Public Health Epidemiology Conversations
- Episodes
- 502
- Released
- weekly
- Latest episode
- Nov 10, 2026
About the podcast
Public Health Epidemiology Conversations (PHEC) features real stories from public health professionals creating change beyond traditional roles. Hosted by Dr. Charlotte Hughes Huntley, a seasoned epidemiologist and public health consultant, PHEC has delivered a new episode every Tuesday since 2017. That's over 450 episodes and counting. Find show notes and episode resources at PHECpodcast.com. This show is for public health professionals at every career stage, from students and early-career practitioners to seasoned leaders navigating complex systems. It is also for the interdisciplinary professionals who work alongside public health every day: physicians, social workers, attorneys, educators, environmental scientists, policymakers, nonprofit leaders, and community advocates. If your work touches population health, this podcast was made for you. Each episode explores the broad, often unexpected reach of public health through in-depth conversations with practitioners working across traditional and emerging roles. Dr. Huntley brings over two decades of epidemiological and strategic expertise to every conversation, translating complex public health concepts into plain language that is both accessible and actionable. Topics include disease prevention, workforce development, policy advocacy, community health assessment, emergency preparedness, health communication, and the evolving role of technology in public health practice. PHEC goes beyond the textbook. It is where public health professionals find inspiration, practical guidance, and the reminder that their work matters, even when the landscape is difficult. Ready to go deeper? Join a growing community of public health professionals connecting, collaborating, and growing their impact inside the PHEC Podcast Community at PHECpodcastcommunity.com. Dr. Charlotte Hughes Huntley is the founder of DrCHHuntley, LLC, a public health consulting firm helping organizations transform data into action. Learn more at DrCHHuntley.com.
Episodes 502
PHEC 482: What Makes a Community Sticky, with Chelsea Richard, PhD, MSPH
What makes a community the kind of place people want to call home? In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Dr. Chelsea Richard, Vice President of Strategy and Operations at the Central Carolina Community …
Show notes
What makes a community the kind of place people want to call home? In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Dr. Chelsea Richard, Vice President of Strategy and Operations at the Central Carolina Community Foundation, who set out to answer that question across 11 counties in the Midlands of South Carolina. After a decade in state public health and early childhood work, Dr. Richard is now leading a community assessment that gathered input from about 3,500 people and took her into 18 focus groups, including a bustling community center in Calhoun County on a hundred-degree afternoon. She shares how starting with what is already working in a community, from welcoming parks to busy public spaces, can guide where a funder invests, and why making those spaces easy to use matters as much as having them at all. Dr. Richard also reflects on a career path that was sparked by a mentor at a Boston hospital, carried her through a PhD earned while working full time, and recently included a run for county council. If you have ever wondered how to listen to a community in a way that leads to lasting change, this conversation will leave you with ideas you can put to work right away.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 481: Health Beyond Hospital Walls, With Monty Robertson, MHA
What happens when a plan to become a dentist turns into a career bringing 55 organizations together to improve health across an entire state? In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Monty Robertson …
Show notes
What happens when a plan to become a dentist turns into a career bringing 55 organizations together to improve health across an entire state? In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Monty Robertson, executive director of the Alliance for a Healthier South Carolina, who was born, raised, and educated in small-town South Carolina. Monty shares how a pivot into health administration and his time in a hospital clinic opened his eyes to everything that shapes our health outside the doctor's office. He saw patients facing housing, transportation, and insurance challenges. Today he leads a partnership that includes hospitals, insurers, housing and education agencies, and companies like Boeing and Michelin, all working toward one shared goal. You'll also hear why Monty sees physical and mental health as deeply connected, and why storytelling may be one of public health's most powerful tools. If you've ever wondered whether there's a place for you in public health, this conversation is a reminder that everyone has a role to play.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 480: Making Public Health Make Sense
How would you explain public health to someone who has never heard of it? In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with four Master of Public Health candidates from the Medical University of South Carolina …
Show notes
