others to solve these problems. The
work of our members, our ability to be better leaders are a necessary prerequisite for building powerful coalitions and will
be critical in determining the future health of our nation.

I believe we can stand firmly within the proud traditions of public health and APHA and find a renewed energy and
dedication to the vision we share. It is to further our activist tradition that I wish to serve as President-Elect of APHA.



2009 Executive Board Candidates
The Executive Board has 12 elected members, with three elected annually to four-year terms. The Governing Council will
elect three new Executive Board members during APHA's 137th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia in November. Voters will
choose from the slate of six candidates, whose biographies follow.




M. Beth Benedict, DrPH, JD, RN

Biography
M. Beth Benedict, DrPH, JD, RN, a member of APHA and the Public Health Nursing Section since 1978. She holds
memberships in the Maryland and the Arizona Public Health Associations, as well as a number of other professional
organizations. She holds a current RN license and has a law license to practice in Maryland. She does pro bono
                                                                                             th
representation of women and children who are victims of violence and abuse. She is in her 9 year of mediating court
                                   2009 APHA Candidate Statements

cases for the District Court of Maryland. In 2000 Dr. Benedict received the APHA Executive Director’s Citation, and in
1999 the PHN Section’s Margaret G. Arnstein Award.

Dr. Benedict is a 20-year employee of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Office of Research, Development and
Information, working on Medicaid studies with an emphasis on quality, health disparities, and the health care received by
women and children. She has co-authored a number of peer-reviewed journal articles on the topics. As the CMS liaison to
NIH Federal Liaison Group on Asthma she is also participating in updating the respiratory-related objectives for Healthy
People 2020. In 1999 she received the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Award for Distinguished
Service related to its asthma report; and, in 2008 she received an award for excellence from her research office.

In APHA Dr. Benedict has been in the leadership in the Intersectional Council, the Bylaws Committee, and a member of
the Education Board, the Awards Committee, and the Committee on Women’s Rights, the former Development Cabinet,
and the development of the continuing education program. In the PHN Section she has served as the Section Chair, and
a member of the Section Council. Currently she chairs the APHA Bylaws Committee and the PHN Section’s Education
Committee leading the accreditation for continuing nursing education. Dr. Benedict has brought her legal knowledge to
the Bylaws Committee or thus assuring that the Association’s governance documents reflect current practice and are
consistent with the current corporate laws of the District of Columbia.

As President of her townhome’s community association, she oversees a non-profit corporation with an annual $800,000
budget for 275 acres, and more than a 2000 feet of shore line for 686 homes in the environmentally conscious,‘go green’
Anne Arundel County of Maryland.

Candidate Statement
M. Beth Benedict, DrPH, JD, RN, a member of APHA and the Public Health Nursing Section since 1978. She holds
memberships in the Maryland and the Arizona Public Health Associations, as well as a number of other professional
organizations. She holds a current RN license and has a law license to practice in Maryland. She does pro bono
                                                                                            th
representation of women and children who are victims of violence and abuse. She is in her 9 year of mediating court
cases for the District Court of Maryland. In 2000 Dr. Benedict received the APHA Executive Director’s Citation, and in
1999 the PHN Section’s Margaret G. Arnstein Award.

Dr. Benedict is a 20-year employee of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Office of Research, Development and
Information, working on Medicaid studies with an emphasis on quality, health disparities, and the health care received by
women and children. She has co-authored a number of peer-reviewed journal articles on the topics. As the CMS liaison to
NIH Federal Liaison Group on Asthma she is also participating in updating the respiratory-related objectives for Healthy
People 2020. In 1999 she received the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Award for Distinguished
Service related to its asthma report; and, in 2008 she received an award for excellence from her research office.

In APHA Dr. Benedict has been in the leadership in the Intersectional Council, the Bylaws Committee, and a member of
the Education Board, the Awards Committee, and the Committee on Women’s Rights, the former Development Cabinet,
and the development of the continuing education program. In the PHN Section she has served as the Section Chair, and
a member of the Section Council. Currently she chairs the APHA Bylaws Committee and the PHN Section’s Education
Committee leading the accreditation for continuing nursing education. Dr. Benedict has brought her legal knowledge to
the Bylaws Committee or thus assuring that the Association’s governance documents reflect current practice and are
consistent with the current corporate laws of the District of Columbia.

