Vermont public health association

Our Mission 

The Vermont Public Health Association (VtPHA) is a membership organization whose purpose is to protect and promote personal, community and environmental health within our State. 

Our Purpose 

The VtPHA is a statewide membership organization that seeks to positively influence the health of all Vermonters and provide an important voice on public health issues at the national, state and local level. 

Our Values

The VtPHA values health equity, integrity, community and science.

Health equity:  

Public health actions support conditions that enable all individuals, communities, and populations the opportunity to reach optimal health. This requires addressing inequities using social justice principles to address issues such as related to race and identity, age, place and power, income, education, climate and environment.  

Integrity:

Public health actions reflect honest and trusted leadership by our organization and principled public health action by our members and partners in all operations and activities.

Community: 

The greatest potential for improving health and wellness happens when we create community within our membership and with all Vermonters to solve problems, share new ideas and explore different perspectives.

Science:

Public health policies and practices are based on high quality research, applying evidence that demonstrates effectiveness and supports new actions and approaches. 

Land Acknowledgement

We recognize that we live and work in Wôbanakik*, Dawnland, the historical and current unceded homeland of the Abenaki people. We recognize the long history of genocide and land theft used to create what we know as the State of Vermont, as part of the United States of America. At VtPHA, we seek to combat systemic racism, in part by ongoing education and modeling vulnerability. We accept that decolonization and antiracism are inseparably connected and that the process of healing will take time, energy and a willingness to change. We commit to intentionally seeking the voices and understanding the needs of people who identify as Abenaki. 

*Closest pronunciation would be, Woe-bun-ah-kick

Labor Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that much of what we know of this country today, including its culture, economic growth, and development throughout history and across time, has been made possible by the labor of enslaved Africans and their ascendants who suffered the horror of the transatlantic trafficking of their people, chattel slavery, and Jim Crow. We also acknowledge the tremors of that violence throughout the generations and the resulting impact that can still be felt and witnessed today.” At VtPHA, we will engage in processes for healing, knowing this will require time, energy and a willingness to change. We commit to intentionally seeking the voices and understanding the needs of people who have been affected by this history and the horror of enslaved peoples