How would you explain public health to someone who has never heard of it? In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with four Master of Public Health candidates from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): Emily Burdette, Keara Hagerman, Cania James, and Taylor Simon. Each of them answers that question with a fresh, everyday picture, from a car that runs best with routine maintenance, to a ball pit everyone shares, to a spider web held together by threads you never notice until one snaps. Along the way, they share the work that fuels their passion, including violence intervention, protecting fertility options for young cancer patients, car seat safety for kids, and at-home HIV testing research in Nairobi, Kenya. You will walk away with simple, memorable ways to talk about public health with your own friends and family, plus a big dose of hope from a new generation of leaders who are ready to stir the pot.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 479: Care After Dark, With Jeff Hom, MD
What happens when someone who uses opioids finally feels ready for help at 10 o'clock at night? In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Dr. Jeffrey Hom, an internal medicine physician and the Medical …
Show notes
What happens when someone who uses opioids finally feels ready for help at 10 o'clock at night? In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Dr. Jeffrey Hom, an internal medicine physician and the Medical Officer for Science and Policy in the Substance Use Services section of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Dr. Hom shares how years of volunteering at one of San Francisco's busiest soup kitchens showed him how closely food, housing, and health are tied together, and how that lesson still guides his work today. You'll hear how a late-night telehealth line for people experiencing homelessness grew into a drop-in clinic with more than 10,000 visits in just two years, and how a campaign called Living Proof invites San Franciscans in recovery to tell their own stories (and even co-author the research about it). Dr. Hom also opens up about the policy efforts that didn't succeed, what they taught him about coalitions and timing, and why the rules at your own clinic, school, or workplace may be the most powerful place to start making change.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 478: One Year Leading Baltimore Health, With Michelle Taylor, MD, MP
What happens when three different people tell you a job is meant for you, and you laugh off every one of them? Dr. Michelle Taylor returns to the podcast on her one-year anniversary as Commissioner of Health …
Show notes
What happens when three different people tell you a job is meant for you, and you laugh off every one of them? Dr. Michelle Taylor returns to the podcast on her one-year anniversary as Commissioner of Health for the Baltimore City Health Department, and she shares the surprising chain of conversations that carried her from her hometown of Memphis to Baltimore. Dr. Huntley and Dr. Taylor also celebrate the wins that rarely make headlines, including a coordinated overdose response in which every single person survived and a long-running program that is helping close the gap between how many Black and white babies in Baltimore live to see their first birthday. Dr. Taylor closes with heartfelt advice about investing in your people and protecting your own well-being so you can keep doing the work you love. Press play for a hopeful reminder that good things are happening in public health, and that the right people around you can open doors you never imagined.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 477: The Public Health Utility Belt, With Brian Castrucci, DrPH
Can you draw public health? Brian Castrucci, DrPH, President and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, has asked thousands of people to try, and even the most seasoned professionals come up stumped. In this …
Show notes
Can you draw public health? Brian Castrucci, DrPH, President and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, has asked thousands of people to try, and even the most seasoned professionals come up stumped. In this episode, Dr. Castrucci joins Dr. Huntley to share how a last-minute invitation to a seminar on gun violence launched a 30-year career that has taken him from local health departments to national philanthropy. He explains why the skills you build (he calls it your Batman utility belt) will carry you through every career turn, and why he believes the future of public health depends on clear communication, strong partnerships, and smart policy. If you have ever struggled to explain your work to family and friends, or wondered how public health can rebuild trust during a pivotal election year, this conversation will leave you with fresh ideas and plenty of hope.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 476: New Book, New Voice
What happens when a podcast that has published a new conversation every Tuesday since 2017 decides to try something it has never done before? In this solo episode, Dr. Huntley pauses to reintroduce herself to …
Show notes
