The 137th American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Expo has kicked off in Philadelphia! Three Spectrum team members have joined over 10,000 physicians, administrators, nurses, educators, researchers, and other public health practitioners. This year's meeting is "Water & Public Health," with many sessions focused on water conservation and pollution issues. 
Among a powerful line-up of speakers, Sunday's opening session featured EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, and the newly confirmed U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin. Jackson fired up the crowd by saying the public health community is the most dedicated group of environmentalists. Dr. Benjamin spoke about the importance of prevention "at all levels," and the role water can play in a person's health - just as important, she said, as a prescription.
After the opening session, we visited The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future's booth (1652), where live tweets are broadcasting on a screen using the hashtag #APHA09.
So far, we've attended section events for Population, Reproduction, and Sexual Health and Food & Nutrition. There will be so much more to come so make sure to follow us on Twitter to get live updates about what is going on the conference: @Allisonrbrown & @Kate_Morrison & @Plourde
-Allison Brown, Kate Morrison, and Christina Plourde
Tags: American Public Health Association, Center For a Livable Future, EPA
