Specialist (HHS). I am also a Certified Health Ocer (CHO) in Massachusetts. Further, I hold a master of public health and a master of arts in public administration. I was invited to join the board of the Mas- sachusetts Environmental Health Associa- tion (MEHA) and became its president. As its education chair, I refocused our quarterly meetings to focus on practice-ready oer- ings, sharing information that environmental public health practitioners can implement in practice immediately. While attending the NEHA 2015 Annual Educational Conference (AEC) & Exhibi- tion in Orlando, Florida, I witnessed Dr. David Dyjack, our new executive director, address the association for the first time. I knew that the regional vice-president (RVP) of Region 9 was stepping down, and I wanted to be part of Dr. Dyjack’s new vision for NEHA. I discussed the vacancy with Pat- rick Maloney, a past Region 9 RVP and my friend and mentor, who encouraged me to run and guided my candidacy. I was elected to the board in 2016. I committed to serving two terms as Region 9 RVP, and then I ran
for national oce in 2022 and was elected as second vice-president. I was instrumental in getting the online Community site set up. I look forward to fur- ther engagement with our members. I want to look at new and emerging environmental health challenges and to turn our focus away from regulation to a more scientific approach to what we do. We need to pursue enhanced marketing programs that inform our com- munities and bring greater recognition to the practice of environmental public health. I look forward to further engagement with all our partners, which will create a space for early practitioners to learn from or connect with seasoned practitioners to get advice or be mentored by them. NEHA is made up of not only the board of directors and its executive director, sta, and technical advisors but also its member- ship. There are many opportunities available to support and participate in the advance- ment of your profession. Please avail yourself of those opportunities. We as a profession are doers, not talkers. We solve problems and move on to the next one. We do not spend
enough time claiming what we have done, nor do we get the recognition for our work, which could be the reason for us being a hid- den profession. So, let us all work together to claim our space and gain the recognition we deserve. If you have an idea, please feel free to reach out to me. As I close this column, I leave you with the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfel- low taken from his poem, The Ladder of St. Augustine . These words are an apt description of our profession and our association: “The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.” I would like to thank every environmental health professional for all you do daily, not for recognition but for the satisfaction that we are keeping our communities safe. Thank you again for the opportunity to serve as your president.
lramdin@neha.org
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July/August 2025 • Journal of Environmental Health
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