PHEC 460: From Newsroom to Policy, With Zack Stoycoff, MPA

After several weeks of travel, reflection, and intentional rest, Dr. Charlotte Huntley returns with a deeply personal episode to reconnect with listeners and share what's ahead. If you've recently discovered the podcast or you've been listening since the beginning, this episode is an opportunity to get to know the person behind the microphone. Dr. Huntley shares how her work as an epidemiologist, entrepreneur, consultant, podcast host, and soon-to-be author all connect around one purpose: helping public health professionals create meaningful impact. She also opens up about navigating grief, the importance of slowing down, the joy her grandchildren bring into her life, and why building community has become one of the most meaningful parts of her work. You'll also hear exciting updates about her upcoming book, a memorable conversation with Kamala Harris, the continued growth of the Public Health Epidemiology Conversations Community, and how each of these experiences reinforces her commitment to advancing public health leadership. Resources ▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community ▶️ Visit the PHEC Podcast Show Notes ▶️ DrCHHuntley, Public Health & Epidemiology Consulting  

Ask ten public health professionals to explain their work without using jargon, and you will get ten completely different answers. That is exactly the kind of honest, grounding conversation Dr. Huntley set out to have in this panel episode. What emerged was something more than a communication exercise. It was a compelling case for why explaining public health in plain language is itself an act of leadership. In this episode, Dr. Huntley brings together three rising voices in the field to explore one of the most practical questions in public health: how do we make people care about something they do not fully understand yet?    Resources ▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community ▶️ Visit the PHEC Podcast Show Notes ▶️ DrCHHuntley, Public Health & Epidemiology Consulting

What does it look like to lead the nation's oldest and largest public health organization during one of the most turbulent moments the field has ever faced? Dr. Nandi A. Marshall, current president of the American Public Health Association (APHA), has a clear answer, and she delivers it everywhere she goes: you are here for a reason, and this moment needs you. In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Dr. Marshall for a wide-ranging conversation that covers personal origin stories, public health advocacy, maternal and child health, workforce encouragement, and the future of the field. Resources ▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community ▶️ Visit the PHEC Podcast Show Notes ▶️ DrCHHuntley, Public Health & Epidemiology Consulting

What does a journalist watching a mother scream for her child outside a burning building have to do with mental health policy? For Zack Stoycoff, MPA, everything. That early morning moment on a street corner in Oklahoma planted a seed that eventually grew into one of the state's most impactful mental health advocacy organizations. In this episode of the PHEC podcast, Dr. Huntley sits down with Zack Stoycoff, founder and executive director of the Healthy Minds Policy Initiative, a mental health policy think tank based in Oklahoma. Their conversation covers his journey from breaking news reporter to healthcare lobbyist to policy entrepreneur, and what it actually takes to move the needle on mental health outcomes at the state and community level.   Resources ▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community ▶️ Visit the PHEC Podcast Show Notes ▶️ DrCHHuntley, Public Health & Epidemiology Consulting

What if the most powerful tool in your public health toolkit isn't a dataset or a policy brief? What if it's a story? In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Sally Perkins, PhD, a storytelling expert who has spent years teaching healthcare and public health professionals how to communicate in ways that actually move people to act. From persuading vaccine-hesitant patients to presenting population-level data to legislators, Dr. Perkins brings practical, field-tested frameworks to a challenge that nearly every public health professional faces: bridging the gap between what we know and what our audiences understand.   Resources ▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community ▶️ Visit the PHEC Podcast Show Notes ▶️ DrCHHuntley, Public Health & Epidemiology Consulting  

It is one of the most important questions in the field right now, and one of the hardest to answer. Public health professionals know the work inside and out, but translating it for friends, neighbors, and policymakers? That is where many of us get stuck. In this episode, Dr. Huntley is joined by two leaders from Sisters in Public Health, a national organization advancing women in the public health field. Together, they explore one of the most pressing challenges of this moment: how do we explain public health in plain language, and why does it matter so much right now? The conversation is grounded, practical, and genuinely energizing. Resources ▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community ▶️ Visit the PHEC Podcast Show Notes ▶️ DrCHHuntley, Public Health & Epidemiology Consulting

What does it take to lead one of the largest local health departments in the country when funding is disappearing, misinformation is spreading, and measles outbreaks are making headlines? In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Dr. Claude A. Jacob, Public Health Director of the City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, for a candid, energizing conversation about resilience, cross-sector collaboration, and what it truly means to protect 2.1 million residents in the middle of a storm. Dr. Jacob and Dr. Huntley both share a deep commitment to communicating the value of public health in ways that resonate with everyday people. From understanding how zip codes shape life expectancy to explaining why kids need to be vaccinated, both agree that telling the public health story more effectively is one of the field's most urgent priorities right now.   Resources ▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community ▶️ Visit the PHEC Podcast Show Notes ▶️ DrCHHuntley, Public Health & Epidemiology Consulting    

What happens when you stop chasing the terminology and commit fully to the work itself? In this episode of the PHEC Podcast, Dr. Huntley welcomes back Vanessa Guzman, biomedical engineer, CEO and president of SmartRise Health, and co-founder of Ella Es Health, for a candid catch-up conversation nearly two and a half years in the making. This is not a surface-level update. It is a rich, honest conversation about what it takes to build health-centered organizations that can withstand political shifts, funding uncertainty, and a rapidly changing healthcare landscape.   Resources ▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community ▶️ Visit the PHEC Podcast Show Notes ▶️ DrCHHuntley, Public Health & Epidemiology Consulting  

What does it take to break your silence in the middle of a public health crisis? For Dr. Elizabeth Soda, the answer came on an ordinary August afternoon when a gunman opened fire on CDC headquarters. She had left the campus just 30 minutes before the shooting began. That moment, she says, changed everything. In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Elizabeth Soda, MD, an infectious disease physician and former CDC epidemiologist who resigned from the agency in September 2025 after more than a decade of landmark public health work. Elizabeth speaks openly about what life inside CDC felt like and how dramatically that changed, the personal and professional reckoning that led to her resignation, and how she is channeling grief, anger, and passion into advocacy on a global stage.   Resources ▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community ▶️ Visit the PHEC Podcast Show Notes ▶️ DrCHHuntley, Public Health & Epidemiology Consulting

Episode 454 is unlike anything we've done before and you won't want to miss it. For the first time in PHEC Podcast history, Dr. Huntley took the mic on the road, setting up a live recording booth at a South Carolina public health conference and asking one powerful question: What is public health? What happened next was unexpected. People lined up to answer. From students and researchers to government leaders and community advocates, professionals from across South Carolina stepped up to share their stories, perspectives, and real-world examples of what public health truly means. The result is an inspiring, high-energy episode filled with authentic voices from the field. This episode is more than a conversation, it's a reminder of why public health matters and why learning to explain it in plain language is one of the most powerful tools we have. If you've ever struggled to answer the question, "So… what exactly do you do?"—this episode is for you.     Resources ▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community ▶️ Visit the PHEC Podcast Show Notes    ▶️ DrCHHuntley, Public Health & Epidemiology Consulting