EduCon 2025

Public health is in a state of social transformation and therefore public health education must follow suit to continue to produce public health practitioners who can meet the demands of the ever-changing field of public health and of the public it serves.Over the past 8 years there has been a significant decline in the public health workforce, quickened by the pandemic. Though this experience was costly, we learned that the field doesn’t fully represent the public it serves. There has been endeavors such as Drexel University’s School of Public Health creation of a Summer Public Health Institute geared towards exposing students to various career paths in public health, and the newly created partnership between a local Philadelphia high school and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia aimed at addressing local healthcare workforce shortages, but there is still much work that needs to be done to create a public health workforce that mirrors the public.

This conversation emphasizes the importance of engaging high school students in building a skilled, diverse, and future-ready public health workforce. By focusing on students early, we can foster essential skills—like communication, analytical thinking, and problem-solving—that are foundational for careers in public health. Highlighting the role of diversity, this approach ensures that the future workforce better represents and understands the communities it serves. Through real-world examples and actionable strategies, this discussion encourages collaboration between public health organizations and schools, aiming to inspire early interest in public health careers and lay the groundwork for a resilient, well-prepared workforce.