Members adopt SOPHE bylaws changes
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Society for Public Health Education, Inc. (SOPHE) congratulates eight members elected to the SOPHE 2018-19 Board of Trustees. The new board members were inducted and began their terms of office on April 4, 2018 during the all member business meeting at SOPHE’s 69th Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio. They join 12 other board members who comprise SOPHE’s governing body.
Jean Breny, PhD, MPH, professor and chair, Department of Public Health, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Connecticut. Jean will serve a three-year term as president-elect, president and, immediate past president from April 2018 through spring 2021.
Two-year term positions:
Secretary: Elaine R. Hicks, MS/LIS, MPH, MCHES, a research, education & public health librarian at the Rudolph Matas Library of the Health Sciences at Tulane University in New Orleans. Elaine has been re-elected as secretary and will continue as a member of SOPHE’s Executive Committee.
Trustee, 2019 Annual Conference: Ping Johnson, PhD, CHES, professor of public health education, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Georgia.
Trustee, Communications: Raffy R. Luquis, PhD, MCHES, associate professor and professor-in-charge of the Master of Education in health education, Pennsylvania State University Harrisburg.
Trustee, Membership & Leadership: Keon Gilbert, DrPH, MA, MPA, associate professor, Saint Louis University, College for Public Health and Social Justice.
Trustee, Professional Preparation: Randy Cottrell, D.Ed., MCHES, professor and program coordinator, Public Health Studies Program, University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Trustee, Research & Ethics: Gayle Walter, PhD, MPH, CHES, lecturer, University of Iowa, Iowa City.
One-year term position:
Trustee, Student: Belinda-Rose Young, MSPH, CPH, doctoral student, Health Behavior Department, Gillings School of Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In addition to these individuals elected by National SOPHE members, the House of Delegates has selected the following individuals to serve as their representatives to the board: Gigi Holder, BS, CHES, from New Mexico State University, will serve as speaker of the house and a member of SOPHE’s Executive Committee; Michelle Carvalho, MPH, CHES, Region IV Public Training Center at Emory University; Terri Lee, MPH, Indiana Department of Health; and one additional delegate to be elected.
“I personally welcome our new SOPHE board members. They bring outstanding skills, vision, and partnerships to further enhance our SOPHE leadership team,” says SOPHE President Adenike Bitto, MD, DRPH, MPH, MCHES, FRSPH. “SOPHE is a trailblazer in health education and health promotion and with strong leadership, the organization is well positioned to meet our world’s growing health issues.”
In addition to electing new officers, SOPHE members adopted amendments to the Society’s bylaws. The changes bring SOPHE in conformity with the California Code, where SOPHE is incorporated, and contemporary best practices in association governance.
###