What happens when a podcast that has published a new conversation every Tuesday since 2017 decides to try something it has never done before? In this solo episode, Dr. Huntley pauses to reintroduce herself to new and longtime listeners, sharing how her work as an epidemiologist and entrepreneur spans consulting with nonprofits (primarily tribal nations), hosting two podcasts, and now writing a book. She opens up about the excitement and nerves of holding advance copies of The Public Health Consultant: Expertise, Entrepreneurship, Greater Impact, which publishes December 15, 2026, with Johns Hopkins University Press. Then she announces a first in PHEC history, as a new voice steps up to introduce guests and topics beginning with the very next episode. Tune in to find out who it is, and learn how you can meet Dr. Huntley and the PHEC team in person at the APHA Annual Meeting in San Antonio, where you might even become part of a live recording.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 475: Redefining Public Health Together
What does it actually take to explain public health when the field itself feels like it's under attack? In this special roundtable episode, Dr. Huntley brings together three public health professionals, Dr …
Show notes
What does it actually take to explain public health when the field itself feels like it's under attack? In this special roundtable episode, Dr. Huntley brings together three public health professionals, Dr. Belina Shaw, Jenna Paladino, and Ashley Peterson, for a real time conversation about how they translate their work into language that friends, family, and coworkers can actually understand. From a psychiatrist turned "doctorpreneur" connecting financial stress to physical health, to a healthcare lobbyist explaining access through the lens of who pays for it, to a health education specialist building worksite wellness programs from the ground up, each guest shares the analogies and stories that help public health click for the people around them. Along the way, they get honest about job loss, funding cuts, and what it looks like to keep serving communities when the systems around you are shifting. This is a conversation about creativity, resilience, and why public health belongs in every room, no matter who is in it.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 474: A National Voice, With Georges C. Benjamin, MD
What happens when a twist of fate turns an emergency physician into one of the most influential voices in American public health? In this episode, Dr. Huntley talks with Georges C. Benjamin, MD, who has spent …
Show notes
What happens when a twist of fate turns an emergency physician into one of the most influential voices in American public health? In this episode, Dr. Huntley talks with Georges C. Benjamin, MD, who has spent the past twenty four years with the American Public Health Association, about the winding path that took him from military medicine, to health commissioner in Washington, D.C., to health secretary in Maryland, and eventually to his role today. Dr. Benjamin shares candid stories along the way, explains why public health is political even while staying nonpartisan, and describes how APHA is building coalitions and holding decision makers accountable during a challenging moment for the field. He also looks ahead to this year's APHA Annual Meeting in San Antonio and why it matters for the public health community to gather together. It's a conversation full of history, honesty, and hope for what's next in public health.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 473: Rewriting Who Owns The Data, With Meghan Jernigan
Meghan Jernigan spent her childhood in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma driving over an hour just to reach the nearest Indian Health Service hospital. That drive shaped everything that came after. Dr. Huntley talks with …
Show notes
Meghan Jernigan spent her childhood in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma driving over an hour just to reach the nearest Indian Health Service hospital. That drive shaped everything that came after. Dr. Huntley talks with Meghan, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation, about the unlikely path from a theater degree at Oklahoma State to two decades of work in tribal epidemiology, research, and now federal relations for the Washington State Department of Health. They dig into why storytelling and relationship building matter as much as data when you're translating federal rulemaking into something communities can actually use. At the center of the conversation is a landmark data sharing agreement between Washington State and two federally recognized tribes, one that's reshaping who gets to hold and interpret their own health information. Meghan also talks wildfire season, measles outbreaks, and what it takes to keep a state health department steady while the ground keeps shifting beneath it. This one's about power, trust, and communities finally telling their own story with their own data.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 472: Undoing Decades Of Harm, With David Margolius, MD
Cleveland's smoking rate was double the national average — and it wasn't an accident. Tobacco companies targeted Black neighborhoods, low-income communities, and youth with free menthol cigarettes as smoking …
Show notes
Cleveland's smoking rate was double the national average — and it wasn't an accident. Tobacco companies targeted Black neighborhoods, low-income communities, and youth with free menthol cigarettes as smoking dropped everywhere else.
Dr. David Margolius spent years watching the fallout as a primary care physician before taking that fight to Cleveland's Department of Public Health. The result: smoking rates cut nearly in half, lead poisoning down by a third. He and Dr. Huntley talk about what it actually takes to move numbers like that — and why public health has to stop working in the shadows.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 471: Public Health Is Everywhere
A sidewalk. A nine-hour ER wait. Two very different stories, one question: what does "public health" actually mean? Oluoma Eze and Savaiz Siddiqui join Dr. Huntley to unpack the parts of healthcare nobody …
Show notes
A sidewalk. A nine-hour ER wait. Two very different stories, one question: what does "public health" actually mean?
Oluoma Eze and Savaiz Siddiqui join Dr. Huntley to unpack the parts of healthcare nobody explains well — the housing, the waiting rooms, the policy decisions made about us, usually without us. Real stories. No jargon. Just a better way to talk about the system that shapes our lives long before we ever see a doctor.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 470: Naming What We Mean, With Jacquelyn Dalton, MPH
When organizations begin quietly moving away from the words "health equity," what happens to the work itself? Jacquelyn Dalton, MPH, Senior Director of Special Initiatives and Projects at Health Leads, joins …
Show notes
When organizations begin quietly moving away from the words "health equity," what happens to the work itself? Jacquelyn Dalton, MPH, Senior Director of Special Initiatives and Projects at Health Leads, joins Dr. Huntley to talk about why naming the work matters. They explore community-based work, workforce challenges, housing instability, relationship-centered leadership, and what it takes to sustain health equity efforts when the language around them is changing.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 469: Preparing For The Worst Day, With Gabby Hadly, MPH
A white powder incident tied to a local election. A measles outbreak unfolding at the same time. For Gabby Hadly, MPH, that was one week on the job, not an outlier. In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with …
Show notes
A white powder incident tied to a local election. A measles outbreak unfolding at the same time. For Gabby Hadly, MPH, that was one week on the job, not an outlier.
In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Gabby, who leads public health emergency preparedness and response for Snohomish County, Washington, just north of Seattle. Their conversation moves from Gabby's personal path into public health to the daily realities of protecting nearly 860,000 residents from the emergencies no one wants to imagine.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 468: South Carolina's Hidden Pharmacy, With Kahlia Aposhian And Jessica Gaine
Across South Carolina, thousands of uninsured residents are managing chronic conditions and recovering from hospital stays without the safety net most people take for granted. For many, the gap between needing …
Show notes
Across South Carolina, thousands of uninsured residents are managing chronic conditions and recovering from hospital stays without the safety net most people take for granted. For many, the gap between needing medication and being able to afford it can mean the difference between stability and crisis.
In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Kahlia Aposhian and Jessica Gaines of Welvista. They talk about a resource that has been quietly serving this exact gap for years, a free statewide mail-order pharmacy most people have never heard of, even though it might be saving lives in their own community.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 467: Three Fields, One Mission
Public health rarely looks the way people expect. It shows up in a hospital pharmacy trying to help a patient afford insulin. It shows up on a highway where a transportation safety lead is tracking who gets …
Show notes
Public health rarely looks the way people expect. It shows up in a hospital pharmacy trying to help a patient afford insulin. It shows up on a highway where a transportation safety lead is tracking who gets left out of the data. It shows up in a Nigerian medical school, where a young physician starts asking bigger questions about mental health policy.
