Agent of Change Chris Kochtitzky, MSP - Health Equity - CDC

Agent of Change Chris Kochtitzky, MSP - Health Equity - CDC

I hope all of you are safe and healthy, and I ache for those who have had loved ones affected by COVID-19.

We at DNPAO are grieving the death of Chris Kochtitzky, senior advisor, who passed away on May 3. Many of you worked with Chris as he provided expertise to state and community programs in policy, systems, and environmental interventions to promote active living. With DNPAO and in his collaboration across CDC, Chris supported program evaluation, strategic planning, and partner and stakeholder engagement in active living and related health promotion.

In 2018, Chris was recognized as a Public Health Agent of Change. When we featured him in this newsletter in February, he said his greatest professional satisfaction was seeing “concrete and practical outcomes that we’ve supported come to fruition, particularly related to potentially vulnerable populations.” He noted that partners provided the “crucial conduit to reach and positively affect people in their day-to-day lives.”

As we prepare for a “new normal,” it is critical that public health and partners continue to work together to positively affect people in their day-to-day lives. We do this every day as we strive to make physical activity and good nutrition available to everyone while reducing the prevalence of overweight and obesity and other chronic conditions.

To help promote change at the ground level, consider using these resources:

• Active Communities Tool offers a planning guide and assessment module to promote physical activity through community-built environments. The tool is most helpful if you have an established, cross-sector team.
• Smart Food Choices: How to Implement Food Service Guidelines in Public Facilities provides action steps to increase availability of healthier foods and beverages in venues such as cafeterias, concession stands, snack bars, and vending machines.
• Five action steps suggest actions for state and community leaders to reduce chronic disease through improvements in physical activity and nutrition

Thank you to everyone for your hard, and ever-changing work.

Ruth Petersen, director, DNPAO