We hear you...
“…A basic need expressed among NEHA members is to have a single place where they can easily search credentialing requirements across the United States…”
-Jonna Ashley, NEHA Membership Manager
The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) is known across the country as the gold standard for environmental health credentials, in particular our premier credential, the Registered Environmental Health Specialist/Registered Sanitarian (REHS/RS). The REHS/RS was the impetus for NEHA’s founding over 80 years ago. It is also incumbent upon the national association to track and support state-level REHS credentials as part of our mission to advance the profession.
There is a need for this information in the realm of advocacy to demonstrate competency in the field. The Environmental Health Workforce Act that is currently being reintroduced in Congress is an example of this need.
How your dollars will help...
The NEHA Endowment Fund is reserved for special projects or programs that are not otherwise covered in our annual budget. This could be anything from financing a member in need to enable them to attend a special event like the AEC or substantial funding to support a key partnership. Small or large, the purpose of this fund is to ensure that NEHA can contribute to the evolving field of environmental health and continue to be the touchstone in educating environmental health professionals.
The NEHA Endowment Fund Committee is designed to oversee and evaluate the fund and its progression, investments, and sustainability. This year, the members of the committee have seen the exponential growth of the fund from your support throughout 2020, and because of this, they have graciously agreed to finance a project using a small percentage of your donated dollars that will showcase how you’ve provided support to the profession and its future. This project will solely entail creating a detailed map displaying REHS credentialing requirements across the country. This special project is already underway with plans to unveil the map on our website in Fall 2021. The work is being done jointly by NEHA staff, interns, affiliates, and board members.
From the NEHA Credentialing Department, Sarah Hoover shares why this project will answer the most frequent question we get, for not only our members but for the entire environmental health profession,
“The number one question we get from members, credential holders, state program administrators, potential candidates, etc. is some version of “What states require and/or recognize the REHS/RS?”. REHS/RS is the NEHA credential, but the overarching ask is about professional licensing, regardless of the terminology used. To date, efforts to capture this information have been static one-off explorations, the most accurate figures are from 2015. If NEHA can come up with a way to succinctly capture this type of data in perpetuity, it will answer the number one burning question of those in the EH field.”
The map will be a free resource for all current and prospective environmental health professionals to access valuable information about how to get started and advance in their careers.
You made this possible...
As a donor to the Endowment Fund, we owe this work to you. We understand this project is not a want - it is a need. Because of your generosity towards our Endowment Fund, we can make this highly desired project a reality and provide the environmental health workforce the tools and data they need to advance the profession.
Thanks to you, we can deliver this project to answer the number one burning question from the environmental health workforce. This map will be a tool advocate on behalf of professionals across the nation.
Learn more about our Endowment Foundation HERE.
After one donation, you're in the club! See our Endowment Fund Clubs HERE.
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