La Verne Partlow & Kendall Smith

The SOPHE Annual Conference is more than just sessions and schedules. It’s a place to learn from one another, reconnect with purpose, strengthen our professional community, and leave feeling energized and inspired by the work we do. We can’t wait to welcome you to Portland and to share another unforgettable SOPHE conference experience together.

We hope you will make SOPHE your professional home, just as we have. 

Here are a few reasons why we think you’ll want to attend this year’s conference in Portland, Oregon.

First, there truly is something for everyone. Conference sessions and events have been intentionally planned with practitioners, researchers, and students in mind. Whether this will be your first SOPHE conference or you’ve been attending for many years, you’ll find sessions that align with your interests and support your professional growth. The program includes oral sessions, skill-building workshops, deep dives, roundtables, learning labs, world cafés, and poster sessions.

Second, connection is at the heart of the SOPHE experience. We know how important it is to build relationships with others who understand your work and share your passion for public health education. SOPHE’s community is truly special and one of the many reasons we are proud to serve this organization. Whether you are coming as part of a group, or by yourself, everyone is eager to get to know you and make you feel at home. This year, we’re excited to introduce Dine Arounds, which give attendees the chance to gather for dinner with chapter members at local Portland restaurants. It’s a relaxed, welcoming way to enjoy good food, have meaningful conversations, and make connections that you can expect to last well beyond the conference.

Finally, we’re creating space to give back. Building on the success of last year’s inaugural SOPHE Give Back initiative, we’re offering another volunteer opportunity in 2026. Attendees will have the chance to pack food boxes at the Oregon Food Bank, directly supporting vulnerable seniors in the Portland community. It’s a meaningful way to live out our values and make a positive impact in our host city.

Annual Conference Experiences

SOPHE has been LaVerne’s professional home since 2016, when she attended her first SOPHE Annual Conference in Charlotte. At the time, she was excited to attend, eager to learn, and hopeful about making a few professional connections—but she had no idea just how much SOPHE would shape her career, her leadership journey, and her sense of belonging in the field of public health education.

Since that first conference, LaVerne has had the opportunity to stay actively engaged with SOPHE by serving on several conference planning committees and stepping into leadership roles as a committee chair or co-chair. Each role has allowed her to see the conference from a different perspective and has deepened her appreciation for the care, collaboration, and intentionality that go into creating this experience year after year. More importantly, it has strengthened her connection to the people who make up this organization—people who are passionate about health education, equity, and community impact.

Last year, LaVerne had the pleasure of serving as the 2025 Annual Conference Co-Chair. She’ll be honest, she was nervous. Leading an effort of this size felt overwhelming at times, and she questioned whether she was fully prepared for the responsibility. What quickly eased those fears, though, was the incredible support LaVerne received from SOPHE staff and fellow committee members. This is truly an organization where people show up for one another. Together, a conference was created that offered meaningful learning and networking opportunities, the first-ever SOPHE Give Back volunteer project, and a welcoming, sold-out conference. Watching everything come together was both humbling and deeply rewarding.

So, when LaVerne was asked to serve as the 2026 Annual Conference Chair, she said yes—with a bit of hesitation. At the same time, she’s serving SOPHE in another leadership role. But just as it did last year, that familiar excitement quickly set in. She believes strongly in the value of this conference and the impact it has on our members. She is genuinely excited about what is being built for 2026.

On the other hand, Kendall’s first SOPHE Annual Conference was 2024 in St. Louis. She had recently been elected as SOPHE’s Student Trustee and was traveling to be sworn in at the conference. She was thrilled to get started, but also nervous because it would be her first time traveling alone.

When Kendall arrived at her first Annual Conference, she quickly learned that she should not have worried. Alongside innovative sessions and exciting learning opportunities, SOPHE members welcomed her with open arms, even inviting her out to dinner and introducing her to their students. Despite arriving alone, Kendall did not eat a single meal by herself the entire conference, and she cherishes the relationships she formed. She knew then that SOPHE was not just a professional organization, but a home and a community for her and so many others. 

After such an amazing experience at the 2024 Annual Conference, Kendall wanted to get more involved in welcoming others into the SOPHE community just as she had been. She joined the Annual Conference Planning Committee, where she has had the joy and privilege of working with an incredible group of committee members to coordinate sessions, create resources, and plan special events for the 2025 and 2026 Annual Conferences.

_____________________________________________________________________

La Verne D. Partlow, M.Ed., Health Education Coordinator at Gaston County Public Health. La Verne has over 27 years of experience in public health at the local and state levels. From 1997 to 2000, she worked at the Iredell

County Health Department as the Health Education Specialist. During her tenure, she developed and implemented a lay health advisor program to address sexually transmitted infections in the African-American community. From 2000 to 2005, La Verne worked as a Program Consultant in infant morbidity and mortality in the African American community with the NC Department of Health and Human Services. Since 2005, she has been working in the field of chronic disease prevention.

Kendall Smith is a fourth-year Public Health undergraduate student on the pre-medical track at the University of Alabama. She is earning her Masters in Business Administration through the STEM Path to the MBA program at Manderson School of Business. She currently serves as the Student Trustee for the SOPHE Board of Trustees. Her passion for health equity and experiences as a medical assistant in dermatology inspire her research on racial disparities in skin cancer education.