In recognition of his outstanding service and contributions to the Public Health Foundation (PHF) and to the field of public health, and for his creative vision, relentless commitment, and leadership, the PHF Board of Directors selected David Knapp, TRAIN Kentucky Administrator for the Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH), to receive PHF’s Ted Ervin Award. This prestigious award was presented to Mr. Knapp during DPH’s Zoom holiday party on December 22, 2020.
Mr. Knapp has been a major contributor to developing and improving the
TRAIN Learning Network, which now is serving more than 2.8 million learners worldwide. He has provided guidance to federal, state, and local health agencies throughout the county, helping them improve their workforce development activities. Mr. Knapp has been successful in using and integrating the nationally adopted
Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals into Kentucky DPH and local health department activities, as well as been an advisor on ways to simplify and clarify these competencies for the public health workforce.
As Kaye Bender, former CEO of the
Public Health Accreditation Board and a PHF Board member, noted during a recent PHF Board meeting, Mr. Knapp has helped many of us at the national level better understand the unique needs, perspectives, and challenges of public health workers at the state and local levels. Ron Bialek, PHF’s President, recalls being in meetings of national workforce development leaders listening to Mr. Knapp quietly and respectfully making comments like, “That’s an interesting idea, and I don’t think many of our public health workers in Kentucky will use what you’re proposing to develop. Here’s what our data show in Kentucky.” And then suggestions of alternatives quickly followed. Continuing to share his knowledge and expertise, Mr. Knapp has more recently developed a series of
blog posts to help document “best practices” related to the TRAIN Learning Network.