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2026 Letter from the KPHA President

KPHA Members,

It is hard to believe that another year has passed and that we have started the 2026-2027 year for the Kentucky Public Health Association! Being given the opportunity to serve as President of this amazing organization is truly an honor, and something that I do not take lightly. I am excited to see what we as an organization can do over the next year, and I hope that you are as well.

I hope that all of you who were able to attend the 2026 KPHA Conference in Northern Kentucky found it to be as great as I did. There were so many amazing posters and 3-minute Thesis presentations, Student Day was amazing and the breakout sessions were extremely well developed and provided excellent takebacks to improve our own practices. We were also extremely lucky to have Dr. Moose Alperin, President-Elect of the American Public Health Association to provide us a wonderful keynote address, and to learn about “Public Health Six Ways” from the some of the most influential and intelligent leaders in public health today, Dr. Lori Caloia, Connie Mendel, Kaitlyn Krolikowski, Dr. Marcy Rein, and Tammy Riley. A special thanks to Dr. Bethany Hodge from KDPH who served as an excellent moderator for this panel! There was plenty of chances for networking, some excellent food served throughout, and of course, lots of laughs among public health heroes new and vintage! A HUGE thank you to the KPHA Conference Committee and the Agentis Management team for making this conference possible!

I would like to wish a fond farewell to our outgoing KPHA Board Member Dr. Laurie Larkin and outgoing Immediate Past President Dr. Danielle King. The impact that each of these women have had on Public Health in the Commonwealth is immeasurable, and KPHA certainly wishes them all the best. I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome our incoming KPHA Executive Committee members – Jessica Austin – Secretary, Meagan Hurst – President-Elect and Lisa Pollock – Treasurer. Talk about a dream team! Finally, I would like to welcome our two new Board members, Krista Mevoli and Madison Yerges. To all of our current and incoming Board members, I would like to express both my gratitude for all that you do and my excitement about working with you over the next year!

Any of you who know me well know that I am a true “travel-bug,” and I am always up for an adventure. If that means hopping on a plane and visiting a new place in the U.S., traveling abroad and getting a new stamp on my passport, or taking a drive to explore our amazing Commonwealth, I am there for it. This year, as an organization, I am hopeful that we can go on an adventure together and find the absolute best destinations in public health.

When we begin planning for adventures, there are many factors we must consider. Of those factors, five things stand out. To have a great adventure, we need to know the Crew we are traveling with, the Travel Expertise among the group, the Must-Sees for the trip, the Budget available and the Navigation tools and Itinerary that we will follow. So, let’s equate those items back to our upcoming year in public health:

  • The Crew
    Collaboration with other organizations, partners and membership throughout the Commonwealth and the US
  • The Travel Expertise
    Workforce and Student development, cultivation of the skills of the current Public Health Workforce in Kentucky and development of new Public Health Leaders
  • The Must-Sees
    The Public Health Issues that require advocacy and attention from organizations like KPHA in the coming year
  • The Budget
    What resources are available to our organization and our membership and how can we increase these resources
  • The Navigation
    KPHA’s Strategic Plan and the Goals within it, along with the goals of each of our committees

This is a rough compilation of what our adventure planning will look like, and I am a details girl if nothing else, so I look forward to digging into the details of this epic adventure with you over the coming year! Our adventure will culminate at the 2027 Kentucky Public Health Association Conference in beautiful Northern Kentucky on March 9-11, 2027. So, start making your packing lists, determine where you fit into the travel planning and let’s make the 2026-2027 Adventure with KPHA the very best yet! Thank you all for everything that you do, and for being a part of what makes our organization great!

Sincerely,
Dr. Stephanie Lokits, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC
KPHA President