From Our Director of Public Health Programs: ‘My Experience Attending the AMCHP Annual Conference: From Attendee to Planning Committee Members’

By Cathy Butler-Witt, MA, Director of Public Health Programs, The Cooperative and Family Health Initiatives, New Jersey

Attending the AMCHP Annual Conference has been an incredibly rewarding experience, as it has offered me opportunities to learn, connect, and grow alongside professionals who share a deep commitment to improving maternal and child health.

As an attendee in previous years, I have valued the opportunity to engage in meaningful networking and share ideas with others who also share my passion for advancing the health and well-being of all families. In 2024, I was honored to co-present a poster with updates on the New Jersey Maternal Experience Survey (MES), a tool designed to capture voices and experiences around the birth experience. The MES was presented at a previous AMCHP conference and became one of AMCHP’s Cutting-Edge Practices in the Health Promotion & Communication – Reproductive Health & Community Wellness category.

An impactful moment during the 2025 conference was attending the “Hear Her” Campaign session, which underscored the importance of listening to women and those who are pregnant or postpartum about their health concerns. The session deeply resonated with me and aligned closely with the mission of our organization, The Cooperative and Family Health Initiatives. Shortly after the conference, our organization had the incredible opportunity to become a grantee of the “Hear Her” Campaign, allowing us to further expand our efforts in maternal health education and advocacy.

Sharing the work of our nonprofit organization and helping others visualize how they could adapt similar programs in their own communities was both gratifying and inspiring. The experience reinforced the value of collaboration and collective learning that AMCHP embodies. It also sparked a desire in me to stay engaged, and I am now proud to serve on the AMCHP Conference Planning Committee, continuing to support the exchange of innovative ideas and practices that strengthen our field.

Click here to read the article on AMCHP’s website.