Newsmakers
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* Ayan Warfa

## Alexander appointed board member

APHA member Linda Alexander, EdD, in February was named board member of the *Journal of Appalachian Health*. Alexander is a professor in the department of social and behavioral sciences and senior associate dean at West Virginia University School of Public Health.

## Lichtveld joins advisory board

APHA member Maureen Lichtveld, MD, MPH, in March joined the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing Advisory Board. Lichtveld is a professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Sciences at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She also serves as an endowed chair in environmental policy at the Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium and is director of the Center for Gulf Coast Environmental Health, Research and Leadership Initiatives.

## Kumanyika receives award

APHA member Shiriki Kumanyika, PhD, MPH, in March received the 2019 Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation. Kumanyika, a former APHA president, is a professor in the Department of Community Health and Prevention at the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health.

## Cordero honored by trust

APHA member Jose Cordero, MD, MPH, in March was honored by the Puerto Rico Public Health Trust by establishing an award in his name. Cordero is a professor at the University of Georgia College of Public Health and co-director of the Puerto Rico Test Site for Exploring Contamination Threats and the Center for Research on Early Childhood Exposure and Development.

## Reininger made dean

APHA member Belinda Reininger, DrPH, in March was appointed regional dean of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health in Brownsville. Reininger previously served as assistant professor at the school of public health.

## Benjamin receives SOPHE award

Georges Benjamin, MD, in March received the 2019 Society of Public Health Education’s Honorary Fellow Award, the organization’s highest honor for non-members, for his commitment to disease prevention, health education and health promotion. Benjamin, who is APHA’s executive director, was honored for serving as “one of the nation’s most influential and respected voices on health equity, social determinants and social justice,” according to SOPHE.

## Wang Kong named chief

Carolyn Wang Kong, MPH, MPP, in March was named chief program director of Blue Shield of California Foundation. Wang Kong previously served as senior program officer and as interim chief program director for the foundation.

## NIH task force renewed

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development Task Force on Research Specific to Pregnant Women and Lactating Women has been renewed for two more years by the Department of Health and Human Services. The task force was established in 2016 by the 21st Century Cures Act.

## Whitehead named director

Jim Whitehead, EdD, MS, in April was appointed director of the National Institute of Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation at the Administration for Community Living. Whitehead previously served as CEO and executive vice president of American College of Sports Medicine and co-founder of the Inclusive Fitness Coalition.

## Halkitis appointed to commission

Perry Halkitis, PhD, MS, MPH, in March was appointed to the Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Advisory Commission. Halkitis is dean of the Rutgers University School of Public Health and is a member of New Jersey’s End AIDS Epidemic Committee.

## Birken receives award

Sarah Birken, PhD, in March received the University Award for the Advancement of Women. Birken is an assistant professor of health policy and management at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Public Health.

## New staff at APHA

New staff members have the APHA team in recent months. Among them are Elsa Greer, member unit specialist; Yeatoe McIntosh, public health practice manager in the Center for Public Health Practice and Professional Development; Rachel McMonagle, program manager for climate change in the Center for Climate, Health and Equity; Courtney Taylor, governance liaison in the executive office; and Asma Shethwala Yu, executive assistant to the executive director.

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