Newsmakers ========== * Aya Takai ## Sallis awarded education honors APHA member James Sallis, PhD, in April was honored with the 2018 Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award. Sallis is a distinguished professor emeritus of family and preventive medicine at the University of California-San Diego and the director of active living research. ## Kantor named inaugural chair at Rutgers APHA member Leslie Kantor, PhD, MPH, in April was named inaugural chair of the Department of Urban-Global Public Health at the Rutgers School of Public Health. Previously, Kantor served as vice president of education for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and faculty member at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. ## Ponce becomes director of health policy research APHA member Ninez Ponce, PhD, MPP, in July became the director of the University of California-Los Angeles Fielding School of Public Health’s Center for Health Policy Research. Ponce is a professor in health policy and management at the school. ## Cary named board chair Ann Cary, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, FNAP, in March became the chair of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing board of directors. Cary is the dean of the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas. ## Stone earns cardiology award Neil Stone, MD, in March was awarded the 2018 Joseph Stokes III MD Award from the American Society for Preventive Cardiology. Stone is a professor of medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. ## Pérez named president Norma Pérez, DrPH, MD, in March was elected president of Hispanic-Serving Health Professions Schools. Pérez previously served as the director of special programs at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. ## Aiyelawo becomes COO of NIH Clinical Center Pius Aiyelawo, MPA, FACHE, in April became the chief operating officer of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. Aiyelawo was previously the assistant deputy director of research and development at the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. ## Porterfield becomes president and CEO Daniel Porterfield, PhD, in June became president and CEO of the Aspen Institute. Porterfield previously served as the president of Franklin & Marshall College. ## Blackwell becomes president Sean Blackwell, MD, in February became president of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Blackwell is a professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center. ## Gerber honored with Riegelman Award Daniel Gerber, EdD, MPH, in February was honored with the 2018 Riegelman Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Public Health Education. He is the associate dean of academic affairs, director of the online MPH program and senior lecturer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 2006, Gerber started the bachelors of science in public health sciences program at the university. ## Szanton named inaugural endowed professor Sarah Szanton, PhD, ANP, FAAN, in June was named the inaugural endowed professor in health equity and social justice at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She is the director of the Center for Innovative Care in Aging at the school. ## Harris becomes president of AMA Patrice Harris, MD, in June became president of the American Medical Association. Harris works in private practice, and is an adjunct professor at Emory University. She is the first black woman to hold the office. ## APHA hires new staff members Several new professionals have joined APHA’s staff in recent months. Raymond Williams, receptionist, joined in April, and Ilka Cameron, director of human resources, joined in July. *Received a promotion or award? Debuted a new program or website? We want to know about it and share it here in Newsmakers. Send your news to* *julia.haskins{at}apha.org**.* * Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association