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New Year's Message from President

31 Dec 2025
Dear NYSPHA members and the larger public health community,
 
It goes without saying that 2025 was a challenging year for public health, but I’m uplifted by all we’ve been able to accomplish collectively as a community. As the year comes to a close, I’d like to highlight a few key accomplishments and share some of what’s in store for 2026!
 
Key accomplishments in 2025:
  • We held our Public Health Partnership Conference in Ithaca in early May, with over 500 people in attendance! This conference is a partnership between NYSPHA, the New York State Association of County Health Officials (NYSACHO), and the New York State Association for Rural Health (NYSARH). The conference was preceded by a well-attended, action-oriented learning institute focused on food and sustainability!
  • We held Climate Health is Public Health: A Night at the Museum of the Earth which convened 138 professionals and community members on the topic of climate and health! The event featured a panel of local high school students doing amazing work to combat climate change, moderated by Assemblymember Anna Kelles. The event also included a guided tour of the museum’s climate exhibit, climate café discussions, and entertainment by Ithaca College acapella group Ithacapella.
  • We hosted the Express Yourself for Public Health discussion series quarterly throughout the year, with 160 public health students and professionals from across the country! These facilitated small group discussions gave people the opportunity to express how they’re feeling amid the challenges faced by public health, what they’re doing to get around those challenges, and what NYSPHA can do to support our members and the larger public health community.
  • We held a Mental Health Webinar Series throughout the year, for a total of 10 webinars and 355 attendees! Topics included social justice, comics and mental health, workplace burnout, leadership, the impact of mental health on specific professional groups (e.g., hairstylists, farmers), 988 in New York State, and opioid use disorders.
  • Our general webinar series continued strong in 2025, with presentation slots available in 2026!
  • Our Public Health in Action Committee created two new workgroups, one on Chronic Disease and the other on Maternal and Child Health! Both groups kicked off in the Fall and are open to new members!
  • We created a new student group similar to APHA’s Student Assembly. This group will give students a voice and an opportunity to shape NYSPHA efforts and activities.
  • Our Mental Health Workgroup created the NYSPHA Statewide Behavioral Health Advisory Group to convene behavioral health leaders of key organizations across the state, including the NYS Office of Mental Health, Office of Addiction Services and Supports, the NYS Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the Mental Health Association in NYS, and NYSARH. This group is helping to guide NYSPHA’s behavioral health priorities as well as set the stage for potential partnerships.
  • We launched our new website this Fall which provides members with more opportunities to interact with each other. We encourage you to create your account and jump into discussions!
 
What’s in store for 2026:
  • We will be releasing our 2026-2028 Strategic Plan early in the year.
  • We will be holding the 2026 NYS Public Health Partnership Conference from April 22-24 in Lake Placid, NY. Besides our partners NYSACHO and NYSARH, we’ve added the NYS Public Health Corps Fellowship Program as a fourth partner! Registration is now open.
  • Back by popular demand, we will be hosting another climate-related event on April 22 in Lake Placid to precede the conference. This year, there will be a full day of content; the morning session, “A Hard Rains’ Gonna Fall,” is an interactive storytelling workshop around extreme flooding, while the afternoon will include a hands-on fiber arts workshop and a student panel about the Wild Center’s pioneering Youth Climate Summit. Registration for the morning and afternoon sessions will be separate, with a discount if you plan to attend both! More information to come.
  • We plan to continue both our Mental Health Webinar Series and our Express Yourself for Public Health discussion series.
  • We are looking to plan more regional in-person meetups. If you’re interested in hosting or helping to organize a meetup in your area, please contact me at bharris@albany.edu.
 
As you can see, there are a lot of ways to get involved with NYSPHA in 2026! If you’d like to join any of our committees or workgroups, please email me at bharris@albany.edu. We will also be putting out a call for new board members early in the year, so keep your eye out for that announcement!
 
I’m truly proud of what NYSPHA has accomplished amid the challenges to public health we all experienced in 2025. We couldn’t have done this without all of you. I ask that you consider making an end-of-year donation so we can continue this important work into 2026.
 
I wish you all a Happy New Year, and I look forward to working alongside all of you in 2026 as we continue to support communities across the state!
 
Brett Harris, DrPH
President
New York State Public Health Association