Chicago, IL, August 19, 2020 – The American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) announced today that it has appointed Wendy E. Braund, MD, MPH, MSEd, as the Chair-Elect to the ABPM Board of Directors. Dr. Braund will serve in this role until the conclusion of the ABPM’s Mid-Year Board Meeting in August 2021, at which time she will assume the position as Chair of the ABPM’s Board of Directors.

Dr. Braund is the COVID-19 Response Director for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, a position she began in July 2020. Prior to that, Dr. Braund was the Director of the Center for Public Health Practice, the Associate Dean for Practice, and a Professor of Health Policy and Management at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. She has been a member of the ABPM Board of Directors since 2014.

“On behalf of the Board, I am very pleased to announce Dr. Braund’s appointment as Chair-Elect,” said Board Chair, Hernando “Joe” Ortega, Jr., MD, MPH. “Her passion for Preventive Medicine and her tireless service to the Board thus far was a clear indicator that Dr. Braund will be a capable and effective leader as the ABPM transitions our current maintenance of certification program to an innovative, relevant and flexible continuing certification process.”

Dr. Braund responded: “I want to take this opportunity to thank the Board for their confidence.  I look forward to working with Dr. Ortega over the next year to learn the nuances of this role and I am very excited about the prospects for the ABPM as we continue to execute on our strategic vision and move forward into an exciting future of opportunities and growth.”

Dr. Braund’s term as Chair-Elect began at the conclusion of the ABPM’s Interim Board Meeting in August 2020.

The ABPM is a Member Board of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Founded in 1948, ABPM works with the ABMS in the development of standards for the ongoing assessment and certification of over 12,000 physicians certified by the ABPM in the specialties of Aerospace Medicine, Occupational Medicine, and Public Health and General Preventive Medicine; and in the subspecialties of Addiction Medicine, Clinical Informatics, Medical Toxicology, and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine.