New Orleans, Louisiana
Education & Training
The 2023 AEC served as a dynamic plat- form where environmental health profes- sionals, educators, researchers, policy- makers, and visionaries converged to explore the ever-evolving landscape of environmental health. This year’s confer- ence hosted 228 educational sessions with 359 speakers, 7 plenary sessions, ñŪė Ưłğ ǏňğǐňŪĺ ŵĹ̓̐ ƣĐňğŪƯňȌĐ ƘŵƣƯğƛƣ͒ The more than 1,300 conference attend- ees—nearly 1,200 in-person attendees and 150 virtual attendees—had to make hard choices on which sessions to attend during the span of the conference. Keynote speaker Lt. General Honoré spoke a second time and presented a deeper drive into crisis leadership within the Emergency Preparedness & Response track. This session was the highest attended breakout presentation of the conference. He was also available for the signing of his book, Leadership in the New Normal, A Short Course . The Food Safety track was highly attended with sessions that packed the rooms, including: • Evaluating and Improving Food Safety at Temporary Events • Commercial Ice Machine Contamina- tion: How to Properly Inspect and Clean • A Food Safety Panel: Achieving Active Managerial Control Through Food Safety Consultation • Have You Been Cleaning Wrong All Along? How Overlooking the Cleaning Step Hurts the Sanitation Goals of the Food Code Additional session track presentations that were standing-room only and had a high virtual attendance were: • Workforce & Leadership—Conflict De-escalation • Climate & Health—Climate Change and Environmental Public Health: Research Strategies and Tools for Practitioners • Infectious & Vectorborne Diseases— Climate Change Impact on Growing Threats of Vectorborne Disease A new educational track added to the 2023 AEC was the NEHA-FDA Retail Flexible Funding Model (RFFM) Grant Program, which provided attendees with information on applying for grants, grant maintenance, and advancement, as well as guidance on mentorship, special proj-
ects, and training. The 2023 AEC also fea- ƯƷƛğėñƯƛñĐśƣƘğĐňȌĐƯŵƯłğğŪǏňƛŵŪŨğŪƯñş health issues encountered in Louisiana. Of the attendees who completed our survey after the conference, 87% indi- cated they agreed or strongly agreed that the conference sessions provided the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in their jobs. Furthermore, 88% of survey respondents stated they agreed or strongly agreed that the con-
ference session topics were relevant and applicable to their jobs. Overall, the quality of the educational sessions was rated as good or excellent by 93% of survey respondents. The multitrack educational aim of the conference is to delve deep into the trans- formative power of knowledge, exchange ideas that challenge the status quo, and chart a course for the future of learning with enlightenment, collaboration, and change.
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November 2023 • our4(l o- 4;0ro4me49(l e(l9/
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