The National Network of Public Health Institutes Announces the New Members of Senior Leadership Team 

Sabrina Selk and Diana Hamer to lead programs that continue organizational efforts to enhance and prioritize public health commitment. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts: 
Katy Sandusky, National Network of Public Health Institutes, ksandusky@nnphi.org | Maurice Starks, National Network of Public Health Institutes, mstarks@nnphi.org  

WASHINGTON, DC — The National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) recently welcomed Sabrina Selk and Diana Hamer as the new members of senior leadership and noted the vast array of experiences they offer to the NNPHI team. Bringing to the organization experiences as thought leaders and have backgrounds in public health workforce, Selk and Hamer share an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity and their willingness to impact the communities they serve. 

Sabrina Selk joined NNPHI as the Director of Health and Racial Equity in December 2021. In this role, Selk will oversee the strategic effort to increase the effectiveness and broaden the impact of NNPHI’s equity work, in addition to strengthening and implementing NNPHI’s strategies designed to achieve health and racial equity. 

Receiving her ScD and ScM from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston, MA., Selk has experience leading and supporting health and racial equity efforts at the national, state and local level, as well as in social epidemiology, community engagement and community-based participatory research, especially in the realm of maternal, child and family health. 

Diana Hamer joined NNPHI this year as the Director for Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery at NNPHI, where she will oversee the continued growth of projects related to building public health capacity for all hazard disaster response, emergent and infectious pathogen (Project Firstline), and climate and health issues at a state and local level. 

Hamer previously worked at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge LA. Receiving her PhD from Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, LA, and her MS in molecular biology from Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands, Hamer’s work and research are concentrated in environmental health, particularly environmental modifications and vector disease control, and health care access and utilization.   

“After an extensive national search, I am honored to welcome Dr. Sabrina Selk, Director of Health and Racial Equity, to our growing family. A seasoned leader in governmental public health, I look forward to partnering with Sabrina and our public health partners on this multisector capacity-building journey.” said Vincent Lafronza, Ed.D., M.S., president and Chief Executive Officer of NNPHI. “NNPHI also welcomes Dr. Diana Hamer to the network. Diana has decades of exemplary public health experience, with a strong commitment to advancing health and racial equity in her work which will be helpful to building network capacity for critical public health needs.” 

“My time in state government, advocating for equitable policies, programs and practices through several back-to-back public health crises was an eye-opening experience highlighting the critical role our public health systems play in addressing systems of oppression such as structural racism,” explained Selk. “I’m committed to helping think about how we standardize centering of equity into public health practice at every level from local to national as an essential element to ensure the health of our communities.” 

“Working in the healthcare sector, I saw the direct impact the environment had on individual’s health. The environmental impact and the effect of climate on a community’s health and health outcomes goes beyond natural disasters and often are more severely felt on our most vulnerable and underserved populations,” explained Hamer. “I am excited to join NNPHI and work with our partners in public health to advance the environmental and climate health agenda. Together we can build a more robust and equitable environmental health workforce.” 

For more information on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery and Health and Racial Equity, visit www.nnphi.org/focus-areas-service. For more information on NNPHI, visit www.nnphi.org.

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About the National Network of Public Health Institutes 
Mobilizing more than 40 public health institutes throughout 32 states along with ten university-based regional training centers and 40 training affiliates, the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) supports national public health system initiatives and strengthens public health institutes to promote multi sector activities resulting in measurable improvements of public health structures, systems, and outcomes. NNPHI also serves as the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training – NCCPHT. To learn more about NNPHI, visit www.nnphi.org.