SOPHE at Sixty:The Best Is Yet to Come

Abstract

Sixty years ago, on October 22, 1949, a small group of dedicated health educators made a commitment to innovation by founding what was then known as the Society of Public Health Educators. Since that time, our organization has consistently met the definition of innovation with the introduction of new ideas, methods, and devices. This presentation celebrates highlights of SOPHE’s past 60 years and explores the challenges facing our organization. It also presents the definition of the Element—the intersection of talent and passion, the point at which people are most inspired and achieve at the highest levels—as a framework for developing our talents for the future.