Degutis, Saylor nominated to fill role as APHA's next president-elect.

The following are biographical sketches and personal statements from the candidates for APHA president-elect. The member elected by the Governing Council will become president-elect at the close of the 2006 APHA Annual Meeting and assume presidency at the close of the 2007 Annual Meeting.

The candidate

LINDA C. DEGUTIS, DrPH, is director of the Yale Center for Public Health Preparedness at the Yale School of Public Health, associate professor in the Department of Surgery and the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Yale University School of Medicine and associate clinical professor at the Yale University School of Nursing. Her professional career has included serving as director of the New Haven, Conn., Regional Injury Prevention and Control Program and as coordinator of the trauma program at the Yale School of Medicine's Department of Surgery and Yale-New Haven Hospital. She was also a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow and worked in the office of former U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn.

A member of APHA since 1984, Degutis currently serves as chair of the Executive Board. She also serves on the Executive Board's Finance and Audit Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, Strategic Outcomes Committee and as Publications Board liaison. She has chaired APHA's Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section, the Joint Policy Committee's Reference Committee and is a member of the Injury Control and Emergency Health Services and Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Sections.

Degutis' professional activities include being a member of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine and serving as chair of its Injury Prevention Interest Group. She is involved in the Governor's Prevention Partnership and is a member of the National Association for Public Health Policy and the Research Society on Alcoholism. She also is on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Coalition for Education Against Gun Violence and is a member of APHA's Connecticut Affiliate.

Her statement

Through its diverse membership, APHA is in a unique position to influence the health of the nation. The challenges and opportunities that are presented in shaping a system that will allow universal access to health care and universal coverage for care, that builds communities that are safe and healthy, that bases policy on science and that provides clean air and water and safe food, are best addressed by an organization such as APHA.

APHA is already working to improve the public health infrastructure and ensure that public health is seen as a priority in the policy arena. We need to work more closely with our Affiliates and state and local health departments and make certain that rather than losing support, they gain the support they need. We need to encourage students to enter the public health work force and provide support for their education. In all of this, we need to tap the expertise of our members and engage them in the activities of APHA and in advocating for improvements in the public health system and public health.

My background has provided me with opportunities to learn about multiple facets of public health, including provision of services at all levels, professional education, research and public policy. As president-elect, I would work to:

* increase public understanding and awareness of public health and the need to support public health initiatives on local, state and national levels;

* encourage students to make a commitment to a career in public health through support for increased opportunities for student involvement in APHA;

* increase science-based policy development; and

* enhance the ability of APHA members to advocate for public health priorities at the local, state and national levels through improved communication, access to information and ongoing development of relationships with grassroots organizations, coalitions and other professional organizations.

--Linda C. Degutis, DrPH

The candidate

BRIAN M. SAYLOR, PhD, MPH, is director of the Institute of Circumpolar Health Studies at the University of Alaska Anchorage, where he oversees the continuing development of funded research programs and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in support of the Nursing, Public Administration, Social Work and Public Health schools. His major career emphasis has been advocating for rural health issues and representing needs of rural health providers and consumers.

Saylor has been a member of APHA since the mid-1970s and has served on the Governing Council and the Executive Board, as well as the Executive Board's Finance and Audit Committee, Development Committee and Nominating Committee. He is a member of the Health Administration Section and has served as the Section's representative to the Governing Council and chair of the Section's Policy Development Committee. He is a member of the American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Caucus, served as Caucus treasurer and has represented Region X on the Committee on Affiliates. He has been involved with the Task Force on Association Improvement and Reorganization and other efforts to review and update the structure of the organization, and on three occasions has served as president of APHA's Alaska Affiliate.

Saylor has been active in the public health field in Alaska since 1974 and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malaysia during the 1970s. He was appointed by the governor of Alaska to serve as deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and was director of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute. He is a board member of the Alaska Injury Prevention Center.

His statement

We all believe passionately in the value of the public's health. This is both a moral and a practical value. In our current political and economic environment, the practical value of the public's health might deserve more emphasis. Maintaining the public's health is an essential element in managing the increasing health care costs and spurring economic development.

As the cost of medical care continues to increase, the value of public health is moving to the front burner of the public consciousness. Strong preventive programs that keep people healthy can help reduce the demand for medical care. APHA is the nation's leading advocate for these critical programs, and now is the time to step up our advocacy efforts.

A healthy work force is essential for our national economic development. Illness-related absenteeism, lost work days associated with stressful work environments and occupational injuries threaten the productivity of our work force. Some communities cannot assemble enough healthy workers to sustain economic enterprises. Our workers must be healthy and productive to compete in a global marketplace.

I recognize that the president of APHA is the visible representative of the APHA membership and publicly articulates the policies of the organization. As a longtime member of APHA, I appreciate the importance of a president who can work collaboratively with numerous groups and points of view to implement APHA policy.

My experience on the APHA Executive Board and Governing Council and familiarity with internal workings of APHA can benefit the Association's activities. As a member of the Executive Board, I served on the Finance and Development committees during a period of transition. I have close relations with the Affiliates, my Section--Health Administration--and the AI/AN/ NH Caucus. I believe this experience will allow me to effectively represent the APHA membership and policies in the coming year.

--Brian M. Saylor, PhD, MPH

About the 2006 APHA election slate

The 2006 candidates for APHA president-elect and the Executive Board, profiled on the following two pages, were selected by the Association's Nominating Committee.

In choosing the eight candidates, the committee sought APHA members who had experience and leadership both across the Association and the field of public health. In addition, the committee sought candidates who demonstrated:

* an ability to make a significant time commitment;

* an understanding of the Executive Board's fiduciary responsibility;

* a willingness to represent all members, not a specific agenda;

* strategic planning, organizational management and consensus building skills;

* legal and development experience; and

* diverse geographic, ethnic, racial and gender representation.

As APHA does not hold direct elections, the president-elect and Executive Board members are chosen by the APHA Governing Council, members of which will vote on the candidates at the 134th APHA Annual Meeting in Boston in November.

For more information on the APHA 2006 election slate, e-mail <[e-mail]> or call [phone].