Beyond Data Management Podcast

Environmental health is entering a new era—and the old regulatory playbook may no longer be enough.

In this episode of the Beyond Data Management Podcast, Cameron Garrison welcomes back Dr. David Dyjack, CEO of the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), for a wide-ranging conversation about the future of environmental and public health.

Dr. Dyjack explains why technical expertise alone is not enough to protect communities. Environmental health professionals must also build trust, communicate uncertainty honestly, understand body language, demonstrate empathy, and establish relationships before the next public-health crisis arrives.

The conversation explores:

• Why environmental health needs a completely new playbook
• How public-health professionals can rebuild trust with the public
• The importance of saying “I don’t know” when the science is uncertain
• Why communication, humility, and emotional intelligence matter
• Emerging threats including New World screwworm, Chagas disease, dengue, tickborne illnesses, and changing vector patterns
• How climate change is reshaping environmental-health responsibilities
• Cybersecurity threats facing drinking-water and public infrastructure systems
• Food safety challenges created by e-commerce and interstate shipping
• Why government leaders must create room for experimentation and “honorable failure”
• The expanding responsibilities of environmental-health professionals in Guam, American Samoa, and other island communities
• Why inspectors are much more than regulators—they are often the public face of public health

Dr. Dyjack also previews the upcoming NEHA Annual Educational Conference in Kansas City, including sessions on infectious disease, wildfire smoke, World Cup food safety, vector control, cybersecurity, and the growing food-freedom movement.

This is a thoughtful and often surprising conversation about leadership, service, risk communication, innovation, and what environmental health professionals must do to prepare for the challenges coming around the corner.

Register for the NEHA Annual Educational Conference:
https://www.neha.org/aec-register

NEHA conference guide App:
NEHA.conferenceguide.ai

Subscribe to Beyond Data Management for conversations about environmental health, public health technology, artificial intelligence, food safety, regulatory innovation, and the people shaping the future of the profession.

#EnvironmentalHealth #PublicHealth #NEHA #FoodSafety #HealthInspection #RiskCommunication #Cybersecurity #ClimateChange #ArtificialIntelligence #GovTech
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🚀 Special Episode! We're giving you an exclusive first look at the brand new **HS GovTech Conference Navigator App** built specifically for the NEHA 2026 AEC in Kansas City.

If you've ever felt overwhelmed trying to navigate dozens of sessions, conflicting schedules, credit hours, and everything Kansas City has to offer — this app is for you.

In this demo, host Cameron Garrison and Adam Smith walk through the powerful features including:

✅ **Smart Scheduling** – Browse sessions by day, add to your personal agenda, track credit hours  
✅ **AI Recommendations** – Private AI (trained only on conference data) suggests sessions based on your role (food inspector, septic, etc.)  
✅ **Conflict Detection** – Never double-book yourself again  
✅ **Private Notes & Presenter Decks** – Take notes and access slides after sessions  
✅ **Built-in Trivia Games** – Test your food safety & environmental health knowledge, compete on the leaderboard, and win prizes at the HS GovTech booth!  
✅ **Kansas City Local Guide** – Walking-distance restaurants, stores, coffee, BBQ, nightlife + rideshare integration with safety alerts  
✅ **Community Feed** – "Reddit for the Conference" – share photos, violations, stories, and connect with other attendees  
✅ **Digital Drink Ticket** – Claim your free drink QR code in the app  

Whether you're attending NEHA in Kansas City or just want to see the future of conference apps, this is a must-watch.

**Download the app now and start planning:**
➡️ https://neha.conferenceguide.ai

First 25 people to set up the app get a special prize at the HS GovTech booth!

