If you’ve ever crossed paths with Jess Boyer in Paley Hall, you know she has a way of making people feel instantly at ease—warm, curious, and always ready to strike up a conversation. So, when she was named Vice Chair of the Executive Board of the American Public Health Association (APHA), the nation’s leading membership organization for public health professionals, it felt like a perfect match. The appointment recognizes not only her leadership, but her longstanding belief that professional associations are more than resumé lines. They’re where the field builds itself.

“Public health is built on relationships,” Boyer says. “The people you meet—the ones doing the work beside you—shape the opportunities you find and the kind of professional you become.”

For Boyer, now the Director of Assessment and Accreditation at CPH, associations have never been an afterthought. She spent more than a decade with the Pennsylvania Public Health Association, including 14 years as board president, before stepping into national roles with APHA. At every stage, she’s seen how professional communities open doors, build confidence, and connect people across disciplines and states.

“Public health can feel huge when you’re just getting started,” she says. “But then you meet someone doing work you didn’t know existed, and suddenly there’s a path. That’s what associations can do—they’re rocket fuel.”

Her own path into public health took a few turns as well. After graduating from La Salle, she worked in the field before returning to Temple as an MSW/MPH dual-degree student, balancing full-time work with evening classes and long study weekends. She later returned as faculty, and today teaches as an adjunct professor while overseeing accreditation and assessment for more than a dozen academic programs. Her role blends strategy, evaluation, collaboration, and an unwavering focus on student success.

“I always joke that accreditation is just good reading comprehension,” she says. “But really it’s making sure our students leave here ready for the workforce.”

That same sense of purpose carries into her national work. As APHA’s vice chair, Boyer helps guide governance, support the executive director, and ensure the organization stays focused on its strategic priorities. She’s especially proud of APHA’s recent advocacy—challenging political interference in public health, supporting federal workers navigating restrictions, and standing up for science during an especially turbulent moment for the field.

“It’s been a tough year,” she says. “People across the country are doing incredibly hard work with fewer resources and more pressure. Associations give them a sense of community and direction.”

That’s why she encourages students and early-career professionals to get involved early—even if it feels intimidating. Join your state association. Attend a meeting. Start with one email or one conversation.

“You’ll find people who inspire you,” she says. “You’ll find mentors. And you’ll see just how big—and how connected—this field really is.”