AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
EDITOR’S CHOICE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASSISTANT EDITOR DEPUTY EDITOR FEATURE EDITOR IMAGE EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITORS
On Leadership Over the past year of editorial transition at the Journal, I have spent an inordinate amount of time pondering the attributes of leadership. Mary Travis Bassett, the New York City Health Commissioner, received due acclaim during the Ebola fears last year as a leader with empathy, depth of understanding, and calm in the midst of all too frequent political posturing. “I was thinking, as a parent myself, how scared a parent must be. Information is a really good antidote to fear,” she was quoted as reflecting by Josh Dawsey in the Wall Street Journal last October. She continued, “In this time, the science and the facts are what will keep us on the straight and narrow.” Her words and her actions resonated deeply with me. Dr. Bassett not only placed the health of the public before any personal gain from a turn in the limelight, but she remained true to her essential character. I have cherished the privilege of working closely with Dr. Bassett from the beginning of my public health career, first as community-based researchers at the Harlem Health Promotion Center, then as fellow editors of the Journal, and hopefully on future population-based efforts among our partnering institutions, agencies, and organizations to realize health equity in New York City. Needless to say, this is not the first editorial transition I experienced at the Journal. In 1999, it was former editorial board chair Faye Wong who rose to the challenge of leadership during a period of uncertainty and elevated our mission to a more inclusive, practice-based rank. Ms. Wong embodies a selfless work ethic, and is far more interested in building coalitions than pontificating on her achievements. Absent her counsel, the bold idea of applying for the position of editor-in-chief myself would have remained far-fetched. Her commonsense advice to me was to underscore that, as interim editor, I could certainly manage the workload. The leap required was a willingness to challenge the status quo and imagine a radically different choice for editor-in-chief: a woman without a medical degree at the outset of her research career—me. During the current editorial transition at the Journal, it is the sitting editorial board chair,
1060 | Editor's Choice
Jeffrey Wilson, who has been my ongoing inspiration and trusted counsel. Dr. Wilson is a gentle, intuitive leader, with a gift for cajoling me via his easy humor and deep humanity to be my nobler self. Through his tutelage, I have honed the ability to let go of petty grievances and laugh at the absurdities of life. I picture him always at my side, and remain awed by his dedication to the Journal and everyone involved in furthering its mission. To me, the end of my tenure as editor-inchief has felt less like the termination of a business contract and more like the breakup of a love affair. Each theme highlighted by the Journal meant plunging myself into a new arena, and working with exceptional colleagues both within and external to our formal editorial team. There is an intimacy to writing together, as well as to creating issues and supplements as a diverse yet united team. I remember every image we selected for our covers since August 2001, when we instituted the new design, and I wrote every single cover caption myself. After 23 years with the Journal and 16 at its helm, the process of saying goodbye has been wrenching at times. But as with the other leaders I have highlighted here, I elect to remain true to my essential character. I still approach every issue and supplement we publish with all of the intensity I can muster. If you should notice my eyes glistening through this editorial transition, there is no need to offer me comfort. It is a healthy sign that I remain passionate to the end regarding this grand adventure. And so, to the next editor-in-chief, Alfredo Morabia, I wish you unbridled joy in your leadership of the Journal. You are in for a rush. j Mary Evelyn Northridge, PhD, MPH Editor Emerita, AJPH doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302657