As President of her townhome’s community association, she oversees a non-profit corporation with an annual $800,000
budget for 275 acres, and more than a 2000 feet of shore line for 686 homes in the environmentally conscious, ‘go green’
Anne Arundel County of Maryland.
                                   2009 APHA Candidate Statements




Frank Goldsmith, MPH, DrPH
Biography
I hold MPH and DrPH degrees from the Columbia University School of Public Health. My primary work areas have been
health policy and occupational health and safety, in teaching and in administration.

Within APHA I have served on the Executive Board [1986-89] as well as in leadership positions in the Occupational
Health and Health Administration sections. I have served on the Executive Board task forces on Public Health
Infrastructure and Universal Health Care legislation. I have just completed a term on the Constitution and Bylaws
Committee. I have also served on the Executive Board of the Public Health Association of New York City.

Public health infrastructure has been a key focus of my work. I was able to translate my experience with the APHA PHI
and help conduct an in-depth PHI study of New York City with the Public Health Association of NYC. Similarly, my work
with the APHA Universal Health Care Task Force helped me incorporate public health issues into national health care
discussions.

My educational work includes serving as a Dean within Empire State College of the State University of New York as well
as extensive classroom teaching. I teach public health policy, job safety and health and labor relations courses. These
are taught at Cornell University and for the City University of New York.

I directed occupational health programs for an international union [1.4 million members] and a large local union [38,000
members].

Now retired from the State University of New York I am actively engaged in universal heath care policy work, with
emphasis on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Of special interest to me have been the public health insurance
options being debated in Congress; especially those in regard to expanding and improving Medicare and Medicaid to
cover the uninsured.

I serve as the permanent representative for a non-governmental organization [NGO] at the United Nations. I attend
sessions concerned with the Millennium Development Goals with emphasis on world poverty, decent jobs, health issues,
general environmental issues and climate change.

My other international interests include the study of health systems of the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Sweden and
Cuba. While at SUNY Stony Brook I directed the International Health Center and led credit bearing, study trips to
England and France.

Candidate Statement
The mettle of public health is being tested today. Effective policy based on strong science and practical application has
put the American Public Health Association in the leadership of public health in our country.

Never have public health issues ever been higher on our nation’s and the world’s agendas. The problems of HiNi flu;
world poverty; peace: and, climate change have been overtaken and intensified by the financial crisis. Every state and
local health department and our nongovernmental organizations are faced with daily crises. These on-the-ground
                                    2009 APHA Candidate Statements

problems are being replicated around our country, our hemisphere and world. The American Public Health Association’s
30,000 members, and our international affiliates and associates hold many of the keys to confronting these crises and can
offer immediate, intermediate and long-term solutions.

The saliency of APHA is evident across the range of public health problems. APHA’s landmark work in communicable
diseases, public health infrastructure, occupational health, national health policy, and international peace, skillfully
applied, can and is making a difference.

I look forward to participating in APHA’s everyday contributions to public health policy development. The safety net for
every person in our country needs to be protected and bolstered. Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are issues
that APHA understands as crucial to the living standards in our country and hence to our health status.

While participating in and developing external policies for APHA, I know full well the critical importance of attending to our
financial status as well as membership recruitment and the further development of Sections, Affiliates, Caucuses, Special
Interest Groups and other internal APHA groupings.

The sum total of my public health academic, professional, and practical experiences has reinforced and increased my
commitment to the mission, organizational effectiveness and strength of APHA.




Drew Harris, DPM, MPH
http://blog.nj.com/njv_drew_harris/index.html
http://twitter.com/NJPublicHealth (You'll need to sign up to view.)

Biography
Dr. Drew Harris is the President of the NJ Association for Biomedical Research, a nonprofit organization serving the
interests of the biomedical research community. He is also co-founder and chair of the NJ Public Health Institute, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing public health policy and research in New Jersey.
Previously, Dr. Harris was the Assistant Director of the NJ Center for Public Health Preparedness (NJCPHP) at the
University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ and Assistant Professor in the UMDNJ School of Public Health, where he
conducted education, training and research on a variety of topics including public health law, assessment and
preparedness through grants with the CDC, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the NJ Department
of Health and Senior Services, and other state and federal agencies and private foundations. At the NJCPHP, Dr. Harris
conceived and managed the Public Health Leadership Initiative for Emergency Response (PHLIER)—a fellowship
program for emerging public health leaders.

