Shepherd New Chief Professional Officer
NCEH/ATSDR’s
Craig Shepherd, a Captain in the USPHS, was selected by Surgeon General Richard
H. Carmona as the Chief Professional Officer for the
Public Health Service (PHS) Environmental Health Officer category.
The appointment was effective Nov. 1, 2005. In this position, Shepherd leads and coordinates PHS environmental health affairs for the Office of the Surgeon General. He also provides guidance and advice to the Surgeon General and the Environmental Health Officer Professional Advisory Committee (EHOPAC) on matters such as recruitment, retention, career development, and readiness.
Since his commission in July 1979, Shepherd has fulfilled varied environmental health program and management assignments in the Commissioned Corps. Shepherd began his Corps career as a staff environmental health specialist with the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (now the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). He also worked at the Food and Drug Administration as a milk/food specialist. On many occasions, he supervised and monitored food preparation at the request of the US Secret Service for President Reagan, Vice President Bush, and other distinguished US leaders. From 1982-2002, he held several positions with the Indian Health Service, including Director of Environmental Health Services for the Nashville Area Office.
In January 2003, Shepherd became a Senior Environmental Health Officer at NCEH/ATSDR. As a subject matter expert, he routinely provides critical input in the development of CDC reference manuals, guidance documents, and fact sheets. He also responds to environmental public health inquiries and controlled correspondence initiated by concerned citizens; congressional representatives; private industry; and local, tribal, state, and federal officials on various environmental health subjects and issues.
Shepherd has been a leader in promoting readiness for the Environmental Health Officer category. He has led by example by obtaining the Field Medical Readiness Badge and has responded to various humanitarian and natural disasters, including the Haitian refugee crisis (Ft. Allen, Puerto Rico, 1982); a drought assessment (Federated States of Micronesia, 1992); Hurricane Andrew (1992); and the Midwest flood (1993). He most recently has served as environmental health team leader for PHS responses to Hurricanes Jeanne (2004), Ivan (2004), and Katrina (2005).
He has earned numerous awards, including the PHS Outstanding Service Medal, 2 Commendation Medals, 4 Achievement Medals, 2 Citations, 12 Unit Commendations, 5 Special Assignment Awards, a National Emergency Preparedness Award, and 3 Crisis Response Service Awards. Shepherd is also the President of the American Academy of Sanitarians, Inc.
In 2005, Shepherd also received the John G. Todd Award, the highest honor bestowed by EHOPAC on a PHS Environmental Health Officer for career achievements