In this episode, Dr. Huntley brings together three professionals with three very different lenses for one conversation about a shared mission.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 466: Measles, Coalitions, And The Southeast, With Scott Thorpe
South Carolina recently experienced the largest measles outbreak in modern American history, and for Dr. Huntley, who lives and works in the state, this wasn't a distant headline. It was a story unfolding in …
Show notes
South Carolina recently experienced the largest measles outbreak in modern American history, and for Dr. Huntley, who lives and works in the state, this wasn't a distant headline. It was a story unfolding in her own backyard.
In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Scott Thorpe, Executive Director of the Southern Alliance for Public Health Leadership, to unpack what actually happened in Spartanburg and what helped bring the outbreak under control. They also talk about why the real work is only beginning now that the crisis has passed.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 465: A Different Kind Of Advocate, With Kasie Whitener, PhD
What does the national debt have to do with your health? More than most people think. In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Dr. Kasie Whitener, a radio host, business professor, entrepreneur, and the …
Show notes
What does the national debt have to do with your health? More than most people think. In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Dr. Kasie Whitener, a radio host, business professor, entrepreneur, and the current Libertarian Party nominee for U.S. Senate in South Carolina. Dr. Whitener brings a perspective that is rarely heard in public health spaces, and this conversation is all the better for it.
Dr. Whitener is not a career politician. She is a researcher, an educator, and a community builder who sees public health as deeply connected to the fiscal decisions made at the federal level. Her motivation is straightforward: every policy issue, at its core, is a funding issue.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 464: Winning the War on HIV, With Marco Benjamin
What does it look like when lived experience becomes a public health career? In this episode of the PHEC Podcast, Dr. Huntley sits down with Marco Benjamin, Director of Public Health at the Joseph H. Neal …
Show notes
What does it look like when lived experience becomes a public health career? In this episode of the PHEC Podcast, Dr. Huntley sits down with Marco Benjamin, Director of Public Health at the Joseph H. Neal Health Collaborative in South Carolina, for a conversation that is equal parts inspiring and urgent. Marco has been living with HIV for more than 20 years, and rather than letting that diagnosis define him in a limiting way, he channeled it into decades of advocacy, innovation, and community-centered work.
This conversation explores what it actually takes to reach communities that have been overlooked, undereducated, and underserved on issues of sexual health and HIV.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 463: Let Me Reintroduce Myself
After several weeks of travel, reflection, and intentional rest, Dr. Charlotte Huntley returns with a deeply personal episode to reconnect with listeners and share what's ahead. If you've recently discovered …
Show notes
After several weeks of travel, reflection, and intentional rest, Dr. Charlotte Huntley returns with a deeply personal episode to reconnect with listeners and share what's ahead.
If you've recently discovered the podcast or you've been listening since the beginning, this episode is an opportunity to get to know the person behind the microphone. Dr. Huntley shares how her work as an epidemiologist, entrepreneur, consultant, podcast host, and soon-to-be author all connect around one purpose: helping public health professionals create meaningful impact.
She also opens up about navigating grief, the importance of slowing down, the joy her grandchildren bring into her life, and why building community has become one of the most meaningful parts of her work.
You'll also hear exciting updates about her upcoming book, a memorable conversation with Kamala Harris, the continued growth of the Public Health Epidemiology Conversations Community, and how each of these experiences reinforces her commitment to advancing public health leadership.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 462: Public Health Is Leadership
Ask ten public health professionals to explain their work without using jargon, and you will get ten completely different answers. That is exactly the kind of honest, grounding conversation Dr. Huntley set out …
Show notes
Ask ten public health professionals to explain their work without using jargon, and you will get ten completely different answers. That is exactly the kind of honest, grounding conversation Dr. Huntley set out to have in this panel episode. What emerged was something more than a communication exercise. It was a compelling case for why explaining public health in plain language is itself an act of leadership.
In this episode, Dr. Huntley brings together three rising voices in the field to explore one of the most practical questions in public health: how do we make people care about something they do not fully understand yet?
