YOUR ASSOCIATION
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Environmental Health Professionals: Stand Up and Be Recognized
Tom Butts, MSc, REHS
G reetings from Colorado. I am hon- ored to have been elected to serve as the 2023–2024 president of the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA). I have been a member since 1985. Prior to being elected to the NEHA Board of Directors, I served as the technical section co- chair for terrorism and all-hazard prepared- ness in 2003–2005 and counted NEHA elec- tion ballots back when they were paper. I have observed many changes at NEHA and am now part of working to assure we actively support the profession and build a solid foundation to continue that work moving forward. This work is not without its own challenges for a profession that regularly steps up to meet the ever-evolving list of national emerging issues to backyard disasters. The profession is faced with the need to evolve and grow. The profession is also challenged at times to manage direc- tives to trim back when economic pressures or other priorities impact their budgets—a hazard of being partly or fully funded by program fees. I have benefited from attending and pre- senting at a variety of NEHA Annual Educa- tional Conferences (AECs) over the years in great spots such as Denver, Anchorage, Las Vegas, Grand Rapids, and Spokane. I look forward to the 2023 AEC in New Orleans with anticipation about both the content and the people. The AECs and the variety of other webinars and continuing education programs and opportunities NEHA provides are quality ways to refresh knowledge, learn new skills, and engage with subject matter experts and peers from across the country.
attending many general and specialized train- ing and education programs provided by the Colorado Environmental Health Association (CEHA). The great annual educational con- ferences oered by the NEHA aliates are still the places many go to share successes and learn about new ways of doing our work. I joined CEHA as a student in 1984 and later served as a regional board member from 2007–2009 and treasurer from 2009– 2011 (yes, I did the ever-important organiza- tion tax 1099s and maintained our nonprofit good standing status). I then served as the CEHA president elect, president, and past president from 2016–2018. Working with my peers from across the state—from the uniformed services to retail food and waste- water industries—was rewarding and chal- lenging. This work helped me to understand the range of systems we operate in and the driving forces we need to acknowledge. Hav- ing support from my employer to participate in these roles to build skills and knowledge paid dividends when I took on leadership roles in the agency. Early in my career, I learned from the first environmental health director I worked for at Tri-County Health Department, Dr. Chris Wiant, that an environmental health group could play a key role identifying and working to address a wide range of commu- nity challenges. Dr. Wiant went on to serve as president of NEHA from 1992–1993. He was open to exploring new activities and programs, with the supporting funding of course, and while working to support and improve existing core environmental health programs. This exploration resulted in
I landed in the environmental health under- graduate program at Colorado State University after considering environmental engineering and other programs. The program appealed to my interests in science and the environ- ment, and how that impacts human health, disease control, and epidemiology. The final piece of this program was an internship with a toxicologist from Region 8 of the U.S. Envi- ronmental Protection Agency where I listened to community members impacted by sites in urban communities and in the rural Rocky Mountains, and witnessed the challenges of responding to large and complex sites with evolving environment data, health eects, and toxicology uncertainties. After graduating with a bachelor of science degree in environmental health with a minor in chemistry, I took an entry-level position as an environmental health specialist with the Tri-County Health Department in the Denver metropolitan area. I benefited from a well- crafted, agency-specific training program to become field ready. My knowledge and skills were also built, in a significant way, by We need to capitalize on the contacts and community members we interact with to demonstrate the value of our work.
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