Reaching All Communities, Everywhere
Leading the Way: EIS Alumni Campaign Strengthens Public Health
Public health is a lifelong commitment for many of those who have worked in the field. As the former director of the Office of Noncommunicable Diseases, Injury and Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Robin Ikeda, MD, MPH, counts herself among those passionate about public health.
Dr. Ikeda is one of the thousands of public health professionals who have entered the globally renowned Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), a two-year, post-doctoral public health service fellowship in applied epidemiology at CDC.
“I am a proud EIS alum, class of 1991. My two years as an EIS officer were a truly wonderful experience and had a huge impact on my decision to pursue a career in public health,” said Dr. Ikeda. “I’m forever grateful for the training I received and the opportunity to participate on the front lines of public health during a time when I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue on a clinical path or not.”
Dr. Ikeda is part of the EIS Alumni Association (EISAA), which is managed by the CDC Foundation. The EISAA extends to all 50 states and to countries around the world—connecting alumni by their passion for public health.
The EISAA was established in the mid-1960s by EIS alumni who realized the importance of maintaining and growing connections among members in their careers after their two years of service concluded. Their goal was to strengthen public health by fostering continued relationships with CDC and with state and local public health practitioners. EIS alumni have since taken on advisory and mentoring roles, supporting both EIS program leadership and incoming officers.
Today, the EISAA represents more than 4,300 alumni working on the front lines at local, state, federal and global levels to prevent disease and advance public health. In recent years, the association has expanded its alumni reach, enhanced networking and communication among alumni and supported the EIS program’s status as the world’s premier public health training program.
As the number of EIS officers has grown over time, so too have the responsibilities, expectations and needs of the EISAA and its alumni. Membership dues no longer cover all programs and expenses. To ensure the EISAA continues to serve future generations of public health leaders, immediate and sustainable support is essential. The Leading the Way Endowment campaign is designed to secure the future of EISAA and empower the next generation of EIS officers through support of the EISAA Leading the Way Endowment.
“I was very excited to learn about the Leading the Way Endowment campaign,” said Dr. Ikeda. “Given the overwhelmingly positive experience I had as an officer and the important influence EIS had on my life, I’m pleased to support efforts that strengthen both the EIS program itself and the EIS Alumni Association network.”
Leading the Way is designed to foster the development of the next generation of EIS officers, bolster EISAA’s ability to serve as the hub of the alumni network, diversify a reliable recruitment pipeline and celebrate accomplishments and milestones of the EIS Program and individual officers.
In the past year, the Leading the Way campaign has planned or hosted six events across the country to allow EIS alumni and friends to come together to celebrate public health across the country.