Mary E. Northridge, PhD, MPH Ariel P. Greenblatt, DMD, MPH Farzana Kapadia, PhD Gabriel N. Stover, MPA Aleisha Kropf Hortensia Amaro, PhD Eric R. Buhi, PhD Paul C. Erwin, MD, DrPH Michael R. Greenberg, PhD Sofia Gruskin, JD, MIA Said Ibrahim, MD, MPH Robert J. Kim-Farley, MD, MPH Stewart J. Landers, JD, MCP Stella M. Yu, ScD, MPH ASSOCIATE EDITOR FOR STATISTICS AND EVALUATION Roger Vaughan, DrPH, MS INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATE EDITORS Kenneth Rochel de Camargo Jr, MD, PhD (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Daniel Tarantola, MD (Ferney-Voltaire, France) DEPARTMENT EDITORS Roy Grant, MA Government, Law, and Public Health Practice Public Health Policy Briefs Elizabeth Fee, PhD, and Theodore M. Brown, PhD Images of Health Public Health Then and Now Voices From the Past Mark A. Rothstein, JD Public Health Ethics Kenneth R. McLeroy, PhD, and Deborah Holtzman, PhD, MSW Framing Health Matters EDITORIAL BOARD Jeffrey R. Wilson, PhD, MS (2015), Chair Chinua Akukwe, MD, MPH (2015) Jermane Bond, PHD (2017) Gwen Chodur (2015) Keith Elder, PhD, MPH (2016) Thomas Greenfield, PhD (2015) Dio Kavalieratos, PhD (2016) Denys T. Lau, PhD (2017) Maureen Lichtveld, MD, MPH (2015) Justin B. Moore, PhD (2016) Samuel L. Posner, PhD (2015) F. Douglas Scutchfield, MD (2017) Ruth Zambrana, PhD (2016) STAFF Georges C. Benjamin, MD Executive Director/Publisher Ashell Alston, Publications Director Brian Selzer, Deputy Publications Director Morgan Richardson, Production Coordinator Michael Henry, Associate Production Editor (Sr) Aisha Jamil, Associate Production Editor (Jr) Mazin Abdelgader, Graphic Designer Vivian Tinsley, Subscriptions Manager FREELANCE STAFF Kelly Burch, Greg Edmondson, John Lane, Gary Norton, Michelle Quirk, Alisa Riccardi, Trish Weisman, Eileen Wolfberg, Copyeditors Nestor Ashbery, Sarah Cook, Marci McGrath, Chris Smith, Proofreaders Vanessa Sifford, Graphic Designer
American Journal of Public Health | June 2015, Vol 105, No. 6
EDITOR’S CHOICE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASSISTANT EDITOR DEPUTY EDITOR FEATURE EDITOR IMAGE EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITORS
On Leadership Over the past year of editorial transition at the Journal, I have spent an inordinate amount of time pondering the attributes of leadership. Mary Travis Bassett, the New York City Health Commissioner, received due acclaim during the Ebola fears last year as a leader with empathy, depth of understanding, and calm in the midst of all too frequent political posturing. “I was thinking, as a parent myself, how scared a parent must be. Information is a really good antidote to fear,” she was quoted as reflecting by Josh Dawsey in the Wall Street Journal last October. She continued, “In this time, the science and the facts are what will keep us on the straight and narrow.” Her words and her actions resonated deeply with me. Dr. Bassett not only placed the health of the public before any personal gain from a turn in the limelight, but she remained true to her essential character. I have cherished the privilege of working closely with Dr. Bassett from the beginning of my public health career, first as community-based researchers at the Harlem Health Promotion Center, then as fellow editors of the Journal, and hopefully on future population-based efforts among our partnering institutions, agencies, and organizations to realize health equity in New York City. Needless to say, this is not the first editorial transition I experienced at the Journal. In 1999, it was former editorial board chair Faye Wong who rose to the challenge of leadership during a period of uncertainty and elevated our mission to a more inclusive, practice-based rank. Ms. Wong embodies a selfless work ethic, and is far more interested in building coalitions than pontificating on her achievements. Absent her counsel, the bold idea of applying for the position of editor-in-chief myself would have remained far-fetched. Her commonsense advice to me was to underscore that, as interim editor, I could certainly manage the workload. The leap required was a willingness to challenge the status quo and imagine a radically different choice for editor-in-chief: a woman without a medical degree at the outset of her research career—me. During the current editorial transition at the Journal, it is the sitting editorial board chair,
