NEHA Annual Report: FY2023

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Annal Report of the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA).

Annual Report 2023 FY

To build, sustain, and empower an effective environmental health workforce

From Our President

From Our Executive Director

It has been my honor and privilege to represent the wide range of dedicated,

American writer Walter Lippman once quipped, “Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.” These sentiments echo in my thoughts as I reflect on our performance during fiscal year 2022– 2023. I believe you will find there is much to like and admire in the data we present in this report. Perfect? No. Good? You are the customer and have the privilege of making that judgement.

We recognize our focus on providing resources and education to empower our members and support our affiliates to spread the word about the wonderful world of environmental health. The environmental public health profession continues to be challenged by a lack of recognition for the important work we do to safeguard food, water, housing, and so much more. We took bold steps in leading an advertising campaign to help communities and policymakers understand the importance of the workforce. We also continue to advocate and support legislation that improves environmental public health—with more to come in 2024. Together, we will raise the profile of the environmental health profession for the greatest good! Although every year has presented us with unique challenges, it has been my pleasure to see both environmental health professionals and our staff come together in extraordinary ways.

quality training and education you have come to expect so that you know what you need to know when you need to know it.

hardworking environmental health professionals working in local, state, and federal governments, industry, and academia this past year. We are proud to have supported this good work through collaborations with CDC and FDA to provide significant investments directly to state, local, tribal, and territorial environmental health programs and to reach diverse communities. We have reached far and wide to support our peers as they face program changes with government relations resources and a strong effort for our Hill Day. We also continue to strive to provide up-to-date science and find opportunities to build and strengthen the environmental public health workforce through collaboration with accredited education programs and a well-supported internship program. We have insightfully worked to strengthen the ever-evolving educational offerings, including written materials, online and in-person trainings, courses and certificates, e-learning, and scholarships to our fantastic AEC & Exhibition.

We are thinking differently and challenging old ways of doing business. For example, many of our counterparts have abandoned hybrid conference offerings because of expense. We know many of you are unable to travel and subsequently we have maintained our commitment to provide you that option. We have published over 30 scientific articles on the environmental health workforce in the last 6 years. That is a record of thought leadership for which I am particularly proud. Last year we delivered course content to professionals in all 50 states and most U.S. territories. In sum, that is performance data we stand by. And we accomplished that by thinking differently—about you, about us, and about our mission.

Most readers familiar with my leadership philosophy understand that I believe it is the who and not the what that make organizations special. This year we doubled down on recruiting the right who so that our what would naturally spring from our nationally distributed workforce. The evidence speaks for itself. We employ five doctoral degree holders on staff and work daily with two others on mission-critical activities. That’s roughly 10% of our workforce. An additional five employees have master’s degrees and there are at least five additional individuals with nationally recognized credentials. Our staff, irrespective of education or status, bring their talents to bear to deliver the

Tom Butts Board President

David Dyjack Executive Director

III

Table of Contents

Igniting Potential: Building the Next Generation

Future-Proofing: Sharing Resources & Education for Evolving Needs

Cultivating Growth: Training & Investing for Improved Health Outcomes

Global Collaboration: Charting the Path Forward Together

Leading the Conversation: Elevating Visibility With Decision-Makers

Igniting Potential: Building the Next Generation

CURRENTLY CERTIFY 6,111 credentials for environmental health professionals. Each credential certifies not only the knowledge and skill of the individual but also lifts up the profession as a whole. A total of 1,330 environmental health professionals took a credential exam with us in 2023.

In the next 5 years, we will lose one half of the environmental heath workforce to retirement. In response, our work in 2023 was even more intentionally focused on creating opportunities to strengthening skills for environmental health students as well as the existing workforce.

2,591 Certified Professional – Food Safety

4 Certified in Food Safety Supplier Audits

16 Certified Environmental Health Technician 2

1 Registered Hazardous Substances Specialist

3,259 Registered

3RD YEAR of providing career development and experience for environmental public health students and supporting environmental public health departments through our National Environmental Public Health Internship Program (NEPHIP). • 41 students (13 graduate, 28 undergraduate) • 33 host sites

3RD YEAR of helping to build management and leadership skills for our environmental health leaders of tomorrow through our Environmental Health Leadership Academy (EHLA). • 29 participants in 2022–2023; 68 since 2021 “ I appreciated the opportunity to mentor and share experiences with environmental health professionals who were eager to learn, grow, and build their leadership skills. Their enthusiasm was contagious. It also helped me see new perspectives. ” - EHLA Mentor

“ After graduation, I plan to enter the career field as an environmental health specialist. I hope to be able to translate my education in environmental health to be able to impact the lives of those in my community and ensure that they are cared for and protected from environmental hazards. ” - Mitchell Kutz, Student, University of Findlay

Environmental Health Specialist / Registered Sanitarian

52 Certified in Comprehensive Food Safety

6 Registered Hazardous Substances Professional

Registered Environmental Technician

16 Certified Foodborne

115 Healthy Homes Specialist

49 Certified Installer of Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems

Outbreak Investigator

“

Through my internship, I’ve been able to gain experience in a field very different from my previous field opportunities or lab work, which has made me more confident to enter the environmental health workforce after school. ” - Summer 2023 Intern

“ The REHS/RS credential enabled a vertical fast track for me in my organization. It also provides a level of credibility in discussing legislative issues or in courtroom situations. ” - Brian Collins, NEHA Credential Holder

AWARDED $9,050 in scholarships to undergraduate and graduate environmental health students.

