Newsmakers: February 2016
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* Natalie McGill

## Palacio named deputy mayor for New York City health, human services

APHA award winner Herminia Palacio, MD, MPH, in January was appointed deputy mayor for health and human services for New York City. Previously, Palacio served as director of Advancing Change Leadership at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, as executive director of Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services in Houston and as senior policy advisor for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Palacio received the 2007 Award of Excellence in Health Administration from APHA’s Health Administration Section for her work in helping New Orleans residents living in Houston after being displaced following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

## Tanner receives gerontological association award

APHA member Elizabeth Tanner, PhD, RN, FAAN, in October received the National Gerontological Association’s 2015 Distinguished Nurse Educator Award. Tanner is an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing’s Department of Community-Public Health.

## Crocco named director of health partnerships at West Virginia school

Todd Crocco, MD, in January was named director of health partnerships and business ventures for the West Virginia University Health Sciences Center. Crocco was previously the chair of the School of Medicine’s Department of Emergency Medicine.

## Egner named NACCHO’s chief of marketing, communications

David Egner in August was named chief of marketing and communications for the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Egner previously worked in media relations for Rand, and has worked for agencies such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Military Health System.

## Haseltine named SAMHSA’s acting principal deputy administrator

Amy Haseltine in December became the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s acting principal deputy administrator. Haseltine previously served as deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Grants and Acquisition Policy and Accountability.

## Hill named acting director of SAMHSA program

Tom Hill, MSW, in November was named acting director of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. He was also appointed as the senior advisor for addiction and recovery at SAMHSA. Hill has also worked on existing SAMHSA initiatives such as the Bringing Recovery Supports to Scale Technical Assistance Center Strategy.

## Kim named president of financial counseling, planning group

Jinhee Kim, PhD, MS, in December was elected president of the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education. Kim is an associate professor in the University of Maryland School of Public Health’s Department of Family Science.

## Lauer named deputy director for NIH extramural research

Michael Lauer, MD, in September was named deputy director for extramural research at the National Institutes of Health. Lauer serves on a number of groups within the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute and is also the NIH co-chair for President Barack Obama’s Precision Medicine Initiative.

## Rice named SAMHSA’s legislative director

Peggie Rice, MPS, in November was appointed as the new legislative director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Rice previously served as a health policy analyst for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and as a legislative analyst with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Legislation.

## Three new members appointed to Census advisory committee

The U.S. Census Bureau’s National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations announced Charles Bruner, PhD, MA; Thomas Perls, MD, MPH; and the National Urban League as its newest members. Bruner is executive director of the nonprofit Child and Family Policy Center in Des Moines, Iowa. Perls is a professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. Headquartered in New York, the National Urban League is an advocacy group that rallies against racial discrimination.

*   Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association