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 461: Created For Right Now, With Nandi Marshall, DrPH, MPH
What does it look like to lead the nation's oldest and largest public health organization during one of the most turbulent moments the field has ever faced? Dr. Nandi A. Marshall, current president of the …
Show notes
What does it look like to lead the nation's oldest and largest public health organization during one of the most turbulent moments the field has ever faced? Dr. Nandi A. Marshall, current president of the American Public Health Association (APHA), has a clear answer, and she delivers it everywhere she goes: you are here for a reason, and this moment needs you.
In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Dr. Marshall for a wide-ranging conversation that covers personal origin stories, public health advocacy, maternal and child health, workforce encouragement, and the future of the field.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 460: From Newsroom to Policy, With Zack Stoycoff, MPA
What does a journalist watching a mother scream for her child outside a burning building have to do with mental health policy? For Zack Stoycoff, MPA, everything. That early morning moment on a street corner in …
Show notes
What does a journalist watching a mother scream for her child outside a burning building have to do with mental health policy? For Zack Stoycoff, MPA, everything. That early morning moment on a street corner in Oklahoma planted a seed that eventually grew into one of the state's most impactful mental health advocacy organizations. In this episode of the PHEC podcast, Dr. Huntley sits down with Zack Stoycoff, founder and executive director of the Healthy Minds Policy Initiative, a mental health policy think tank based in Oklahoma. Their conversation covers his journey from breaking news reporter to healthcare lobbyist to policy entrepreneur, and what it actually takes to move the needle on mental health outcomes at the state and community level.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 459: How to Tell Better Stories, With Sally Perkins, PhD
What if the most powerful tool in your public health toolkit isn't a dataset or a policy brief? What if it's a story? In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Sally Perkins, PhD, a storytelling expert who …
Show notes
What if the most powerful tool in your public health toolkit isn't a dataset or a policy brief? What if it's a story? In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Sally Perkins, PhD, a storytelling expert who has spent years teaching healthcare and public health professionals how to communicate in ways that actually move people to act. From persuading vaccine-hesitant patients to presenting population-level data to legislators, Dr. Perkins brings practical, field-tested frameworks to a challenge that nearly every public health professional faces: bridging the gap between what we know and what our audiences understand.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 458: Plain Language, Real Power
It is one of the most important questions in the field right now, and one of the hardest to answer. Public health professionals know the work inside and out, but translating it for friends, neighbors, and …
Show notes
It is one of the most important questions in the field right now, and one of the hardest to answer. Public health professionals know the work inside and out, but translating it for friends, neighbors, and policymakers? That is where many of us get stuck.
In this episode, Dr. Huntley is joined by two leaders from Sisters in Public Health, a national organization advancing women in the public health field. Together, they explore one of the most pressing challenges of this moment: how do we explain public health in plain language, and why does it matter so much right now?
The conversation is grounded, practical, and genuinely energizing.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 457: The Work Doesn't Wait, With Claude A. Jacob, DrPH, MPH
What does it take to lead one of the largest local health departments in the country when funding is disappearing, misinformation is spreading, and measles outbreaks are making headlines? In this episode, Dr …
Show notes
What does it take to lead one of the largest local health departments in the country when funding is disappearing, misinformation is spreading, and measles outbreaks are making headlines? In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Dr. Claude A. Jacob, Public Health Director of the City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, for a candid, energizing conversation about resilience, cross-sector collaboration, and what it truly means to protect 2.1 million residents in the middle of a storm.
Dr. Jacob and Dr. Huntley both share a deep commitment to communicating the value of public health in ways that resonate with everyday people. From understanding how zip codes shape life expectancy to explaining why kids need to be vaccinated, both agree that telling the public health story more effectively is one of the field's most urgent priorities right now.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 456: Health Is The Village, With Vanessa Guzman, MS
What happens when you stop chasing the terminology and commit fully to the work itself? In this episode of the PHEC Podcast, Dr. Huntley welcomes back Vanessa Guzman, biomedical engineer, CEO and president of …
Show notes
What happens when you stop chasing the terminology and commit fully to the work itself? In this episode of the PHEC Podcast, Dr. Huntley welcomes back Vanessa Guzman, biomedical engineer, CEO and president of SmartRise Health, and co-founder of Ella Es Health, for a candid catch-up conversation nearly two and a half years in the making.
