NBPHE Leadership

A LETTER FROM OUR LEADERSHIP

Paul Halverson, DrPH, FACHE Chair, NBPHE Board of Directors

A strong profession relies on foundational elements like standardized, accredited educational paths, core competencies, job duty profiles, and individual certification. A decade ago, public health leaders saw the need to enhance professionalism by creating a certification for public health professionals. Today, this certification stands well-established and respected. It welcomes graduates of formal academic programs and those with practical experience. We should take pride in this accomplishment and encourage public health professionals to add the “CPH” credentials to their names.

The National Board of Public Health Examiners has worked diligently to create a credible certification program that measures our workforce's knowledge. We have developed a strategic plan for the next five years to strengthen the program and create new opportunities to collaborate with partners and stakeholders. This plan will support and enhance the public health workforce now and in the future. We invite you to review this document and share your suggestions on how we can work together on this important topic.

Through the dedication of our board of directors, public health professionals on our testing committees, and numerous CPH volunteers, we have created a forward-looking certification program to meet public health needs over the next decade. We continually re-evaluate our processes and invite all CPHs to participate in our decision-making. We believe that the future of the Certified in Public Health certification program lies with the public health community. This plan outlines the crucial goals we must achieve to ensure the CPH is recognized as a standard of excellence in public health.

We must stay focused on the priorities of this plan. Success depends on our follow-through and accountability. We look forward to working with the public health community to bring our goals and ideas to life.