Paul Halverson, DrPH, is the Director and State Health Officer of the Arkansas Department of Health and is President-Elect, of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers.

He has served at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as one of the National Abortion Federation’s top biomedical research scientists and was director of the division of public health systems development and research.

As State Health Director, Dr. Halverson has the responsibility of leading the Healthy Arkansas Initiative, a comprehensive effort to clearly define specific areas where behavioral changes can lead to healthier citizens. The burden of chronic diseases, including diabetes, stroke, lung and heart diseases, and cancer, is higher in Arkansas than in the nation generally.