The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) will be holding its 2026 Annual Meeting in Arlington, VA this March. The ASPPH Annual Meeting convenes graduate and undergraduate academic public health leaders, faculty, students, and members of the public health community from around the world to engage in discussions and share new strategies and tools to strengthen education, practice, and research in public health.

Join the Public Health Foundation (PHF) at the 2026 ASPPH Annual Meeting!

PHF will be presenting during the following conference session: 

Bridging Academia and Practice: Advancing Academic–Health Department Partnerships for a Future-Ready Workforce

Thursday, March 19, 2026 from 10:30-11:30am ET

Panelists:

• Emily M. Burke, EdD, MPH, CPH, Senior Director of Workforce Development and Applied Practice, ASPPH
• Kathleen Amos, MLIS, Director, Workforce Development, PHF
• Janine M. Jurkowski, PhD, MPH, Professor and Chair, University at Albany College of Integrated Health Sciences
• Maureen Y. Lichtveld, MD, MPH, Dean, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health

In this session, we will explore how academic institutions and health departments can forge meaningful collaborations that align education, research, and practice to strengthen the public health workforce. Participants will hear from public health leaders who have co-developed training, applied learning, and data-driven initiatives that respond to real-world public health needs. We will focus on actionable strategies for sustaining these partnerships — including shared governance, mutual benefit frameworks, and competency alignment — drawing on the work of the ASPPH Center for Public Health Workforce Development. Attendees will leave with practical tools and lessons learned to launch or deepen their own academic-practice partnerships that build capacity, diversify the workforce, and drive impact.