Dr. Harris has joint appointments as an adjunct assistant professor at the UMDNJ-NJ Medical School and UMDNJ-School
of Public Health in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health and Department of Environmental and
Occupational Health, respectively.

Dr. Harris is past president of the New Jersey Public Health Association, past APHA Executive Board member and current
member of the APHA’s Education Board. He is a Podiatric Health Section Councilor.

As a public health activist, Dr. Harris has been involved in several statewide campaigns and coalitions to guarantee
universal access to health care; control diabetes, obesity and tobacco use; and remove barriers to community-based
research. Other activities include a stint as the host for “HouseCalls,” a radio talk show focusing on health care and public
health topics.
                                    2009 APHA Candidate Statements

Dr. Harris is a podiatric physician, with 17 years of private practice experience concentrating on the care of people with
diabetes and non-healing wounds, as well as research into new wound healing modalities. He obtained his Masters of
Public Health from the UMDNJ-School of Public Health. His research interests lie at the vital nexus of public health
science and practice, public policy and politics.

Candidate Statement
APHA is an organization inspired by ideals that are just as relevant today as they were for our founders 137 years ago.
They believed that communities should provide the conditions necessary to achieve health and wellness for everyone;
that every person should have the knowledge, means and encouragement to live a healthy and fulfilling life; that
government’s first responsibility is to the health of its people; and that scientific research and objective analysis can and
should be applied to society’s challenges. These ideals are not exclusive to APHA, but they are the reasons I am here to
serve it.

I believe that the Executive Board’s most important role is to ensure APHA’s organizational capacity. We do this by finding
ways to harness the energy of our greatest asset: the knowledge, creativity and diversity of our membership.

APHA must become a 360-degree and year-round organization. We must not only speak to the members regularly but
also find better ways to listen and learn. And we need to do this every day of the year, not just one week in November. We
should grow our Internet capacity and use every tool and technique to facilitate member engagement and encourage
constant feedback.

We must also reach out beyond our membership to our stakeholders, such as governmental policymakers, industry and
just plain folks in the community. There are many people in this world who know little about APHA but who care deeply
about public health and even do great public health work. They’re our audience, too.

Finally, the challenges of the past are not necessarily those of the future. I will work to build a dynamic and flexible
organization that can respond to public health issues that aren’t now known to us. While the challenges may change, the
ideals remain the same.




Maggie Huff-Rousselle, PhD, MBA, MA

Biography
Depth and Breadth of Interdisciplinary Experience
Dr. Huff-Rousselle has over 30 years of experience in consulting, teaching and research in the health sector, including
eight overseas residencies and roughly 100 short term consultancies in 50 countries. Her experience encompasses:
health policy, financing, and management, with emphasis on macro and micro health sector financing, social marketing,
institutional development, and pharmaceutical sector policy and financing.

She has directed multi-country technical assistance projects in health sector reform and financing (including national
health insurance), and in pharmaceutical sector policy and financing. In long-term positions in Asia, the Caribbean, and
                                    2009 APHA Candidate Statements

the Middle East, she has been instrumental in establishing five organizations working in pharmaceutical supply,
reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, or training and research. Her research interests combine qualitative research with
financial and marketing analysis, always with a focus on access, equity and quality.

Since 1991, Dr. Huff-Rousselle has been the President of Social Sectors Development Strategies (SSDS), a Boston-
based health consulting and research company with both an international and US-focus: www.ssds.net. She has served
on the governing council of APHA, as a section councilor, and is the founding coordinator of the APHA Pharmaceutical
Interest/Working group. She has current or former faculty appointments at Boston University, Harvard University, Keele
University (England), and Tulane University. She teaches graduate courses on health and social marketing, financial
planning and management, and global pharmaceutical issues (The Other Drug War).

