At the heart of all successful public health initiatives are the workers who promote and protect the public's health and safety. In addition to addressing everyday public health needs, the public health workers face a number of emerging and complex health issues such as the increase in obesity, managing vaccine supplies, disparities in health outcomes, and emergency preparedness. Compounding these issues, workers also face workforce challenges, including large numbers of employees who are retiring, shortages of key professionals, and the need for ongoing training and education to ensure that professionals can effectively address all of the emerging public health issues.