Future-Proofing: Sharing Resources & Education for Evolving Needs

“ Keynotes were the best I’ve seen in 15 years! ” “ I thoroughly enjoyed every part and session. ” “ I am so glad that I went, I had a wonderful time and learned a lot of valuable information!”

DEVELOPED and delivered 16 FDA Retail Food Safety courses to 456 professionals and produced new and updated content and materials. “ The interactive training approach and enthusiastic expertise of the instructors/coordinators helped to keep the learning process engaging and exciting. ” “ This was by far the best FDA course I have taken. The instructors were great. ” “ Overall a wonderful experience. Perfect start and end time, enthusiastic instructors, not too many breakout group activities, just the right amount of polling questions, and material was presented well. ” PUBLISHED 10 issues of the Journal of Environmental Health to provide the workforce the most up-to-date and practical information to support emerging and expanding environmental risks. • 32 peer-reviewed articles published • 50 columns and feature stories published • ~27,000 direct and indirect recipients of the Journal

Our climate and environment are continuing to change, leading to mounting environmental risks the workforce must address. Our resources address ongoing and emerging issues to help prepare the workforce for the challenges they face now and into tomorrow.

“ Thank you, NEHA, for writing to inform me about this life and community saving tool! It is so very timely, especially with the ongoing public health emergency dimension the Canadian wildfire has presented in recent times, which affected the environmental air quality observed in multiple states across the United States. ” - Dandison Nat Ebeh, NEHA Member

DEVELOPED more than 200 resources, publications, and articles for environmental health professionals • Standard for Aquatic Facility Environments–Data (SAFE-D) Best Practices Guide • Model for Analysis, Sharing, and Standardizing Food Electronic Environmental Data (MASS.FEED) • Food Code Adoption Toolkit and Map • Foodborne Illness Outbreak Resource Library • Impact of Climate Change on Alaska Natives Article • Climate Story Map

BROUGHT TOGETHER more than 1,300 environmental health professionals from city, county, and state health departments, federal agencies, international organizations, and the private sector to share findings and create connections at our Annual Educational Conference (AEC) & Exhibition.

LAUNCHED our Body Art Facility Inspector Training (BAFIT) and updated our national Body Art Model Code (BAMC) . The BAMC is the only comprehensive model code that addresses current body art issues and public health risks. • 31 training attendees • 274 changes requested for the BAMC • 42 committee members participated in updating the BAMC • 12 body art resources available “ This course was absolutely phenomenal. It was very comprehensive yet delivered a plethora of information in a clear and concise format that engaged participants and enhanced our learning. ” - 2023 BAFIT Participant “ This course greatly

• 235 Educational Sessions • 12 Preconference Sessions • 1,322 Attendees • 47% First-Time Attendees • 92 Student and Intern Attendees

Best Practice Guide Standard for Aquatic Facility Environments (SAFE-D)

• 40 webinars on emerging issues ranging from conflict escalation to addressing nail salon hazards in a collaborative and culturally sensitive way. • Wildfire Guide For Environmental Public Health Professionals

Guide for Environmental Public Health Professionals

expanded my knowledge of body art inspections and is something that I will take with me as I pursue a career in public health. ” - 2023 BAFIT Participant

Summer 2023

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION 720 South Colorado Blvd., Ste. 105A, Denver, CO 80246

Cultivating Growth: Training & Investing for Improved Health Outcomes

Perhaps more than ever, the workforce requires new skills and knowledge to prepare for and respond to continued and emerging environmental risks. In 2023, we made significant efforts to modernize study materials, bring together the workforce, and secure substantial grants to support the workforce and the communities they serve.

AWARDED $7,384,909 in the second year of the NEHA-FDA Retail Flexible Funding Model Grant Program to jurisdictions to reduce foodborne illness risk factors and implement the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards. • 45 states awarded • 193 local jurisdictions awarded • 77 new jurisdictions applied

UPDATED our food safety study materials to the FDA 2022 Food Code and revised the materials with fresh content, new discussion and assessment questions, and a new and more usable study format.

CREATED EXPLORERS in the NEARS Program to encourage jurisdictions to use the National Environmental Assessment Reporting System (NEARS) to conduct and track environmental assessments during foodborne illness outbreaks. • 30 NEARS Explorers in 2023 • 51 participants of NEARS User Meetings “ The NEARS training has helped us reexamine and improve our environmental assessments for outbreak investigation. ” - Participant “ I walked away with a notebook full of notes, contacts, and resources. All sessions were informative and I found value in all of them. ” - Participant

1,392 REHS/RS Study Guides and references sold

954 CP-FS materials sold

8,144 Food Manager materials sold

4,529 Professional Food Handler books sold

100% state-level 88% local-level 100% of state-level and 88% of local-level funding went to jurisdictions with high social needs.

