Timothy Hatch, MPA, REHS, Honored with Walter F. Snyder Environmental Health Award

July 19, 2024 at 15:55 PM EDT

Hatch recognized by NSF and NEHA for legacy of disaster response across the American South, and representing environmental and public health to the United States Congress, the United Nations and the World Health Organization

NSF, a global public health and safety organization, and the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) today announced Timothy Hatch, MPA, REHS as the 2024 recipient of the Walter F. Snyder Environmental Health Award. The award recognizes Hatch for his outstanding contributions to the advancement of environmental and public health.

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L-R: Pedro Sancha, President and CEO, NSF; Timothy Hatch, District Health Administrator for the State of Alabama Department of Public Health; Dr. David Dyjack, CEO of NEHA (Photo: Business Wire)

Hatch serves as the District Health Administrator for the State of Alabama Department of Public Health, where he leads a team of 300 that solves public and environmental health challenges impacting 709,000 people across 7,300 square miles. In addition to guiding policy and securing funding for a healthier Alabama, Hatch’s legacy includes conducting international environmental health training in emergency response with the International Federation of Environmental Health, contributing to the United Nations Office of Disaster Risk Reduction’s Food Safety and Public Health Scorecard, and representing the United States at the 2017 United Nations Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction.

In collaboration with the World Health Organization, he was the sole environmental health expert on a group tasked with creating a Public Health Scorecard for resilient cities. In 2022, Hatch spent hours engaging with the United States Congress to ensure environmental health was funded as part of the Pandemic and Hazards Preparedness Act – a monumental benefit to public health nationwide.

The award was presented to Hatch by Pedro Sancha, President and CEO of NSF at a ceremony on July 17 at the 2024 NEHA Annual Education Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

“It is an honor to be recognized by two such prestigious organizations,” said Tim Hatch. “Citizens across the globe are united in the hope of a safer, healthier world; I am grateful to have a hand in shaping the environmental health workforce and frameworks that sustain that world.”

Founded in 1971, the Snyder Award honors Walter F. Snyder, co-founder and first executive director of NSF, and individuals who, like him, pioneer environmental and public health through their careers.

“Tim Hatch’s work has true impact,” said Pedro Sancha, President and CEO of NSF. “From procuring funding for rural homeowners for onsite septic systems and serving as the incident manager for Alabama’s statewide response to the COVID-19 pandemic to training over 2,000 environmental health specialists for the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Environmental Health and Emergency Response, he has improved the health and well-being of millions of people around the world.”

“Tim Hatch personifies the spirit and letter of the Snyder Award,” said Dr. David Dyjack, CEO of NEHA. “Tim’s relentless passion and commitment to environmental public health shines through a career exemplified by his local, regional and global workforce capacity building efforts.”

As a lifelong environmental scientist, Hatch has contributed considerable momentum to furthering environmental health via voluntary standards. Importantly, he has served as the NEHA representative to the National Health Preparedness Security Index, which are voluntary standards that can be implemented for states and the nation to keep people and the environment safe during emergencies and natural disasters.

Snyder Award nominations are open to the public, with recipients selected by a panel of environmental health leaders. For more information about the Walter F. Snyder Award or to nominate a colleague, visit NSF’s website.

About NSF

NSF is an independent, global services organization dedicated to improving human and planet health for more than 80 years by developing public health standards and providing world-class testing, inspection, certification, advisory services, and digital solutions to the food, water, life sciences, and consumer goods industries. NSF operates in 180 countries and is a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center on Food Safety, Water Quality and Medical Device Safety.

About the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA)

The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) represents nearly 7,000 governmental, private, academic, and uniformed services sector environmental public health professionals in the U.S., its territories, and internationally. NEHA is the profession’s strongest advocate for excellence in the practice of environmental health as it delivers on its mission to build, sustain, and empower an effective environmental health workforce.