WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) is proud to announce that the Coalition for Trust in Health & Science’s Reed V. Tuckson, MD, FACP, will be the 2025 Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award Plenary keynote speaker during the 2025 Annual Conference in Long Beach, April 16-18.
This plenary, “A Meditation on the Greater Duty of the Health Communicator in a Time of Peril,” is sponsored by the CDC Foundation and the James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation. Reed’s keynote on April 17 will highlight the ethical foundations and the professional accountabilities of the health communicator’s mission, expertise, tactics and engagement strategies.
“One of the enduring and endearing lessons learned from the recent Pandemic is that our individual efforts to advance health, while important in their own right, can only be fully manifested in the sincerity and quality of our collaborations with others,” Tuckson said.
Currently, Dr. Tuckson’s focus is on his role as a Co- Convener of the Coalition for Trust In Health & Science, which is dedicated to bringing together the entire health related ecosystem to address mistrust and misinformation. In addition, he continues to advance his work as a co-founder of the Black Coalition Against COVID, a multi-stakeholder and interdisciplinary effort working to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C. and nationally by coordinating the four historically Black medical schools, the NMA, the National Black Nurses Association, the National Urban League, and BlackDoctor.org. Previously, he enjoyed a long tenure as Executive Vice President and Chief of Medical Affairs for UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune 20 Health and wellbeing company. A recognized leader in his field, Dr. Tuckson is honored to have been appointed to leadership roles at the National Institutes of Health; National Academy of Medicine; numerous Federal Advisory Committees; and corporate, non-profit and academic boards.
The CDC Foundation is honored to partner with the James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation, which established and funds the award. As of 2016, the CDC Foundation manages and administers the Fries Foundation’s public health award programs, which include the Fries Prize for Improving Health and the Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award.
“I appreciate the CDC Foundation for its vital role in providing the strategic vision, science-based expertise, and management expertise necessary to bring people and institutions together in partnerships that advance the health of all of the people of our nation,” Tuckson said. “Given the magnitude of the challenges before us, well designed partnerships that advance proven and leveraged cost-effective strategies are more essential than ever. I have been proud to regularly recommend the Foundation’s work to stakeholders as a vital and trustworthy element in the comprehensive portfolio necessary for an optimally healthy America.”
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About SOPHE
The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) is a nonprofit association that supports leaders in public health, health education and promotion to advance healthy and equitable communities across the globe. SOPHE members work in health care settings, communities, organizations, schools, universities, worksites, and in local, state and federal government agencies. For more information visit www.sophe.org.
