Johanna Ravenhurst Elected to South Hadley Board of Health

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Johanna Ravenhurst, a doctoral candidate in epidemiology who serves as the lead epidemiological data analyst for the UMass Amherst Public Health Promotion Center, was elected in April to the South Hadley Board of Health. She will serve a one-year term with an opportunity to run again for a three-year term in 2022.

As a board of health member, Ravenhurst will help to enforce the laws and regulations related to protecting public health. The board is also responsible for determining how to meet community needs with additional programs and services to preserve or improve the health of all residents in the town.

Ravenhurst plans to work on initiatives to ensure community access to the COVID-19 vaccines and “help the community heal from the past year.” One important aspect of this, she notes, will be addressing the mental health of community members and increasing access to support resources or rebuilding social connections.

“I look forward to learning from community members and responding to their questions and concerns to protect the health and wellbeing of residents of South Hadley,” she says.

As the board’s new chair, Ravenhurst also plans to collaborate with town groups to address racism as a public health crisis, to help to finalize the Board of Health’s roles and responsibilities as outlined in the updated Master Plan for the Town of South Hadley, and to work with the Pioneer Valley Mosquito Control District to improve mosquito surveillance in the town in response to increases in Eastern equine encephalitis, West Nile virus, and other vector-borne diseases in the community.

Ravenhurst notes that the training she’s received through her coursework in biostatistics and epidemiology have helped her set the framework for addressing issues related to population health, and helped prepare her to work in the field and solve real-world public health problems. Additionally, her experience volunteering for the Academic Public Health Volunteer Corps and working for the Public Health Promotion Center have taught her valuable lessons about working with the public.

“My training has inspired me to seek opportunities to complement my ongoing academic work with practical public health work in my own community.” She adds, “I grew up in Western Massachusetts and I have been a resident of South Hadley since 2017. I ran for this position as a way to become more involved in the local community and improve the health of residents in South Hadley. My motivation also stemmed from the desire to apply what I am learning in my classes and gain more practical public health experience. This experience will deepen my understanding of the role of local boards of health in Massachusetts. I look forward to leading and supporting initiatives that will improve the health and wellbeing of people living locally.”