Author: Will Humble

AZPHA held our annual members meeting last Friday afternoon. We covered a host of AZPHA business like finances, governance, professional development activities, membership update and a summary of our advocacy approach and actions over the last year. We also thanked our outgoing board members and welcomed our new Board members and those who moved to new positions.

Elena Burr, Director of Communications & Outreach at AllThrive 365, will serve as Director of Communications. She is recognized for her community-centric storytelling, relationship-building, and visionary leadership in healthy aging and public health. Elena serves as the Chair of the Arizona Health Equity Conference Planning Committee and holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Arizona.

Charity Moparthy, graduate student at the University of Arizona, will serve as Student Representative. She is pursuing a Master of Public Health with a focus on Health Policy and Management from the University of Arizona and brings hands-on experience in research coordination, student engagement, and community outreach, with a deep commitment to health equity and amplifying youth voices.

Lora Timmons, DHPE, MPH, Dean for Nursing and Healthcare at GateWay Community College, will serve as Director of Professional Development & Academic Relations. With a Doctorate in Health Professions Education and a Master of Public Health, Dr. Timmons has a proven track record in increasing student success, developing new academic programs, and fostering industry partnerships. She is a certified experiential educator and has served on many advisory boards and committees dedicated to advancing public health education.

Felicia Trembath, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor at Midwestern University, will serve as Vice President. Dr. Felicia Trembath is a respected public health scholar and educator. She holds a PhD in Epidemiology and Master of Public Health, and her research and leadership have focused on infectious disease prevention, health promotion, and academic excellence. She is a recipient of the prestigious Health System Integration Program Fellowship with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Helena Whitney, from the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, will serve as Director at Large. With over two decades of experience in Medicaid and healthcare policy, government relations, and public health consulting, Helena has held senior roles in legislative affairs, led statewide health assessments, and developed innovative programs to improve health equity and behavioral health outcomes.

Annual Members Meeting Financial Review

The 98th Annual Members Meeting was held, with President Sean Clendaniel opening the meeting and highlighting the upcoming centennial celebration in two years.

Dr. Christine Girard presented the Treasurer’s Report detailing financial accountability and the financial landscape of the organization. She explained the fiscal year operations, including consulting with NPO Accountants and preparing financial statements following GAAP.

She presented a bar graph showing the total net assets from fiscal year 2016 through 2025, noting a significant increase in revenue over the last 7 years. She emphasized the need to further diversify revenue streams and mentioned the recent completion of strategic planning work.

APHA Governance and Advocacy Update

Rebecca Nevedale (our Affiliate Representative on the Governing Council) provided an update on her role as the representative to APHA’s Governing Council, explaining its functions and her involvement in policymaking and advocacy at a broader scale. She highlighted APHA’s involvement in six lawsuits to protect public health and introduced the Campaign for the Public’s Health, a new initiative led by Dr. Benjamin.

APHA Strategic Initiatives and Advocacy

Rebecca discussed APHA’s initiatives, including the formation of a “war room” for strategic policy planning and a new campaign to combat adverse policies. She highlighted the modernization of the policy brief process and a revised nominations process aimed at improving geographic representation. Rebecca also mentioned APHA’s advocacy priorities, financial challenges, and the adoption of a policy on hate-motivated behavior, while emphasizing the importance of supporting the organization financially. She concluded by encouraging participation in APHA activities, particularly for those involved in sections or caucuses, to enhance collaboration at the state level.

AZPHA Policy Updates and Advocacy

AZPHA provided updates on their activities in 2025, including delivering over 50 public health policy updates and action alerts. They discussed their decision-making process, which involves weekly policy meetings and considering factors such as mission alignment and community impact. AZPHA plans to monitor upcoming bills, including one on over-the-counter ivermectin and another related to children’s bicycles, and will meet virtually on Fridays at 2 in January and February.

Will Humble explained the process of reviewing and taking positions on bills in policy committee meetings, emphasizing the importance of resolutions passed by AZPHA members since the 1930s to guide their advocacy. He highlighted their unique ability to quickly take positions on bills due to these resolutions, which helps raise their profile with lawmakers and journalists.

Penny Allee-Taylor mentioned their work with the Arizona Corporation Commission, noting that while their advocacy efforts have been challenging in recent years, they plan to continue engaging with the commission. Felicia Trembath, chair of the Professional Development and Academic Relations Committee, discussed their recent conference on modernizing public health practice and ongoing member webinars, which will continue into the next year.

AZPHA 2026 Initiatives and Growth

Felicia and Will discussed upcoming events and initiatives for AZPHA in 2026, including a heat prevention presentation and a behavioral health conference. They highlighted the success of recent networking events and a National Public Health Week panel.

