The Committee is currently made up of the following nine subcommittees: Health Occupation Students of America- Future Health Professionals Subcommittee, Career Development Program Subcommittee, Peer to Peer Network Subcommittee, Journeyman Speaker Series Subcommittee, Professional Development Survey Subcommittee, Strategic Planning, Policy & Procedures Subcommittee, Training and Education Subcommittee, the Website Design Subcommittee and the Koop Seminar Series Subcommittee.

If you're interested in shaping the future of JOAG through the Professional Development Committee, please contact the Chairs or the Subcommittee Leads.

Professional Development Subcommittees (2021-2022)

Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA)-Future Health Professionals Subcommittee

Subcommittee Lead: LCDR Kari Herber and LCDR Matthew Stuckey

The purpose of the JOAG Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA)-Future Health Professionals Subcommittee is to help build the next generation of health care leaders through professional mentorship of the HOSA-Future Health Professionals members and exposure to the day-to-day activities being carried out by USPHS Commissioned Corps junior officers on behalf of the Federal government.  The duties and responsibilities of the subcommittee include the following:

• Provide guidance to JOAG and other Commissioned Corps groups on issues relating to the mentoring of HOSA-Future Health Professionals members; and
• Serves as a cross section of knowledgeable junior officers who are committed to developing and sustaining a mentoring program between junior officers and HOSA-Future Health Professionals members.
• HOSA-Future Health Professionals web link: http://hosa.org/

JOAG Career Development Program Subcommittee

Subcommittee Lead: LCDR Kimberly Evans and LT Christopher Barnes

JOAG Career Development Program Webpage

The purpose of this subcommittee is to lead the JOAG Job Shadowing Program. Job shadowing is a professional, career development, and exploration activity. It offers an opportunity for a junior officer to spend time with a senior officer (O-5 or higher rank) currently working in the junior officer’s career field of interest. Junior officers who participate in job shadowing will observe the day-to-day activities of a senior officer in-person, virtually, or in hybrid environment. They will also have the chance to get their questions answered about their career field of interest.

JOAG Peer-to-Peer Network Subcommittee

Subcommittee Lead: LCDR Kristen Young and LT Jazmin Reed

JOAG Peer to Peer Network Webpage

The purpose of this Subcommittee is to lead the JOAG Peer to Peer Network Program. This six month program pairs junior officers who have recently graduated from OBC with other junior officers who have 2+ years of experience in the Commissioned Corps.  This opportunity allows junior officers to feel comfortable speaking with peer level officers, to promote camaraderie, and to facilitate information exchange. Experienced officers will have the opportunity to assist new officers as they begin their new PHS careers.

Journeyman Speaker Series Subcommittee

Subcommittee Lead: LT Jonathan Correia and LT Marcus Harding

The Journeyman Speaker Series Subcommittee's purpose is to review, organize, and disseminate information on issues related to the professional development of junior officers. The duties and responsibilities of the subcommittee include the following:

• Provide a presentation on the second Friday of every other month. The current schedule of presentations is available here;
• Provide a presentation tracking tool resulting that anybody will be able to access past presentation topics and transcripts;
• Offer occasional off-cycle presentations or questions and answer sessions for time-sensitive topics, with the approval of the JOAG EC;
• During each presentation, a subcommittee participant will moderate the call and introduce the speaker; and
• Provide letters of appreciation to all presenters.

Professional Development Assessment Subcommittee

Subcommittee Lead: LT Alexandria Edwards and LT Amalia Francisco

The main objective of the Professional Development Survey Subcommittee is to design a structured questionnaire that can be administered on-line via Survey Monkey to gauge professional development perceived needs of junior officers. The duties and responsibilities of this subcommittee include the following:

• Provide survey concerning professional development needs once every two years.
• Provide a summary of the survey results to the JOAG Executive Committee (EC) for review.
• Submit an article summarizing survery results for the Junior Officer Chronicles.

