I flew into the mile-high city this morning with a delicious sense of anticipation. Remembering the energy that I brought back with me from Philadelphia last year when I attended APHA’s annual meeting for the first time, I am excited at what this year will hold now that I have a decent idea of what the heck is going on. I landed at the Denver airport at 7:20 a.m., dashed outside to catch the bus to my hotel (because who wants to pay $21 for a shuttle when the bus only costs $9 one-way?), tossed my bags down in my hotel room and dashed off to the Convention Center.
I made it just in time for the Global Health Connections Committee meeting. After introductions, Dr. Jaya Prakash gave a summary (accompanied by myself – with two minutes’ notice! – and Ms. Vina HuLamm) of the progress on the Global Health Expertise Directory, which is expected to launch early next year. I skipped the Opening General Session to staff the International Health Welcome Booth, but I heard it was a powerful and inspiring experience – you see the videos of it on the APHA Annual Meeting Blog, and the videos are also posted on APHA’s YouTube Channel.
The IH Section had its first business meeting this afternoon at 2. We saw a lot of new faces, and Dr. Miriam Labbok encouraged them to get involved in one of the many committees and working groups. I had a chance to meet several members that I connected with globally, including Dr. Gonzalo Bacigalupe.
I will be recapping the sessions and meetings I attend on this blog and posting updates on Twitter (when I can get wireless in the convention center, anyway).
My Twitter handle is @jessicakeralis. Other IH section members on Twitter include Dr. Bacigalupe (@healthglobal and @bacigalupe) and Mr. Jirair Ratevosian (@jratevosian). APHA is also tweeting with @APHAAnnualMtg and @PublicHealth.
IH CONNECT 