1060 | Editor's Choice
Jeffrey Wilson, who has been my ongoing inspiration and trusted counsel. Dr. Wilson is a gentle, intuitive leader, with a gift for cajoling me via his easy humor and deep humanity to be my nobler self. Through his tutelage, I have honed the ability to let go of petty grievances and laugh at the absurdities of life. I picture him always at my side, and remain awed by his dedication to the Journal and everyone involved in furthering its mission. To me, the end of my tenure as editor-inchief has felt less like the termination of a business contract and more like the breakup of a love affair. Each theme highlighted by the Journal meant plunging myself into a new arena, and working with exceptional colleagues both within and external to our formal editorial team. There is an intimacy to writing together, as well as to creating issues and supplements as a diverse yet united team. I remember every image we selected for our covers since August 2001, when we instituted the new design, and I wrote every single cover caption myself. After 23 years with the Journal and 16 at its helm, the process of saying goodbye has been wrenching at times. But as with the other leaders I have highlighted here, I elect to remain true to my essential character. I still approach every issue and supplement we publish with all of the intensity I can muster. If you should notice my eyes glistening through this editorial transition, there is no need to offer me comfort. It is a healthy sign that I remain passionate to the end regarding this grand adventure. And so, to the next editor-in-chief, Alfredo Morabia, I wish you unbridled joy in your leadership of the Journal. You are in for a rush. j Mary Evelyn Northridge, PhD, MPH Editor Emerita, AJPH doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302657
Mary E. Northridge, PhD, MPH Ariel P. Greenblatt, DMD, MPH Farzana Kapadia, PhD Gabriel N. Stover, MPA Aleisha Kropf Hortensia Amaro, PhD Eric R. Buhi, PhD Paul C. Erwin, MD, DrPH Michael R. Greenberg, PhD Sofia Gruskin, JD, MIA Said Ibrahim, MD, MPH Robert J. Kim-Farley, MD, MPH Stewart J. Landers, JD, MCP Stella M. Yu, ScD, MPH ASSOCIATE EDITOR FOR STATISTICS AND EVALUATION Roger Vaughan, DrPH, MS INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATE EDITORS Kenneth Rochel de Camargo Jr, MD, PhD (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Daniel Tarantola, MD (Ferney-Voltaire, France) DEPARTMENT EDITORS Roy Grant, MA Government, Law, and Public Health Practice Public Health Policy Briefs Elizabeth Fee, PhD, and Theodore M. Brown, PhD Images of Health Public Health Then and Now Voices From the Past Mark A. Rothstein, JD Public Health Ethics Kenneth R. McLeroy, PhD, and Deborah Holtzman, PhD, MSW Framing Health Matters EDITORIAL BOARD Jeffrey R. Wilson, PhD, MS (2015), Chair Chinua Akukwe, MD, MPH (2015) Jermane Bond, PHD (2017) Gwen Chodur (2015) Keith Elder, PhD, MPH (2016) Thomas Greenfield, PhD (2015) Dio Kavalieratos, PhD (2016) Denys T. Lau, PhD (2017) Maureen Lichtveld, MD, MPH (2015) Justin B. Moore, PhD (2016) Samuel L. Posner, PhD (2015) F. Douglas Scutchfield, MD (2017) Ruth Zambrana, PhD (2016) STAFF Georges C. Benjamin, MD Executive Director/Publisher Ashell Alston, Publications Director Brian Selzer, Deputy Publications Director Morgan Richardson, Production Coordinator Michael Henry, Associate Production Editor (Sr) Aisha Jamil, Associate Production Editor (Jr) Mazin Abdelgader, Graphic Designer Vivian Tinsley, Subscriptions Manager FREELANCE STAFF Kelly Burch, Greg Edmondson, John Lane, Gary Norton, Michelle Quirk, Alisa Riccardi, Trish Weisman, Eileen Wolfberg, Copyeditors Nestor Ashbery, Sarah Cook, Marci McGrath, Chris Smith, Proofreaders Vanessa Sifford, Graphic Designer
American Journal of Public Health | June 2015, Vol 105, No. 6