This is not a surface-level update. It is a rich, honest conversation about what it takes to build health-centered organizations that can withstand political shifts, funding uncertainty, and a rapidly changing healthcare landscape.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 455: No Longer Silent, With Elizabeth Soda, MD
What does it take to break your silence in the middle of a public health crisis? For Dr. Elizabeth Soda, the answer came on an ordinary August afternoon when a gunman opened fire on CDC headquarters. She had …
Show notes
What does it take to break your silence in the middle of a public health crisis? For Dr. Elizabeth Soda, the answer came on an ordinary August afternoon when a gunman opened fire on CDC headquarters. She had left the campus just 30 minutes before the shooting began. That moment, she says, changed everything.
In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Elizabeth Soda, MD, an infectious disease physician and former CDC epidemiologist who resigned from the agency in September 2025 after more than a decade of landmark public health work. Elizabeth speaks openly about what life inside CDC felt like and how dramatically that changed, the personal and professional reckoning that led to her resignation, and how she is channeling grief, anger, and passion into advocacy on a global stage.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 454: One Question, Many Voices Live From the Field
Episode 454 is unlike anything we've done before and you won't want to miss it. For the first time in PHEC Podcast history, Dr. Huntley took the mic on the road, setting up a live recording booth at a South …
Show notes
Episode 454 is unlike anything we've done before and you won't want to miss it.
For the first time in PHEC Podcast history, Dr. Huntley took the mic on the road, setting up a live recording booth at a South Carolina public health conference and asking one powerful question:
What is public health?
What happened next was unexpected. People lined up to answer.
From students and researchers to government leaders and community advocates, professionals from across South Carolina stepped up to share their stories, perspectives, and real-world examples of what public health truly means. The result is an inspiring, high-energy episode filled with authentic voices from the field.
This episode is more than a conversation, it's a reminder of why public health matters and why learning to explain it in plain language is one of the most powerful tools we have.
If you've ever struggled to answer the question, "So… what exactly do you do?"—this episode is for you.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
PHEC 453: Public Health Is Political, With Susan Polan, PhD
In this episode of Public Health Epidemiology Conversations, Dr. Huntley sits down with Susan Polan, PhD, Associate Executive Director for Public Affairs and Advocacy at the American Public Health Association …
Show notes
In this episode of Public Health Epidemiology Conversations, Dr. Huntley sits down with Susan Polan, PhD, Associate Executive Director for Public Affairs and Advocacy at the American Public Health Association, for an inside look at what it means to fight for public health in today's political climate.
From managing six simultaneous lawsuits, a historic moment for APHA, to navigating federal policy battles and protecting critical public health funding, Dr. Polan shares the realities of advocacy at the national level. She also discusses the growing need for public health professionals to step beyond research and into policy conversations that shape real-world outcomes.
The conversation highlights APHA's Policy Action Institute, a training experience designed to help public health professionals translate science into messages that resonate with lawmakers and communities alike. Most importantly, Dr. Polan offers a powerful reminder: your voice matters more than you think. Every call, email, and conversation with policymakers counts and public health professionals have the expertise needed to influence the decisions that impact communities every day.
If you've ever wondered how policy change really happens, and where you fit into the process, this episode offers both clarity and a call to action.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
These are the latest 40 of 502 episodes. You’ll find older episodes in the podcast’s feed.
Similar podcasts
More Society & Culture podcasts
Is this your podcast?
Confirm it with an entry in your feed: you get a code here, add it as podcast:txt to the channel of your feed, and we check it. Your podcast is then shown as “verified” on SoundNode.