**Timestamps:**
00:00 - Intro & Why We Built This
01:30 - App Overview & Onboarding
03:15 - Session Scheduling & Credits
06:45 - AI-Powered Recommendations
09:20 - Private Notes & Presenter Decks
11:10 - Conflict Detection
13:00 - Email Your Agenda
14:40 - Trivia Games & Leaderboard
19:30 - Kansas City Local Guide & Navigation
23:45 - Community Feed ("Conference Reddit")
26:10 - Digital Drink Tickets & Prizes
28:00 - EDH Appreciation Lounge & Live Podcast Recordings

Powered by HS GovTech | Beyond Data Management Podcast

#NEHA2026 #EnvironmentalHealth #ConferenceApp #GovTech #AI #KansasCity
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In this special Fourth of July week episode of the Beyond Data Management Podcast, Cameron Garrison is joined by HS GovTech’s own Adam Smith for a fun, behind-the-scenes look at spring environmental health conference season.

From Idaho to California, Montana, West Virginia, North Dakota, and AFDO in Columbus, this episode takes EH Nation on the road for a recap of the conferences, conversations, travel chaos, red-eye flights, strange airport food, client meetups, AI discussions, and unforgettable moments that happened along the way.

Cameron and Adam talk about environmental health conferences across the country, the importance of showing up in person, what HS GovTech is seeing from agencies nationwide, the upcoming NEHA conference, the AFDO AI workshop series, live podcast recordings from the road, and why public health communication, trust, and technology are becoming more important than ever.

And yes — we also discuss the legend of Adam’s mustache, a White Castle vending machine disaster, a surprisingly luxurious airport bathroom, rubber duck souvenirs, blackjack in North Dakota, and what happens when conference season pushes sleep deprivation to the limit.

Topics covered include:

Environmental health conference season
HS GovTech on the road
NEHA, AFDO, CUPA, SEHA, Montana, Idaho, West Virginia, North Dakota and more
AI in food safety and public health
Public health communication and trust
Live podcast recordings from upcoming conferences
Behind-the-scenes stories from the Beyond Data Management Podcast
Travel chaos, red-eye flights, road stories, and EH Nation community moments

If you work in environmental health, public health, food safety, regulatory programs, or government technology, this episode is a lighter but meaningful look at the people, places, and conversations shaping the EH community across the country.

Powered by HS GovTech.
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🎙️ Beyond Data Management Podcast — Powered by HS GovTech
What if your food safety and quality systems could answer any question in real time, in any language, tailored to your role — while predicting problems before they happen?

In this powerful episode, Cameron Garrison interviews Dr. Vera Dickinson, Founder & CEO of Nova Q. Vera brings decades of hands-on expertise from the front lines of food safety: PhD research on pathogens, quality leadership at Disney (under Frank Yiannas), Mars Wrigley, Danone, Sargento, and more.
They discuss:

Why the food manufacturing industry remains conservative despite razor-thin margins and high-stakes risks
The human and financial cost of manual processes and slow recalls
How exposure to ChatGPT sparked Vera’s vision for purpose-built AI (no generic hallucinations)

Nova Q’s innovative tools: unified regulatory knowledge center, real-time analytics, root cause analysis, forecasting, and organization-wide visibility
Leadership lessons on culture change, hiring smarter teammates, and fearless decision-making

Lessons from major mergers, industry consolidation, and high-profile failures like Chipotle and Peanut Corporation of America

Vera emphasizes the need for validated, future-proof AI tools that support both internal compliance and upcoming regulatory requirements.
Whether you work in food manufacturing, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, or government oversight — this episode is packed with practical insights and inspiration for anyone passionate about modernization and protecting public health.
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In our June 1st episode AFDO Executive Director Steve Mandernach gave us a teaser that a new AI for food safety and health regulators was going to be debuted at the upcoming AFDO conference in Columbus Ohio.

The unveiling has happened, and Wiley is smart.  Jason Brill from AFDO joins us to give us an exclusive deep dive into this powerful new tool.

You can ask Wiley yourself at https://afdo.org/askwiley and you can reach Jason at jbrill@afdo.org

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Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com