Purdue nursing prof named executive chair of APHA governing council
January 14, 2015
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Pamela Aaltonen |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Pamela M. Aaltonen, associate professor and associate head of Purdue University's School of Nursing, has been elected chair of the executive board of the American Public Health Association.
The executive board is a 24-member group that serves on behalf of the association's governing council. Aaltonen became chair Nov. 19, and will hold this position for a year, and then remain on its board for 2016. In her new role, she will lead the association's executive board that is responsible for setting the strategic direction for the association, acting as advisor to the executive director, approving budgets, establishing internal policies and appointing the American Journal of Public Health's editor-in-chief.
"APHA is a leader in advocacy and education on a variety of public health issues, such as influenza, obesity, Ebola and global health, environmental health, and school-based health care, and for the public health workforce," said Aaltonen whose expertise is in public health and preparedness. "I look forward to this new role with an organization that is focused on its vision of creating the healthiest nation in one generation. The United States spends a lot more on health care but Americans live shorter lives and struggle with more health issues than our peers in other developed countries."
There are more than 50,000 individual and affiliate members in the American Public Health Association. The association's governing council is composed of 200 individuals who represent each of the state's affiliates as well as sections such as nutrition, public health nursing, health education, epidemiology, informatics and physical activity.
In addition to the American Public Health Association, Aaltonen also has served in leadership roles for the Indiana State Department of Health, Area Health Education Centers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Special Emphasis Panel, Indiana Public Health Training Center Advisory Council and the Indiana Public Health Association.
Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Source: Pamela Aaltonen, 765-494-4041, aaltonen@purdue.edu
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