Public health in the United States is facing a time of crisis. Experts point to the dismantling of agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), staff shortages and growing
public distrust as signs that the nation’s public health infrastructure is being tested like never before.
But if there’s one thing the field knows how to do, it’s pivot and persist.
At the 14th annual State of the Public’s Health Conference held at University of Georgia’s (UGA) Center for Continuing Education in Athens on Oct. 23, that message guided the “Pivot and Persist” breakout session. Moderated by former CDC director Brigette Ulin, the panel featured public health specialists Lee Warner and Vincent Lafronza, alongside UGA Career Center associate director Megan Brock. The panelists discussed how the public health sector adapts under political and social strain.
They also emphasized how the next generation can carry that forward.
The field has faced uncertainty before. Speaking to an audience of public health professionals and students, Lafronza, CEO of the National Network of Public Health Institutes, highlighted pivotal moments such as the HIV epidemic and the 9/11 attack. These crises led to systemic changes in public health including the creation of funded emergency preparedness.
“Public health needs to make those pivots,” said Lafronza. “And I think we are more prepared today than before.”
As the field evolves, each panelist said they’ve changed course in their career.
“I’ve led through change across three decades at the CDC – priorities, structures, administration changes – sometimes dramatically, like we are seeing today,” said Ulin, who retired in August. “I’ve had to persevere and remind myself of the long-term vision.”
Lafronza said public health will always return to its core mission of quality improvement. This vision focuses on creating and improving the conditions that allow fair access to health. The panelists emphasized that sustaining this goal and the future of public health depends on young leaders.
“There’s going to be a time when it will pivot back,” said Warner, a former CDC official. “We have to have some people – a new generation of folks who can pick up the pieces and reassemble things in partnership with the states and, hopefully someday, with the federal agencies.”
Brock, UGA’s career advisor for postgraduates, encouraged students to pursue every opportunity available and explore entry points in the field. Specifically, Warner stressed considering local and
state-level positions and fellowships because of current federal uncertainty. While Brock urged students to gain and develop skills in emerging areas in public health such as AI literacy.
“With public health, the winds are always shifting – new data, new diseases, new community needs,” said Ulin. “We rarely get to choose the direction of the wind, but we can choose how we respond.”
By Bridget Osas
