2022 Series

Sizzling Summer Series 2022: Communicating the Value of Public Health

Session 1 - Talking Health: A New Way to Communicate About Public Health

This summer, we’re kicking off with an exclusive first look at the book Talking Health: A New Way to Communicate About Public Health.

Join us on Tuesday, June 28th, 2022 from 10:30 - 11:30am CT for this enlightening and actionable conversation hosted by social impact communicator and host of the Mission Forward podcast Carrie Fox, in conversation with one of the book’s primary authors, Mark Miller.

The book provides new tools and insights to help health professionals communicate more effectively, strengthen partnerships, and improve health outcomes. Written by leaders in health and communication and informed by new research and message testing, the book covers the following learning objectives.

Talking Health: A New Way to Communicate about Public Health is now available! Purchase through Oxford University Press and use the discount code AMPROMD9 for a 30% discount!

Learning Objectives:

• Define Public Health more clearly
• Reframe public health assumptions
• Draw on the power of stories when sharing data
• Avoid messages that backfire
• Answer challenging questions

Presenter: Carrie Fox

Carrie Fox, founder and CEO of Mission Partners and host of the award-winning podcast Mission Forward, is a recognized leader in social impact communications. She has guided individuals and organizations to lead with purpose. Her strategic communications work focuses deeply on issues of community— from social justice to sustainability, children’s health, higher education, and workforce development. Carrie served as the creative visionary behind a nationwide communications and advocacy campaign to transform the foster care system for young people aging out of care. She was the lead communications strategist behind a $10M prize competition aimed at advancing global technology for more fuel-efficient vehicles. Carrie is a founding signatory of the #WeTheChange declaration to build businesses for good, and a founding member of the Purpose Collaborative, a national network of communications thought-leaders and industry experts that work together to provide impactful problem solving in touch with the current needs of today's purpose-driven businesses. Her conversation series podcast, Mission Forward, has featured Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, MacAurthur Fellows, and some of the nation's most sought-after philanthropy leaders.  

Presenter: Mark R. Miller

Mark R. Miller, Vice President of Communications at the de Beaumont Foundation, leads strategic communications to support the Foundation's mission, initiatives, and partners, applying his experience in philanthropy, journalism, health care, and government to improve the health of communities and people. In 2018, he won the ACE Award from PR Daily and Ragan Communications as the year's top nonprofit communications professional. Throughout his career, Mark has advanced political, nonprofit, and corporate missions in leadership positions at the Case Foundation, the White House, Children's National Hospital, the National Governors Association, and AmeriCorps. He was also a Senior Vice President at Powell Tate, the Washington office of global PR agency Weber Shandwick. He combines traditional communications skills with an expertise in digital strategies to create solutions that deliver measurable results and spark social change. His writing has appeared in numerous blogs, websites, and publications, and for several years he was the reggae reporter for The Washington Post. He earned his BA in English and Journalism from James Madison University.

For more information and to order the book Talking Health: A New Way to Communicate About Public Health, visit talkinghealthbook.org. 

Session 2 - Media Training for Public Health Professionals

Join us for our second installment of the 2022 Sizzling Summer Series - Media Training for Public Health Professionals on July 28th, 2022 from 10:00am - 11:00am CT as we learn from experts in media, risk communication, and journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Shari R. Veil, MBA, Ph.D. and Cory Armstrong, Ph.D.

This webinar will focus on understanding the role and goals of journalists in conveying public health messages. Participants will learn preparation strategies for upcoming news interviews, along with how to draft specific talking points and press release information to achieve message outcomes using traditional and social media. Whether you are in front of a camera or supporting your colleagues behind the scenes, these in-demand media relations skills will equip you to better communicate the value of public health.

With this knowledge, attendees should feel more comfortable in front of a camera and answering questions in a public forum.

• Explain media's role and purpose, along with how it benefits public health professionals
• Provide tips and strategies to prepare for news media interviews and engaging journalists on social media
• Describe techniques to simplify technical health information and provide instruction for self-protection to be understandable to different audiences
• Improve overall comfort with media interviews and events

Presenter: Shari R. Veil, MBA, Ph.D.

Dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Shari R. Veil, MBA, Ph.D., is a professor and dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Veil also serves as a research fellow with the National Strategic Research Institute and is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Homeland Security's National Center for Food Protection and Defense and National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events. She's served on expert working groups for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. Before Nebraska, Veil served at the University of Kentucky as associate dean for undergraduate affairs in the College of Communication and Information, chair and professor in the Department of Communication, and director of the Risk Sciences Division. Prior to Kentucky, she taught strategic communication in the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication and served as the director of the Center for Risk and Crisis Management at the University of Oklahoma coordinating research, funding, graduate education, and training programs specific to risk and crisis communication. Before entering academia, Veil spent eight years in the profession in business, marketing, and public relations. Veil earned a Bachelor of Science in communication and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Mary in North Dakota. Her doctorate in communication, with a research focus on risk and crisis communication, is from North Dakota State University.

Presenter: Cory Armstrong, Ph.D.

Associate dean for research and faculty affairs of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Cory Armstrong, Ph.D., became the associate dean for research and faculty affairs at University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications on July 15, 2022. Armstrong has also been appointed as a full professor in journalism and is the Lawrence L. and Ruth E. Pike Professor in Journalism. Armstrong has secured grants to study media messaging and severe weather in both the mid-south and southeastern United States. Armstrong’s research combines traditional and emerging media and focuses on how individuals use media to make decisions during weather events. Her studies highlight the often unmet evacuation and safety needs of vulnerable populations during weather emergencies— specifically floods, hurricanes and tornados. She has more than 45 peer-reviewed publications appearing in such journals as Journalism & Mass Communications Quarterly, Digital Journalism, Communication Research and the Journal of Risk Research, among others. Previously, Armstrong was a professor in the Department of Journalism & Creative Media at the University of Alabama, where she served as department chair from 2016 to 2021. Before joining the University of Alabama, Armstrong held positions as professor and director of the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas and graduate coordinator and associate professor in the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida. Armstrong holds a bachelor’s degree from Miami University, a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in mass communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also worked as a journalist for 10 years.

Session 3 - Building Bipartisan Support

Evidence-based policies and practices that promote health and reduce health disparities may seem nonpartisan to those of us on a mission to protect the public’s health; however, many Public Health professionals find themselves needing bipartisan strategies to garner stakeholder support.

Join us for our third and final installment of the 2023 Sizzling Summer Series over building bipartisan support on August 31st, 2022 from 11:00am - 12:00pm CT. Our guest experts in Public Health policy and advocacy will share practical and scholarly insights, lessons learned from the field, and tools for communicating the value of Public Health across political divides.

Presenter: Jill Krueger, JD

Director of the Network for Public Health Law's Northern Region Office

Jill Krueger serves as the Director of the Network for Public Health Law's Northern Region Office. Her current work involves climate adaptation and mitigation, the Farm Bill and agricultural policy, rural health, oral health, literacy, and mental health promotion in school and community settings. Prior to her current role, Jill was a senior staff attorney at Farmer's Legal Action Group, analyzing the role of the Farm Bill in the production and distribution of healthy foods and providing education and advocacy to improve federal disaster assistance to farmers. 

Presenter: Chrissie Juliano, MPP

Executive Director of the Big Cities Health Coalition

Chrissie Juliano is the Executive Director of the Big Cities Health Coalition, a forum for the leaders of America's largest metropolitan health departments to exchange strategies and jointly address issues to promote and protect the health and safety of the communities they serve. Prior to joining BCHC, Chrissie was the senior program manager at RESOLVE, where she developed and facilitated collaborative processes and consensus-building projects among a variety of public health stakeholder groups. She has also worked on stakeholder outreach at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Tobacco Products and in policy development at the Trust for America's Health.

Presenter: Vicki Shabo, JD

Senior Fellow for Paid Leave Policy & Strategy at New America

Vicki Shabo is a Senior Fellow for Paid Leave Policy & Strategy at New America. She is a nationally recognized expert and advocate for paid family leave and medical leave for every working person in the U.S. She works closely with policymakers, advocates, researchers, and business leaders on policy design and advocacy strategies. Shabo has testified multiple times in the U.S. Congress and state legislatures, as well as in front of the 2016 Democratic Party's platform committee which, for the first time, adopted a national paid leave program. She recently served on the advisory committee of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Paid Family and Medical Leave Task Force.