MCHB Divisions and Offices

Jeff Koshel: Hi. My name’s Jeff Koshel. I’m the Deputy for the Division of State and Community Health. The good news is I do not have any slides to show you. The bad news is we are not taking a formal break, however, feel free to get up and go out and use the facilities, get a cup of coffee and come back, however, try not to do it just as somebody starts speaking because they may take it personally. The next two sessions are 15 minutes in length. Each individual will speak for about 15 minutes, and then you can have questions and answers for another five minutes. The primary objective of this session and the next that follows is to give you some idea of who the people are who are responsible for some of our divisions and offices. The format is based on efficiency. We’re asking people to come in, and because of this stage, it all seems very formal. These are among the nicest people you will ever meet, and that’s a true statement, and what you really should do is make a mental note of who you’d like to buttonhole in the next three days and talk with. They are very approachable folks. There’s been a survey done by an independent research organization and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau whose rate is to have the nicest people in all of government. I don’t have the source for that right off hand, but I can assure you it’s true. Okay. So, if you would, here in the next three presentations, hold your questions until each individual is finished and you’ll have five minutes and they’ll acknowledge you and we’ll just proceed. Our first Division Director is David Heppel who’s with the Division of Child Adolescent and Family Health, and David’s been at the Bureau a long time, and I probably learned more from David’s presentations at our senior staff meeting than just about anything else I’ve done in the last three years at the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. So David. Oh, and one other thing just before David talks. We have a very nice lunch for you and you can thank--well, there are two people here who should be given credit for the lunch. One of them has left. Heather Demerus is the very nice young scholar. Heather, say hi to folks. Stand up. If you like the food for the next few days, thank her. She’s our nutritionist. If you don’t like it, she’s so young and nice don’t tell her. You can tell me. I’m used to getting criticism. Okay, David.