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Public Health Caucus : Biennium Kick-Off Meeting

Feb 1, 2025 | Advocacy, Events

The Vermont Legislature’s Public Health Caucus will kick-off their 2025/2026 biennium meeting series on February 7, 2025. Caucus members will have an opportunity to hear from Pam Berenbaum, Professor and Associate Director of Global Health at Middlebury College, as she presents on “The Business Case for Investing in Public Health.”

Date: February 7, 2025
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm (presentation starts at 12:15pm)
Location: Vermont State House, Room 10, Montpelier
Zoom Link

While caucus meetings are primarily focused on legislator education and dialogue, the public is encouraged to observe the proceedings in person or by Zoom.

Presentation Description
Investing in public health reaps payoffs in health expenditures, workforce productivity, and economic growth.  High returns on investment have been measured in traditional public health programs such as maternal and child health programs, tobacco cessation, and health education about topics such as pediatric asthma, nutrition, and injuries.  Increasingly, there is evidence linking public savings and better health outcomes to investment in education, housing, and transit as well.  This session will focus on the evidence for long term return on investment in public health and actions that may be taken at the state and community levels.

Pam Berenbaum’s Biography
Pam Berenbaum is a Professor of the Practice and serves as Associate Director of Program Engagement for the Global Health Program at Middlebury College.  She has taught at Middlebury since 2010, teaching courses on global health, public health policy, social change, and disaster public health.  Pam holds a Master of Science in Health Policy and Management from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she engaged in research on risk assessment and economic evaluation.  She has worked in many sectors, including government, corporate consulting, higher education, and nonprofits. 

For ten years, she was an infectious disease epidemiologist in the Epidemiology Field Unit at the Vermont Department of Health, where she specialized in syndromic surveillance, bioterrorism, and all-hazards emergency preparedness, collaborating with personnel from other state agencies as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She was intimately involved in the state’s response to the 9/11 and anthrax terror attacks of 2001, the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, and other public health emergencies.

Berenbaum is also passionate about social justice and community service. Her extensive volunteer experience includes:  serving eight years on the board of directors of WomenSafe, Inc. (now Atria Collective); driving for the Open Door Clinic; serving on the task force for the 2021 Addison County Community Health Needs Assessment; providing pro bono statistical and data analysis for several local organizations; and serving in leadership roles in local faith communities.

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