The Policy Academy begins January 2020 and registration is now open! If you are interested in participating, please contact Kyra Miller. Registration will close on December 6, 2019 at 5 pm EST.

Is it possible to engage in policy work within the confines of your job? Do you have an STD issues that may have a policy solution? Are you interested in learning more about how public health policy decisions are made in your state?

Through the Policy Academy, NCSD’s policy team trains individuals from state and local health department STD programs and allies on how to safely and effectively engage in policy and policymaker education. Through the five online modules, health department STD programs and allies will:

• Learn how to safely engage in policy and policymaker education
• Gain skills to address public health program challenges through policy
• Develop messaging that resonates with department and government officials
• Understand how to build coalitions to further engage with policymakers.

In addition to one-on-one technical assistance throughout the Policy Academy, NCSD will assist participants with activities such as in-state education briefings or meetings, factsheet creation, and messaging development.

In the years since the Policy Academy began, more than 100 participants have been trained. Participants come from state and local health departments and other allied partners. These participants have addressed policy topics ranging from expedited partner therapy (EPT) to STD prevention partner-related barriers to third trimester syphilis testing requirements. In many cases, the time spent tackling these topics in the Policy Academy has ultimately led to policy movement at the state-level!

We make policy look good! Some of our awesome 2019 Policy Academy participants during our in-person meeting.