YOUR ASSOCIATION
NEHA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
JoAnn Xiong-Mercado, CP-FS Marion County Health Department, Indiana
What is your favorite vacation spot and why? I have visited Mexico a few times and love their culture and food. I just applied for passports for my kids and hope to take them there soon. What is one thing that most people do not know about you that you would be willing to share? My parents are from Laos and I am Hmong. I like sharing that with people because not a lot of people have heard of my culture. There is a large Hmong population in Minnesota where my parents live
The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) is shin- ing a spotlight on the people within our membership through this feature in the Journal . This month we are pleased to introduce you to JoAnn Xiong-Mercado, a training supervisor at the Marion County Health Department in Indiana. She has been in the envi- ronmental health profession for 13 years. JoAnn manages the training program for new hires, which includes scheduling trainers and coordinating shadowing with other departments, providing in-service training to sta on a variety of topics, leading departmental projects, and hosting food safety education classes for the public. Why did you join NEHA and what aspects of member- ship have you found most valuable to your career? I won one of the Accela scholarships and attended my first NEHA Annual Educational Conference (AEC) & Exhibition in San Anto- nio, Texas—I had a great experience. I loved meeting new people, the variety of sessions oered, the game with a chance to win a registration for the next AEC, the hospitality events, and visiting a new city. I really like the online Community platform to interact with other members and to ask questions. Why did you choose the environmental health field? In college, my advisor pointed me in the direction of public health after discussing what kind of career I was interested in. I had never heard of public health before and enjoyed the classes. After col- lege, I worked in the private industry of environmental health for 4 years and needed a change. I applied for the health department and have been here since. The health department is where I really felt like I belong. If you weren’t an environmental health professional, what other profession would you like to work in? Before I had kids, I was a sanitation adjunct for our local culinary school. I loved it and would probably do that if I wasn’t in environ- mental public health. Please describe any hobbies, activities, or causes you are passionate about. I love finding secondhand items for my wardrobe and home, and my kids love shopping at thrift stores. I buy secondhand as my way to help reduce waste. My husband and I love playing live trivia on date nights. Our team name is “No Sports Questions” because we are sports-illiterate.
and there is a small Hmong community in Indiana. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
When I was little, I loved watching cooking shows and wanted to go to culinary school. Our health department supports higher education and has an education tuition assistance program. I was approved to enroll as it is related to my job and now I have a culinary degree. I was selected out of 15 applicants to go to France for a 2-week travel abroad program. That trip was definitely an experience and a highlight of culinary school. One of these days I will get my master’s degree. Who do you look up to and why? I would have to say my mother-in-law. I appreciate how much she helps us with the kids, does not overstep in examples of parent- ing, and is a genuinely nice person. Her son, my husband, really is the best! Is there a resource you frequently use for your work that you would recommend for other environmental health professionals? I like watching TED Talks on YouTube in my spare time. I learn so much about dierent things. What was the best professional advice given to you? I went to a manager inclusivity training and in talking about how to lead an organization, someone mentioned “responsibly failing” and not seeing everything as a mistake. These situations are learn- ing opportunities for managers, individuals, leaders, and organi- zations. Learning what doesn’t work can be more valuable than learning what does work. You can reflect on, question, and take apart what didn’t work to understand the process. Is there anything else that we did not ask that you would like to share? I love The O ce , Neapolitan ice cream is the best because you get all three flavors, and my favorite color is pink. We thank JoAnn Xiong-Mercado for sharing with us!
50
Volume 87 • Number 3
Powered by FlippingBook