Dr. DeShawn Taylor presented a membership report, noting a significant increase in members over the years, particularly due to organizational memberships. The survey results revealed that most members heard about AZPHA through word of mouth, and the majority were satisfied with the organization. The association plans to use this feedback to refine its programming and activities in the coming years.

Behavioral Health Conference Planning

Will discussed the upcoming May 1st conference focusing on behavioral health, including topics like court-ordered treatment, homelessness, and maternal mental health. He mentioned the need to balance conference planning with legislative session work and other responsibilities.

Will also touched on the organization’s 98-year history and plans for its 100th anniversary in 2028. Finally, he reviewed the recent board-driven strategic planning process, which included a SWOT analysis and development of a draft strategic work plan for the board to review in January.

Board Member Transition Recognition

The meeting focused on recognizing outgoing board members for their contributions, while welcoming newly elected members including Charity Moparthy as student representative, Laura Timmons for professional development, and Helena Whitney as member at large.

Sean Clendaniel highlighted the competitive election process and praised the incoming board members, while expressing gratitude to the current board and members for their dedication to public health. The conversation ended with a warm introduction of Lauriane as the new president, acknowledging her leadership qualities and enthusiasm.

2026 Public Health Conference Planning

The board discussed plans for the 2026 public health conference, noting strong interest in AZPHA events and a high number of board applications, including many students. They agreed to focus on providing more engagement pathways for the public health workforce and to support Will, their sole paid staff, by handling non-essential tasks while allowing him to focus on policy and advocacy.

Will outlined the conference planning process, including a January call for proposals, review committees, and free attendance for selected presenters, while Dr. DeShawn Taylor emphasized the importance of securing sponsorships from for-profit organizations to keep conference costs low.

View the PowerPoint used at the Annual Members Meeting

View the Annual Member Meeting Recording:

Passcode: e=2KS%o=

The 2026 Arizona Legislative Session kicks off in just seven short weeks, and early conversations at the Capitol are already pointing to a crowded policy agenda.

As always, which ideas ultimately become bills—and which of those receive hearings, amendments, or traction—will come down to committee chairs, caucus priorities, fiscal constraints, and the political dynamics of an election year. But based on what we’re hearing, here’s a preview of the major themes likely to shape the session.

Healthcare Financing, Coverage, and System Oversight

Legislators are expected to revisit several complex issues related to healthcare costs and coverage. Concerns about uncompensated care and cost-shifting to employers continue to drive interest in reforms to the insurance marketplace.

Proposals may appear around health insurance company regulation, improving navigation support for health coverage, and policies aimed at addressing fraud, waste, and abuse across the health sector.

A significant focus will likely be on safeguarding Arizona’s ability to use provider taxes to draw down federal matching funds for AHCCCS, a key financing tool for maintaining Medicaid stability.

Lawmakers are also expected to consider measures to preserve coverage gains in Medicaid, CHIP, and ACA marketplace enrollment, while some may advance proposals promoting a more explicitly free-market model of healthcare.

Behavioral health access—including workforce, licensing, and reimbursement challenges are also expected to feature prominently.

Early Childhood and Child Development

Several legislators are signaling renewed attention to early childhood, including all-day kindergarten funding options, strengthening the early childhood system, and investments in child development supports. Expect ongoing debate about funding models and the long-term return on early learning investments (but little or no progress).

Housing, Homelessness, and Community Development

Housing will again be one of the biggest policy arenas of the session.

Anticipated proposals include:

• Arizona Department of Housing reauthorization
• Investments in the AZ Housing Trust Fund and making its annual appropriation permanent
• Updates to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program
• “Yes in God’s Backyard (YIGBY)” strategies to encourage faith-based organizations to develop housing
• A continued push for attainable workforce housing
• Support for new facilities and services to mitigate homelessness
• Efforts to reduce zoning barriers and community opposition to affordable housing and shelters

Workforce housing is also expected to appear in the broader set of healthcare workforce policies, including graduate medical education, recruitment and retention, and transportation-related supports.

Civic Health and Voting Access

Measures affecting civic participation will likely surface again, probably as a ballot referral by the legislature (Hobbs can’t veto those). We expect opposition to proposals that would limit early voting or otherwise create inequitable barriers to voter access.

Infrastructure, Economic Development, and Workforce Training

Infrastructure needs are still a perennial topic, especially as the state continues to attract large-scale business and population growth. Anticipated areas of focus include:

• Water, wastewater, transportation, and power infrastructure
• Investments in training and workforce development
• Licensing reforms aimed at creating a system that is both safe and predictable
• Financing tools—like Tax Allocation Districts—to help local governments stay competitive in business attraction and retention

The Legislature is also expected to revisit Prop 123 / State Land Trust Permanent Fund issues and once again debate the Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL), which continues to affect K–12 operations and school district flexibility.