The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors’ (NACDD) Public Health AmeriCorps (PHA) program is recruiting Service Members to participate in its second year of a three-year program! This year, the program aims to recruit 30 Service Members across 15 states (AK, IL, IA, KS, LA, MN, MS, MO, NV, NJ, OK, PA, RI, SC, and WV) to advance state- and community-level initiatives that address food and nutrition security, access to safe physical activity opportunities, and reduced social isolation and loneliness through policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change approaches. In addition, Service Members will engage in comprehensive public health training and professional development opportunities to support their entrance into the workforce following their service term.
Service Members are being recruited for placement in two cohorts. Applications for cohort I are being accepted through January 12, 2024, with an expected start date of March 11, 2024. Applications for cohort II will be accepted between March 4, 2024 and May 3, 2024, with an anticipated start date of July 7, 2024. Interested individuals are encouraged to visit our Prospective Service Member page for detailed position descriptions and direct links to apply for each service opportunity. NACDD will also be hosting an Informational Session on December 6, 2023 at 3:00 pm ET to provide an overview of the program, discuss how to become a Service Member, hear from a panel of existing Service Members, and create a space for questions and answers. We encourage you to share the Registration Link with your network!
NACDD is honored to be part of the movement to strengthen public health infrastructure and reinvigorate the workforce. All current Service Members have reported an excellent overall experience at their Host Sites, with all in agreement that their Host Sites provided them with knowledge and skills that contributed to the development of their public health career interests. One Service Member noted, “My Host Site has trusted me with important responsibility, which I have benefitted from greatly. I’ve loved all of the opportunities to work directly with and form relationships with the communities.” Another Service Member expressed, “My host site has been extremely welcoming to me. I came in with the assumption that my responsibilities and opportunities would be limited by the fact I’m still a college student, but that hasn’t been the case. I look forward to my future with the program as I continue learning.”
A partnership between AmeriCorps and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the PHA program is a five-year, $400 million investment from the American Rescue Plan Act that supports the recruitment, training, and development of the next generation of public health leaders. The two main goals of the program include:
- Addressing public health needs of local communities by providing support in state and local public health settings and advancing more equitable health outcomes for underserved communities; and
- Creating pathways to good quality public health-related careers through onsite experience and training, with a focus on recruiting AmeriCorps members who reflect the communities in which they will serve.
To learn more, please reach out to NACDD’s PHA Program Manager, Dr. Pascale Edouard, DrPH, MPH at pedouard@chronicdisease.org.