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About
NEHA
“...to advance the
environmental health and protection professional
for the purpose of providing a healthful environment for all.”
NEHA’s Origin
The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) had its origins in
the state of California where it was incorporated in 1937. The original
impetus behind the creation of a national professional society for
environmental health practitioners was the desire by professionals of
that day to establish a standard of excellence for this developing
profession. This standard, which has come to be known as the Registered
Environmental Health Specialist or Registered Sanitarian credential,
signifies that an environmental health professional has mastered a body
of knowledge (which is verified through the passing of an examination),
and has acquired sufficient experience, to satisfactorily perform work
responsibilities in the environmental health field. The pioneers of the
association believed that such a credential was necessary if the
environmental health field was to grow and take shape as a legitimate
and widely respected profession.
NEHA’s Mission
Drawing on the original effort that led to the creation of NEHA, the
association today stands as a strong professional society with over
4,500 members across the nation. Clearly NEHA’s mission, “to advance the
environmental health and protection professional for the purpose of
providing a healthful environment for all” is as relevant today as it
was when the organization was founded.
Advancement has been defined by NEHA in terms of both education and
motivation. The basis for the association’s activities is the belief
that the professional who is educated and motivated is the professional
who will make the greatest contribution to the healthful environmental
goals which we all seek. Accordingly, great emphasis is placed on
providing, through each of NEHA’s programs, both an educational as well
as a motivational opportunity. At NEHA’s conferences, for example,
tremendous attention is paid to developing a quality educational program
that not only imparts knowledge to the attendee but, also, through the
very quality of the presentations, inspires the attendee to do more upon
returning to his or her job.
NEHA Strategic Directions
Several years ago, NEHA’s board decided to adopt a rather unique
approach to envisioning the association’s future and determining the
association’s priorities. It made the bold move of stepping out of the
classical process of strategic planning. By focusing on directions and
not destinations, we keep our association on the balls of its feet –
ready to change course at a moment’s notice should circumstances in our
business environment indicate that such a change is appropriate. This
mindset and way of operating represents the extra commitment that NEHA
makes to insure that the association remains relevant to the profession
and to the NEHA membership. Our strategic directions include 1) Training
and Education; 2) Credentialing; 3) Advocacy; and 4) Organizational
Capacity.
Learn more and read a current progress report.
NEHA’s Programs and Services
In pursuit of its mission, NEHA offers a variety of programs. Expanding
beyond its original credential, today the association has seven national
credential programs (see * list
below). NEHA also produces the
Annual Educational Conference (AEC) & Exhibition, and a number of
technical workshops each year. In addition, NEHA publishes the
widely-respected and peer-reviewed
Journal of Environmental Health, serves as a “one stop shop” for
publications in virtually every area of the environmental health field
through its
online bookstore, posts job openings on its online
JobCenter, provides networking and committee participation
opportunities, develops positions on timely and serious environmental
health concerns, and provides several other services, serving as a
constant resource for the environmental health professional.
NEHA’s Staff
NEHA employs 26 paid professionals (21 full-time and five part-time or
contract staff) dedicated to providing quality programs to the NEHA
membership. The staff works in the following
areas: Research and Development, Customer Service, Meetings and
Technical Workshops, Credentialing, the Journal of Environmental Health,
Governmental Affairs, and Sales and Marketing. NEHA also employs a
full-time chief executive who serves as the association’s executive
director.
NEHA’s Board of Directors, Committees &
Technical Advisors
Board of Directors – Board Meeting – Spring 2013
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1st row, left to right: Alicia Enriquez Collins, Mel Knight, David Riggs, Ed Briggs, Sandra Long, James Speckhart,
John Steward, Adam London
2nd row, left to right: Carolyn Harvey, Bob Custard, Roy Kroeger, Nelson Fabian, Brian Collins, Keith Johnson |
The association is governed by a fourteen member board of directors that
is chaired by the association’s president. In all, NEHA has five
national officers
(second vice president, first vice president, president-elect, president
and immediate past president) who serve on the association’s executive
committee, and nine
regional vice presidents (RVP’s) who each represents one region of
the nation. A tenth RVP represents NEHA’s national affiliates (Industry
Affiliate, Uniformed Services, and National Conference of Local
Environmental Health Administrators). In addition, the executive
director serves as a non voting ex-officio member of the board.
Serving under the association’s board of directors is an array of
various administrative and functional committees. In addition, members
may participate in the association through other committees or as
technical advisors which, for NEHA’s purposes, essentially divide
the environmental field by subject matter. These advisors are subject
matter experts in the following areas:
NEHA’s Membership
NEHA’s 4,500+ members practice their profession in the public and
private sectors as well as in academia and the uniformed services, with
a majority being employed by state and local county health departments.
In addition, NEHA’s Journal of Environmental Health has subscribers in
over 40 countries around the world. Because it encompasses the entire
environmental health profession, this single organization effectively
serves as the forum for discussion of, and can address the broad
spectrum of, environmental health issues.
By working cooperatively with, and encouraging cooperation between, its
diverse membership, other national professional societies, and various
government agencies, NEHA continuously serves its mission. As it has
from its inception, NEHA is working to advance the EH professional, and
thereby improve the environment in cities, towns, and rural areas
throughout the world, to create a more healthful environment and quality
of life for us all.
*Certified Installer of Onsite Wastewater
Treatment Systems (CIOWTS), Registered Environmental Health
Specialist/Registered Sanitarian (REHS/RS), Certified Professional of
Food Safety (CP-FS), National Radon Proficiency Program, Certified
Environmental Health Technician (CEHT), Registered Hazardous Substances
Professional (RHSP), Registered Hazardous Substances Specialist (RHSS),
and Registered Environmental Technician (RET).