Dr. Huff-Rousselle serves on the Editorial Board of The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, and
has served on other bodies, such as the Technical Review Panel of The Global Fund, the Women’s League of Voters, etc.
She has published over 50 articles and case studies on health sector issues in national and regional newspapers,
professional magazines, and peer-reviewed journals.

She has an M.A. in Writing/Education from Goddard College, a dual-M.B.A. from Boston University in Public Management
and Health Systems (focusing on the US health sector), and a Ph.D. in Management Studies from the University of the
West Indies. A citizen of the US and native of Canada, she speaks French and English.

Candidate Statement
Progressive and Pragmatic Evidence-Based Advocacy, Putting the US in Context
We need evidence-based advocacy contrasting the US with other countries where health services are viewed as a
collective public responsibility, not a commodity traded in the marketplace. Americans have come to think of commercial
insurance companies as “health care” rather than financial intermediaries that, given commercial incentives, skim the
market cream by insuring those of us least in need of services (i.e. employed, higher income). Our fragmented health
“systems” exacerbate social inequities and create wastage through marketing costs, and multiple administrative and
billing systems.

Similar issues pertain to US policies (or lack thereof) in relation to the pharmaceutical industry: elevated US retail costs
that deny access to essential medications for many; direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs (not allowed in
most developed countries) that promote block busters over appropriate essential drugs; and inadequate post-marketing
surveillance of new drugs as contrasted with other Western nations.

Many existing public health policies need an overhaul. Illustrative examples, related to reproductive and sexual health and
HIV/AIDS, include: abstinence-only campaigns; policies on abortion; and an ill-informed domestic approach that has left
us with scandalous HIV/AIDS statistics right in our nation’s capital. These are only examples. They call for multi-
disciplinary consensus-building on both health and social issues.

My orientation is progressive but pragmatic. If we are to be credible and effective catalysts for change, our advocacy
needs to be well-sculpted (politically and otherwise) to succeed in creating sustained changes. We should listen to those
who do not see things as we see them, and not preach only to those of us who are already converted. Advocacy should
often follow a strategically incremental approach, within and beyond the borders of our own professional boundaries. This
is what I hope to help with.
                                    2009 APHA Candidate Statements




Adewale Troutman, MD, MA, MPH

Biography
Currently: Director Metro Louisville Department of Public Health and Wellness, Associate Professor University of
Louisville School of Pubic health and Information Sciences. 2003-2004 Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta. GA,
Senior Scientist Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine 1997-2003 Fulton County Government
Director Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness, 1984-1997United Hospitals Medical Center, Newark, N.J.
Director Adult Emergency Services, 1987-1990 City Of Newark N.J., Medical Director and acting Health Officer Newark
Department of Health and Human Services.

APHA Experience: Former Member Governing Council, APHA member since 1987, Member and former President Black
Caucus of Health Workers, Member Board of Directors, National Association of County and City Health Officers, Former
Member Board of Directors Public Health Leadership Society, Fellow Public Health Leadership Institute

Candidate Statement
The 1960s and 1970s were a time of great turbulence and awakening. For me, they were a time of personal growth, the
development of a belief that I could make a difference and the beginnings of my evolution into leadership. I have served in
board positions in the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the Governing Council of APHA and
president of the Black Caucus of Health Workers of APHA, to name a few. I have led major agencies in local public health
for 15 years in Newark New Jersey, Atlanta Georgia and Louisville, Kentucky as Department Director and Associate
Professor in the School of Public Health

My philosophy is clear. I believe that health is a basic human right, and is primarily a function of the social determinants
and that our goal must be health equity through a process of social justice. My involvement with the award winning PBS
series "Unnatural Causes: Is inequality Making Us Sick" and my establishment of the Center for Health Equity in Louisville
speaks to that belief.

In this time of great opportunity as the nation addresses much-needed health reform, APHA must be a vocal national
leader in the call for a system that guarantees universal coverage and access to a single standard of high quality
care based on prevention, a strong public health infrastructure and founded in the principles of social justice.

To be the national leader, APHA must be guided by its membership, strong governance, and the ability to address the
many issues that we face. Those in leadership positions must be experienced, committed, inspired, and knowledgeable
about the issues and possessed of the ongoing drive to change the face of health in this country and the world. I am such
a leader and I ask for your support.