An archipelago of more than 900 islands in the South Pacific, Solomon Islands is a place of rugged natural beauty. But its remoteness presents unique challenges to the nation’s public health sector.

The Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation in north-central South Dakota has faced many extreme weather events—heavy winter snow and ice storms, tornadoes and blistering summer heat. In July 2024, the reservation was hit with powerful, long-lasting winds causing damage so severe the federal government declared it a major disaster.

The career of F. Marc LaForce, MD began in1965 with an assignment to the United States Public Health Service at the Communicable Disease Center—now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—in Atlanta, GA. Dr. LaForce’s public health career has spanned multiple continents and changed countless lives.

In July 2024, the Vermont collaborative was forced to put many of their long-term plans on hold when the Northeast Kingdom was battered by two historic, back-to-back rainstorms that caused widespread flooding. Roads and bridges were destroyed, and residents faced catastrophic damage to their homes and property—some washed away completely.

On 400 acres of scenic farmland in Fayetteville, Georgia, there is an inspiring organization dedicated to serving youth and veterans called Camp Southern Ground. Founded by GRAMMY award-winning artist Zac Brown, Camp Southern Ground offers residential summer camp experience for kids aged 7 to 17, and workforce and wellness transition programs to help veterans transition to civilian life after military service.

As a data abstractor in the New Jersey Department of Health, it is Pinzon’s job to log data from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports and toxicology reports in the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS). When overdose deaths occur, Pinzon receives raw reports and inputs them. And Pinzon’s work has had a major impact on community response.

While beautiful, the vast evergreen forests that cover rural northwest Montana pose an increasingly common health hazard: destructive wildfires. An insect called a Douglas-fir beetle is killing these trees–perfect fuel for summer fires. Through a CDC Foundation project, local residents can save their trees by using a safe chemical that mimics a pheromone that repels these destructive insects.

Joanna Buffington kept going to school because she loved learning—and, in her words, because she didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up. She discovered a passion for science while an undergraduate at Wesleyan, but it wasn't until graduate school at Tufts that she decided to continue on to a medical education, rather than work in labs that conducted experiments on animals.