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Greetings!

Below is a Council on Linkages Update for June 2025. Please feel free to share these opportunities in your organization’s newsletter or other communications.

Introducing a New Look to PHF.org 

The Public Health Foundation (PHF) is excited to introduce the newly updated PHF.org website! The site now features a refreshed design; improved navigation; and an intuitive, modern interface that provides an enhanced experience whether you’re browsing from a desktop or mobile device. Information is easier than ever to find, making it simpler to connect with Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice resources and tools including the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals, Academic Health Department Learning Community, and Retention and Recruitment Toolkit. 

With a streamlined layout, PHF.org makes accessing key information and public health tools faster and more convenient. We encourage you to visit and experience all that the new site has to offer. 

Stories from the Field: Hillsborough County, Florida’s Successful AHD Partnership

In collaboration with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the Public Health Foundation is highlighting new success stories that showcase the power of academic health department (AHD) partnerships, the impactful collaborations between health departments and academic institutions. Learn about how the health department in Hillsborough County, Florida collaborated with the University of South Florida to co-author their Public Health Infrastructure Grant application. Discover how these organizations are working together to strengthen and formalize their partnership. 

Using AHD Partnerships to Strengthen CPH Skills for Local Health Department Staff 

Many health department staff across the country do not have formal training in public health. The Certified in Public Health (CPH) credential demonstrates knowledge of key public health sciences and covers areas relevant to emerging public health issues. The New River Academic Health Department, a partnership between Virginia Tech Population Health Sciences and the New River Health District (NRHD), located in South Central Appalachia, developed a CPH Public Health 101 exam review for NRHD staff. Discover how this partnership helped to increase staff skills and confidence in key public health topic areas.

Charting New Paths: Alameda County’s Academic Health Department Partnership Journey

The Public Health Foundation (PHF) recently collaborated with the Alameda County Public Health Department in California to better understand their existing academic health department (AHD) partnerships and identify opportunities to strengthen their partnerships. Learn how they utilized Public Health Infrastructure Grant funding to work with PHF to conduct an environmental scan and discover the next steps they plan to take to formalize and expand their AHD partnerships. Read the full story of Alameda County’s AHD partnership journey.

Looking to strengthen and expand partnerships between health departments and academic institutions? Explore the new environmental scan service offering.

Join the Partnership Workshop at the CSTE Annual Conference 

The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) is excited to host a workshop at the 2025 CSTE Annual Conference entitled Pathways to Partnership: Enhancing Collaborations between Health Departments and Academia, which will explore collaborations between state, Tribal, local, and territorial health departments and academic institutions as a means to enhance the workforce pipeline, train emerging epidemiologists, and strengthen the applied epidemiology workforce. CSTE will share relevant results from the 2024 Epidemiology Capacity Assessment and highlight how academic institutions can incorporate the Applied Epidemiology Competencies into their curricula. The workshop will take place on Sunday, June 8, 2025 from 8:30am-12pm EDT in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Register for the conference to attend.