Advisory Board Purpose

The Advisory Board of the EA Program provides advice to the director of the Program on the achievement of goals and objectives. Its functions are to:

• Make recommendations to the EA Program director, to the director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and to the deputy director of the NICHD;
• Serve as preceptors to EAs during the training period, with formal and informal roles as advisors, counselors, teachers, and guides; and
• Participate in EA-related meetings, such as the bi-monthly Advisory Board meetings, Biennial Update Conference, EA Regional Workshops, and the Annual EA Advisory Board Retreat, and serve as EA faculty for the core curriculum.

The Board consists of senior-level professional staff from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), who are approved by the sitting Board and by the NICHD director, with advice from the EA Program director and from the nomination committee of the EA Advisory Board. The members serve three-year terms; a board member may occasionally be asked to remain for an additional year.

Board members are expected to have broad experience within the Public Health Service and to be familiar with extramural research goals. Other selection factors include knowledge of and interest in the goals of the EA Program, demonstrated capability for leadership, good interpersonal skills, and a willingness to expend the necessary effort to fully participate in preceptorship and, board activities. In the selection of Board nominees, consideration is given to factors such as, institutes and centers representation, gender, ethnicity, organizational roles, experience, special skills, etc.

Advisory Board Retreat

• This annual event is usually held in July, at a conference facility remote from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus. A comprehensive two-day agenda is jointly planned by the EA Program staff and EA Program Board Members.
• Retreat attendees include the Advisory Board, the EA Program staff, the individual to whom the EA Program director reports, and former EA residents/EARDA grant recipients (called EA Alumni).
• The purposes of the retreat are to:
  • Address the agenda items either in one of three plenary sessions or in individual break-out sessions, and formulate recommendations, if appropriate;
  • Hear and comment on the EA Program director's annual report;
  • Gain a better appreciation of the successes and experiences that the EAs encounter at their institutions following receipt of the EARDA grant; and
  • Hear and respond to the vision of the NICHD director and/or deputy director regarding the future of the EA Program.
• Recommendations from each breakout session are presented to the entire group in the final plenary session. After the retreat, recommendations are reviewed by the EA Program staff, prioritized according to relevancy and feasibility of accomplishment, and presented to the NICHD director for consideration.
• The relevant recommendations may then be implemented.

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Advisory Board Members (Tenure date in parentheses)

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