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Greetings!

Happy New Year! Below is a Council on Linkages Update for January 2026. Please feel free to share these opportunities in your organization’s newsletter or other communications.

Mark Your Calendars for the Council on Linkages’ March 26th Meeting

Join the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice for its first meeting of the year on Thursday, March 26, 2026 from 2-4pm ET. Hear the latest updates on the Academic Health Department Learning Community and Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals, among other topics. The meeting agenda, materials, and additional information will be made available on the meeting webpage as the date approaches.

Start the Year with Resources from the Public Health Learning Forum!

It was wonderful to see so many of you at the 2025 Public Health Learning Forum! As one attendee shared, “This was a great conference and the topics covered were very insightful and I plan to use a lot of what was talked about in my work!” If you missed the event or want to revisit your favorite sessions, you can access all recordings for free on the TRAIN Learning Network (Course ID: 1133438). Explore tools and strategies to strengthen performance management, quality improvement, and workforce development as we kick off 2026. Visit the event page to find more resources and tools from the conference—available now!

Discover How Local Health Departments are Using AI to Transform Public Health

The Public Health Foundation’s (PHF’s) newest blog post explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is helping local health departments work smarter, not harder, while highlighting the evolving role of public health professionals. The blog reviews three powerful ways AI is making an impact on public health teams: streamlining Community Health Assessments (CHAs) and Community Health Improvement Plans (CHIPs), analyzing grant reports and unstructured data, and enhancing disease surveillance and risk modeling. Real-world examples illustrate how AI supports data-driven decision-making and strengthens the public health workforce’s ability to focus on community impact.

Interested in learning more about PHF’s AI and Problem Solving Services? Contact us at info@phf.org

Register to Attend a MAPP 2.0 Training from NACCHO 

Registration is now open for two in-person Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) 2.0 trainings from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). MAPP is NACCHO’s framework for community health assessment and improvement planning. Trainings will be held in Washington, DC (March 17 & 18, 2026) and Baltimore, MD (April 14 & 15, 2026). Registration costs $150 and closes one month before each training. Visit naccho.org/mapp and log in with a free MyNACCHO account for more information. 

Call for Abstracts for APHA 2026 and the APLPH Caucus Now Open

The call for abstracts for the American Public Health Association’s (APHA’s) 2026 Annual Meeting & Expo is now open! This year’s theme is “Together We Thrive: Health Across the Lifespan.” The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), in partnership with the Public Health Accreditation Board and the Public Health Foundation, invites submission of abstracts for sessions sponsored by the Academic and Practice Linkages in Public Health (APLPH) Caucus. The Caucus provides a forum to explore and discuss innovative approaches and effective interventions that support practice, education, and applied research by building bridges between academia and practice. View session topics for the 2026 APLPH Caucus and submit your abstract by March 31st!

Interested in reviewing abstracts for the APLPH Caucus? Fill out the Reviewer Submission Form by March 31, 2026. To be eligible, you must have expertise related to at least one of the 2026 APLPH Caucus topics. For questions related to the APLPH Caucus, please contact Kaitlin Tager, ASPPH Director of Program Administration, at ktager@aspph.org.