HOSTED the InFORM 2023 Regional Meetings that brought together 640 foodborne and enteric disease outbreak response professionals to share knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned. “ I gained insight into how some of the larger, multistate outbreaks are investigated and handled, especially from environmental and other regulatory agencies’ perspectives. ” “ Getting to see how an investigation proceeds from first complaint to data collection, WGS results, EHS sampling, was very informative, entertaining, and helpful. ”

1,040 Food Handler certificates provided

1,817 online courses given (does not include credential courses)

1,873 individuals accessed our courses

“ I think the Standards, along with the mentorship grant, have really elevated our profession as a whole because we feel like we’re all kind of headed in the same direction now. ” - Awardee “ Receiving this funding for our Special Project was needed to help us officially launch our statewide food complaint system. ” - Awardee

MODERNIZED and updated our suite of CP-FS study materials and the REHS/RS Practice Exam, including a face-to-face study course, online review course, and new formats, videos, questions, ebooks, and e-flash cards.

“ Why membership? It’s a lot of fun and intellectually stimulating to be surrounded by people who are dedicated to EH. Value? To exchange ideas and be mentored by colleagues

EXPANDED opportunities for engagement, support, and knowledge-sharing across the profession to build expertise and alignment across the field.

Global Collaboration: Charting the Path Forward Together

• 7,070 NEHA members • 21 countries represented • 2,953 active members on our Community platform • 1,025 Emerging Professional members

who are passionate about the same profession that I love, to access new information and resources, and to discover new opportunities for career growth. Benefits? To be invited for projects that were not on my radar that helped me become more confident as I set out to start my own food safety business. NEHA will open doors for you so the choice is yours to participate a little or a lot. ”

In our global economy, bacteria, viruses, pollution, and contamination know no borders. Across the world we face a shared environmental health future. That’s why in 2023, we increased our collaborations with worldwide partners to share resources, perspectives, and ideas, and address emerging and environmental justice issues.

BROUGHT training and leadership to disparately impacted communities

MANAGED 9 collaborative communities/committees with 122 participants from across the country

• Data technology training in the U.S. Virgin Islands • Childhood lead poisoning prevention in the U.S. Pacific Islands and Tribal Lands • Environmental Public Health Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Training in Palau • Guam and Saipan Food Safety trainings • Scientific Committee member at the 3rd International Conference on One Health • Indoor Air Pollution Live Chat with Environmental Health Australia • Workshop with Ghana to build strong environmental health systems • Presentation at the European Mosquito Control Association conference

• Private Water and Septic Systems

• Climate and Health • Concurrent Disasters

- Ellen Schroth, REHS

• National Environmental Public Health Internship Program • Vector Control

• Food Safety • Informatics • Preparedness

APPROVED transition of our Journal of Environmental Health to open access, giving greater visibility and impact for our authors, columnists, advertisers, partners, and the workforce as a whole and creating equitable access to our research and content.

Leading the Conversation: Elevating Visibility With Decision-Makers

Sign-On Letters

Blog Posts

To protect the communities they serve, it’s imperative that the workforce is recognized and supported both financially and politically. In 2023 we made strides to amplify the profession’s voice and influence among policymakers through innovative campaigns and targeted advocacy at both state and federal levels.

Webinars

Support of Congressional Bills

ENGAGED South Dakota decision-makers with the Food Safety Heroes advertising campaign that reached a level of engagement far above average industry rates.

Letters to Congress

Letters to the Presidential Administration and Federal Agencies

• 1.1 million impressions • 439,272 video views • 39.9% video view rate

Policy Statements to Federal and State Legislators

Congressional Office Visits

Hill Day Virtual Visits to Congressional Offices

ADVOCATED for environmental public health professionals at the federal level to promote the importance of a well-supported and well-funded workforce.

REACHED Ohio decision-makers with the Swipe Right advertising campaign to promote the work of environmental health professionals at local and state levels. The campaign received outstanding visibility and rates of engagement.

• 6.9 million impressions • 1.9 million video views

Funding October 1, 2022 - September 30, 2023

FY2023 Revenue $17,258,652

FY2023 Expenses $16,394,575

FY2023 Funders $14,172,387

0.5%

0.4%

0.5%

2.5%

14.4%

3.1%

5.4%

5.7%

27%

72%

85.2%

82.1%

Grants & Contracts

Credentialing & Continuing Education

Membership Dues

Online Courses & Book Sales

Food and Drug Administration

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Program Services

Management & General

Fundraising

Other* *Other = Guam, InFORM Contract, NNPHI, National Cancer Institutes, Rural Community Assistance Program, and Virginia Department of Health

Journal of Environmental Health

AEC

Other

More to come in 2024

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