Washington, DC, July 21, 2025 — The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the voice of the over 3,300 local health departments across the country, awarded public health professional Elaine O’Keefe, MSPH, with the Maurice “Mo” Mullet Lifetime of Service Award. Elaine received the award at the 2025 NACCHO360 annual conference in Anaheim, California on July 17, 2025.

NACCHO’s Maurice “Mo” Mullet Lifetime of Service Award honors local health officials for noteworthy service that reflects Mullet’s commitment, vigor, and leadership. Mo Mullet was a NACCHO board member for three years, vice president for four years, and president from 1992 to 1994. During his career, Mullet achieved statewide and national recognition as a leader among local health officials and in the field of public health. Those nominated for the award must demonstrate leadership among local health departments, characterized by energetic volunteer service to NACCHO and significant contributions to the field of local public health practice.

“I am honored to be chosen for this award by my peers,” said O’Keefe. “It truly takes the proverbial village to carry out the critical mission of public health, and I am grateful to all who have been part of my public health journey. The issues faced by local public health practitioners are compelling, complex, and often controversial. NACCHO plays a unique and vital role in supporting the work of local health departments and serving as the national voice of local public health. That role is ever more important in these challenging times. This award also holds special significance because of my relationship with Mo Mullet while serving on the NACCHO board during my early tenure as a local health director. Mo was a kind mentor and extraordinary individual, fully dedicated to the public health mission and an unrelenting champion of NACCHO and its mission.” 

Elaine O’Keefe has worked in local governmental public health practice for over 25 years. Her public health career began in 1982 as a coordinator of the Community Health Education Council for the Springfield, Massachusetts Health Department and continued in her subsequent roles as coordinator of the Health Ways Program, Health Education Director, and the AIDS Division Director at Connecticut’s New Haven Health Department. 

O’Keefe’s direct involvement with NACCHO began in 1992 when she became a local health director for the Town of Stratford, Connecticut. She was elected to the NACCHO Board of Directors in 1993, became Vice President in 1997, and served as President of NACCHO from 2000-2001. She then served two terms as NACCHO Past-President (2001-2003). While President, O’Keefe chose to focus on the root causes of health disparities, leading to NACCHO’s first annual conference on the issue in June 2001, “Confronting Disparities: Addressing the Social Determinants of Health.” The conference spawned a series of health equity initiatives at NACCHO in subsequent years, many of which continue to thrive.  Some of O’Keefe’s other major successes as NACCHO President include her leadership in forming the vision statement for local public health agencies. This vision and discussion served as a springboard for the first Operational Definition of a Functional Local Health Department and the local health department standards and accreditation initiatives that have subsequently followed. The Operational Definition clarified what every citizen should expect from their local health department.

Another accomplishment during O’Keefe’s time as President is the passage of the Public Health Threats and Emergencies Act in 2000, aka the Kennedy-Frist Bill. Elaine’s work on this Bill strived to secure non-categorical and sustained funding to support the public health infrastructure with a specific designation of funds for local health departments. 

O’Keefe shifted from local governmental public health practice to an academic setting later in her career, with an emphasis on strengthening the connections between practical and academic public health. For over a decade, she held joint positions as the Executive Director for the Office of Public Health Practice (OPHP) and Executive Director for the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), at Yale University, School of Public Health, New Haven, CT.  While at Yale, she also served as Director for the CT-RI Public Health Training Center.

O’Keefe has not only been a local/regional/state public health leader, but she has also energetically and selflessly volunteered her service nationally, to and for NACCHO where she continues to serve as an active member of the Past Presidents Council.

“On behalf of our entire organization, I extend my sincerest congratulations to Elaine O’Keefe on receiving NACCHO’s most prestigious award, the Maurice “Mo” Mullet Lifetime of Service Award,” said Lori Tremmel Freeman, NACCHO CEO. “For more than four decades, Elaine has been a driving force in public health, leading with purpose and a deep commitment to health equity. Since first engaging with NACCHO in 1992 and later as board president, she focused on addressing the root causes of health disparities, efforts that led to initiatives that impact our organization today. Her contributions have truly made a lasting impact. Her transition into public health academia and her continued involvement with NACCHO reflects her lifelong dedication to building healthier communities across the country. We are honored to celebrate her legacy and ongoing service.”

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About NACCHO

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents the over 3,300 local governmental health departments across the country. These city, county, metropolitan, district, and tribal departments work every day to protect and promote health and well-being for all people in their communities. For more information, visit www.naccho.org.