YOUR ASSOCIATION
NEHA REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE PROFILES
The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) is governed by a corporate Board of Directors who oversee the aairs of the association. The board is made up of two groups: national ocers and regional vice-presidents (RVPs). NEHA has nine dierent regions. See page 50 for a listing of the regions and the states and groups each region represents. RVPs are elected by NEHA active and life members in their respective regions. RVPs serve 3-year terms. Election policy specifies that candidate profiles for RVPs be limited to 400 words in total length. If a candidate’s profile exceeds that limit, the policy requires that the profile is terminated at the last sentence before the 400-word limit is exceeded. In addition, the submitted profiles have not been grammatically edited, but presented as submitted and within the 400-word limitation. Three regions are up for election this year—Region 1, Region 5, and Region 7. The candidates are listed alphabetically by region.
Region 1
development for piped drinking water and sanitation services in rural Alaska, and policy analysis of Alaska’s climate adaptation and mitiga- tion options. He teaches courses on Arctic Policy as well as Principled Negotiation. He has worked at two Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories and in Alaska’s 29th State Legislature. He served in the Oce of the Governor as a Strategic Planner and Policy Analyst dur- ing Hon. Gov. Jay S. Hammond’s 2nd Administration. He is a national subject matter expert on Climate and Health, focusing his e¡orts on the wide range of impacts a¡ecting Alaska’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and their impacts on human health and sustainability. Dr. Konkel and Prof. Joe Beck founded the Masters in Environ- mental Health Science (MEHS) at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, KY. The program grew to 45 graduate students in its first 5 years. The program achieved CEPH (Council on Education in Public Health) accreditation in 2004; its status has been success- fully renewed every 5 years. He also served 5 years as an Associate Professor in the University of Kentucky’s College of Public Health (CPH). Subsequently he was awarded a Fulbright Professorship in Dublin, Ireland, where he created a new EH research institute. He combines innovative academic program and course development with applied environmental public health practice. Region 5 Jaime Estes, MS, CP-FS, PCQI
Bill Emminger I have over 42 years of experience working with state and local environmental health programs in Indiana, Utah, and Oregon. I have had the honor to serve as Presidents of both the Oregon and Indiana Environmental Health Associations and as Vice-President/ President Elect of the Utah Environmental
Health Association. During my career I have been a guest lecturer at various state and national environmental health conferences, col- leges, and universities. I helped both the states of Oregon and Utah to adopt the FDA Food Code and in helping Utah to adopt the Food Safety Manager Certification Act and rules. After working twenty years as the Environmental Health Director in Benton County Ore- gon, I retired on July 1, 2022. As Region 1 Vice-President I am look- ing forward to using my experience to promote and advocate for the environmental health profession. Dr. Steve Konkel
Dr. Steve Konkel, PhD, Candidate for NEHA Region 1 RVP serving Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Idaho, is running on the theme “Competence, Vision, & Environmental Health Solutions.” A NEHA member since 1999, he has served in various positions, such as Technical Section Head/Technical
Jaime Estes is currently Director of Food Safety with Albertsons Companies Corporate Oces based out of Plano, Texas. Jaime has spent 20+ years in the environmental and public health fields, the last 10 years with Albertsons Companies. Jaime’s current role with Albert- sons focuses on driving and implementing
Advisor. A frequent presenter and planner for NEHA’s AECs, Dr. Konkel has presented findings and lessons learned at every AEC on EH topics such as drinking water and sanitation, hazardous waste, sustainable development, and climate and health. He is cur- rently working with colleagues drafting NEHA’s Climate Change Policy Statement. He has presented ideas on environmental health workforce development to the NEHA Board of Directors, and par- ticipated in the International Faculty Forum on Environmental Health (IFFEH) internationally at World Congresses. Dr. Konkel has published numerous academic articles and chapters in books, dating back to his pathbreaking MIT doctoral research. Based in Anchorage, Alaska, he has consulted on scien- tific and technical aspects of Environmental Health (EH) policy, programs, and projects, plus regulatory matters, since 2012. His program and policy evaluations in Alaska include the State’s first inventory and economic analysis of wind generation, program
standardization within Division retail store food safety and sanitation programs, pest control programs, and ensuring regulatory compli- ance. Prior to joining Albertsons Companies, she worked for National Everclean Services in Agoura Hills, California and the Department of Defense in Fort Hood, Texas. Jaime is an active member of the Texas Environmental Health Association (TEHA), recently completing her 3-year State Governing Council Member term and continues to serve as Chair for the Committee on Constitution, Bylaws and Policies. She is an active member of the Conference for Food Protection and National Environmental Health Association. Jaime holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Entomology from Texas A&M University and a Mas- ter of Science degree in Food Safety from Michigan State University.
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Volume 85 • Number 7
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