Strategic Planning, Policy & Procedures Subcommittee

Subcommittee Lead: LCDR Laura Reynolds

The purpose of this subcommittee is to lead the strategic planning processes for the JOAG Professional Development Committee. The duties and responsibilities of this subcommittee include the following:

• Annual updating, review and processing of the PD-C SOP working with the various PD-C Subcommitee Leads to incorporate any changes
• Assisting with updating the PD section of the JOAG Strategic Plan.

Training and Education Subcommittee

Subcommittee Lead: LCDR Diane Richardson and LT Ana Lauer

Training and Education Webpage

The purpose of this subcommittee is to support the Professional Development Committee’s mission by offering high quality products aimed at increasing Junior Officers’ awareness of training and education opportunities available across all professional categories. Further, the T&E Subcommittee will provide interactive programs that expose Junior Officers to career and professional development opportunities available and that help them hone and develop their basic leadership skills.  The duties and responsibilities of this subcommittee include the following:

• Monthly Junior Officer Spotlight & "Officer Impressions Panel": Currently needs volunteers to lead
• JOAG Professional Development Book Club: Led by LT Ana Lauer and LT Jessica A. Haines
• Junior Officer Chronicles: Led by LCDR Joshua Valgaedson
• Training and Education Resources: Led by LCDR Ron Miliam and LCDR Kathi Murray

Website/Social Media Subcommitee

Subcommittee Lead: LT Shauna Lee

The Website/Social Media Subcommittee has four primary purposes:

• • Update and maintain the Committee’s JOAG website: Please check your respective subcommittee descriptions and individual webpages to ensure the information is up-to-date. For any needed updates, subcommittee leads can submit requests to LCDR Amee Schwitters.
  • Develop and maintain the JOAG Mentoring Page: This page will provide mentoring opportunities for officers across PACs and will be launched in late 2016. Questions on this page can be submitted to LCDR Amee Schwitters
  • Manage the new PD-C Max.gov site: In an effort to streamline our process and modernize our operations, JOAG has begun using max.gov as an online collaboration space, allowing us to store all of our Committee documents, and stay connected and engaged with our fellow JOAG committee members through this internal work space platform. Subcommittee leads can submit documents for posting to LCDR Amee Schwitters
  • Serve as liaison to the Communications & Publications Committee for social media: In February, JOAG launched a Facebook page dedicated to showcasing all the ways we reach junior officers and the work of our junior officers supporting the OSG. If your subcommittee has information they would like posted to Facebook, please submit your request to LCDR Amee Schwitters.

Koop Seminar Series

Subcommittee Leads: LT Jason Krumbeck

The JOAG/Commissioned Officers Foundation (COF) Koop Seminar Series is a combined effort between JOAG and COF to promote the contribution of Public Health Service officers, especially junior officers, in advancing public health. This is accomplished by organizing seminars at non-government facilities that include PHS officers, academic researchers, and community organizations to present work on an important public health topic. Some specific activities include:

• Determining the topic and location of each seminar
• Identifying potential speakers and confirming participation
• Organizing the content of the seminar and determining the order of speakers
• Promotion of each seminar within JOAG and other organizations

AMSUS Liaison

Subcommittee Lead: LCDR Ingrid St. Amand

The Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (AMSUS) Liaison is responsible for the following tasks:

• Acts as a bridge between the AMSUS planning committee and JOAG by attending all AMSUS and JOAG-PD subcommittee monthly meetings.
• Reports out to PD-C during monthly meetings on AMSUS planning (pre-conference) and post event updates (post-conference).
• Communicates any AMSUS requests to PD-C leadership and also forwards JOAG concerns/assistance back to AMSUS planning committee.
• Hosts a post-conference panel discussion during a PD-C monthly meeting (panel of a few officers that attended who can talk about their experiences).
• Promotes AMSUS to JOAG members during select JOAG General Meetings.
• Promotes AMSUS planning activities, highlighting opportunities to get involved with planning and attending the conference as well as fielding any questions that JOAG members may have.

For any additional questions or comments on the Professional Development Committee’s website, please contact the commitee's website coordinator, LCDR Eileen Bosso.