Why am I running for Needham's Board of Health?
I have a very strong history of public health leadership and knowledge in a wide variety of related domains. I want to work with the current Board of Health and the rest of the town's elected and appointed boards / departments to strengthen Needham's role as an innovative leader in local public health practice, and to identify the public health needs of Needham's residents, businesses, and visitors.
Built Environment
Needham is a growing community. With the new N-squared commercial corridor, the growth in Needham's industrial district, and the large growth in residential dwelling construction, Needham's built environment is evolving at a rapid rate. Needham needs public health leaders who understand how these changes impact the health of it's residents; especially its increasing number of school-aged children.
Injury Prevention
One of the central goals of public health is to assess the causes of morbidity and mortality (injuries and deaths) and develop interventions that minimize the risk of those identified conditions. I plan to work with other community leaders and stakeholders to reduce the number and impact of preventable injuries in Needham.
Sustainability
As Chief of Building Inspections for the Commonwealth, I worked with a variety of stakeholders to ensure that the Commonwealth remained at the top of the ACEEE's national rankings. I am also an active member of the International Code Council's Tall Wood Building Ad Hoc Committee, and am the co-chair of the Climate Change Advisory Committee for the National Environmental Health Committee.
Transparency
We live in a world of open access to large amounts of public health data from national databases, but local data is still sometimes less accessible, and policymaking procedures can be an enigma for many people. I plan to work with the departmental staff to identify means to provide the public with access to certain health department records without needing to visit Town Hall, as well as keeping the residents and business community abreast of current initiatives of the Board of Health.
