From Public Health to Public Service: A Health Educator’s Path to Local Policy
Includes a Live Web Event on 07/23/2026 at 2:00 PM (EDT)
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Register
- Early bird pricing available!
- Non-member - $10
- Member - Free!
- Student Member - Free!
- Student Non-Member - $5
- Regular Price after 07/23/2026 2:00 PM
- Non-member - $20
- Member - $10
- Student Member - $5
- Student Non-Member - $10
Health education skills provide a strong foundation for effective public service, offering tools to understand community needs, build trust, and create lasting impact. This session explores why public health professionals (trained in communication, research, community engagement, and behavior change) are uniquely positioned to excel in public office. Attendees will learn how health education principles such as data-driven decision-making, equity-centered approaches, and participatory leadership translate into stronger policies and healthier communities. Through real-world lived experience, the session will highlight how skills in needs assessment, program planning, stakeholder engagement, and evaluation foster transparent governance and responsive leadership. Participants will gain insights into the value of bringing health education expertise into civic life, and be inspired to envision public office as a natural extension of health promotion work.
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Analyze how core health education skills, such as needs assessment, community engagement, communication, and program evaluation, can be applied to public office to advance equity‑centered policy.
- Develop practical strategies for translating health education expertise into civic leadership, including data‑driven decision-making, stakeholder engagement, and effective communication with diverse communities.
HESPA III Competencies Include:
5.3.1 |Adv| Explain how findings address the questions and/or hypotheses.
5.3.4 |Adv| Draw conclusions based on findings.
Sponsored by the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES®) to receive up to 1.0 total Category I contact education contact hours. Maximum advanced-level continuing education contact hours available for this session is 1.0. Provider ID #98029 and Activity ID 0126030DL.
Amy Henderson Riley, DrPH, MCHES
Deputy Mayor
Amy is the Deputy Mayor of Collingswood, New Jersey, where she brings a public health lens to local policymaking, communications, and community engagement. She was elected in 2025, becoming only the fifth woman ever elected to serve on her municipality’s governing body.
Amy holds a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) in Community Health and Prevention from the Drexel University School of Public Health and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in communication at American University’s Center for Media and Social Impact. She earned a master’s degree in Health Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree from The New School.
In addition to her public service role, Amy serves as Director of Research, Evaluation, and Impact for a U.S.-based nonprofit focused on narrative change for global sexual and reproductive health and rights. She also teaches part-time in the Master of Public Health program at Thomas Jefferson University. A Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES), Amy is passionate about translating public health principles into effective local governance. She lives in South Jersey with her husband, three children, and senior rescue dog.
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