Washington, DC, May 8, 2025 - The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the voice of the country’s over 3,300 local health departments, hosted the 2025 Preparedness Summit from April 29 to May 2 in San Antonio, Texas. Over 2,400 public health experts, healthcare leaders, and emergency management specialists attended the event at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio to share best practices to strengthen the country’s health security system. This year’s theme, “Pathways to Recovery in the Aftermath of Disasters,” created a space for attendees to discuss shared experiences and explore collaborative approaches that best support all facets of recovery efforts. The Summit is the first and longest-running national conference on public health preparedness. 

Recovery is often an overlooked phase in the aftermath of a disaster, yet it remains a critical and ongoing process essential in building resilient communities. As the country faces widespread hurricanes, wildfires, floods, tornados, and other public health emergencies, the Summit brought together 500+ guest speakers and offered 300+ educational sessions to empower attendees with strategies to address the challenges of an ever-evolving threat environment. The sessions covered discussions on community recovery; data modernization; emergency planning and operations; Medical Reserve Corps operations; communications; organizational recovery; mental health; partnerships; recruitment; and volunteer management.

The Summit’s plenary sessions explored how public health professionals can adapt in situations of uncertainty, take on leadership roles in any capacity, and effectively plan for long-term recovery. These were addressed through the following sessions:

• Operating in the Gray: Exploring the Evolving Public Health Preparedness System
  Opening Remarks: Lori Tremmel Freeman, NACCHO Chief Executive Officer and Dr. Henry Walke, Director of the Office of Readiness and Response at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Speakers: Dr. Tom Inglesby, Director at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security; Dr. Kelly Kimple, Acting Director at North Carolina Division of Public Health; Dr. Michael Kilkenny, NACCHO Board President and CEO and Health Officer at Cabell-Huntington Health Department; Dr. William Craig Vanderwagen, Instructor at Harvard School of Public Health and Co-Chair of NAM Forum on Medical/PH Preparedness/Response.

• You’re Still It: How to Lead in Recovery
  Speakers: Dr. Tom Frieden, President and CEO at Resolve to Save Lives; Eric McNulty, Associate Director at National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard University

• Bridging the Gap: Public Health’s Role in Long-Term Recovery
  Speakers: Dr. Joei Acosta, Senior Behavioral/Social Scientist at RAND; Dr. David Dyjack, Executive Director at National Environmental Health Association; Cheryl Petersen-Kroeber, Director, Emergency Preparedness and Response at Minnesota Department of Health; Dr. Monica Schoch-Spana, Medical Anthropologist and Public Health Researcher and Professor of Community Health in the Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences and the Director for the Community Health Degree Program at the Texas A&M University - San Antonio; Dr. Andrew Whelton, Professor of Civil and Construction Engineering and Environmental and Ecological Engineering at Purdue University

The 2026 Preparedness Summit will take place in Baltimore from April 13 to 16. 

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About the Preparedness Summit
The Preparedness Summit is the first and longest-running national conference on public health preparedness. Since its beginning in 2007, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) has taken a leadership role in convening a wide array of partners to participate in the Summit; presenting new research findings, sharing tools and resources, and providing a variety of opportunities for attendees to learn how to implement model practices that enhance the nation’s capabilities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and other emergencies.

About NACCHO 
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents the nation’s over 3,300 local governmental health departments. 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 about NACCHO, please visit www.naccho.org.