2026 One Health Systems Summit
Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk, Room Texas Salon D (4th Floor)
600 E Market St, San Antonio, TX 78205
October 31, 2026, 8:00 AM – 5:15 PM
The One Health Systems Summit is a one-day, plenary-only convening that brings together leaders from across health, housing, social services, animal welfare, education, and policy to address the structural failures affecting families with pets. Held as a pre-conference workshop at the 2026 APHA Annual Meeting and Expo—the largest public health gathering in the United States—the Summit is designed not as a traditional conference, but as a field-building movement focused on redesigning governance, policy, workforce integration, and funding structures so that systems better reflect the needs of modern families.
The One Health Systems Summit
The morning sessions diagnose how systems define family, where those definitions collide with reality, and what the resulting fragmentation looks like in practice. The afternoon shifts to repair: examining lessons from a Pop-Up One Health Clinic, identifying the structural barriers to alignment, exploring working models, and building a shared action agenda.
CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE PROGRAM
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 8:00 – 8:30am | Arrival & Informal Networking |
| 8:30 – 8:50am | Welcome & Framing: Why One Health Systems—and Why Now Michael Blackwell, DVM, MPH, The University of Tennessee Center for Pet Family Well-Being Sets the stage for a One Health Systems approach and explains why cross-sector collaboration matters now. Establishes a shared purpose for the Summit: building stronger systems that support people, pets, and the environments they share. |
| 8:50 – 9:35am | Opening Keynote: From Fragmentation to Alignment: Why Systems Must Change Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPH, MPH, Director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research, Chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences at UT Health San Antonio, Associate Director of Cancer Outreach and Engagement at Mays Cancer Center Examines why fragmented systems struggle to address interconnected health and community needs—and what greater alignment makes possible. Highlights cross-sector collaboration as a path toward health equity and better outcomes for people, pets, and their communities. |
| 9:35 – 9:45am | Moderator Bridge: Connecting Structural Urgency to the Human–Animal Bond Claire Schuch, PhD, The University of Tennessee Center for Pet Family Well-Being Connects the keynote’s call for systemic change to the human–animal bond, framing that bond as a starting point for examining how systems recognize and respond to the needs of pet families. |
| 9:45 – 10:40am | The Human–Animal Bond: Why the Bond Matters to Systems, Not Just Individuals Moderator: Kelly Bremken, MSSW, LCSW, Oregon Humane Society Panelists: Christine Kim, My Dog is My Home; Vanessa Ashall, PhD, MRCVS, Waltham Petcare Science Institute; Rustin M. Moore, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVS, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine Examines how the human–animal bond shapes family trust and decision-making. Panelists discuss how recognizing that bond can inform policies and practices that better support pet families. |
| 10:55 – 11:50am | How Systems Assume Family—and When Systems Collide: Design Choices, Legal Frameworks, and Their Consequences — Part 1 Moderator: Christine Kim, My Dog is My Home Panelists: Ross Barker, Pet-Inclusive Housing at Michelson Found Animals Foundation, Inc.; Stacey Evans, JD, JurisPet Animal Health Consulting, LLC; Meghan Davis, DVM, PhD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Examines how laws, policies, and funding structures define family—and where those definitions fail to reflect households with pets. The discussion considers the consequences of designing systems around restrictive assumptions. |
| 12:00 – 12:50pm | How Systems Assume Family—and When Systems Collide: Design Choices, Legal Frameworks, and Their Consequences — Part 2 Moderator: Jessica Simpson, Humane World for Animals Panelists: Ingrid Taylor, DVM, American Animal Hospital Association; Michelle Evason, DVM, BSc, DACVIM, MRCVS, Antech Diagnostics, Mars Petcare Builds on Part 1 to examine how disconnected public health, housing, and legal systems affect families and the professionals who serve them. The discussion highlights the challenges of navigating services and the strain placed on the workforce. |
| 12:50 – 1:45pm | Lunch |
| 1:45 – 2:30pm | What We Learned in Real Time: Insights from the Pop-Up One Health Clinic Speakers: Vickie Ramirez, The University of Washington Center for One Health Research; Amy Moore, PA-C, Street Medicine San Antonio; Amanda Preczewski, DVM, MPH, Animal Defense League of Texas Draws on experiences from the previous day’s Pop-Up One Health Clinic to identify structural, regulatory, and logistical barriers to coordinated care. Connects lessons from the clinic to opportunities for stronger cross-sector collaboration. |
| 2:45 – 3:35pm | Why Are We Not Aligned? Incentives, Regulation, and Structural Barriers Moderator: Emily McCobb, DVM, MS, DACVAA, The University of California, Davis Panelists: Anna Stout, MA, CAWA, AlignCare Health Inc.; Kelly Bremken, MSSW, LCSW, Oregon Humane Society; Jessica Simpson, Humane World for Animals Examines how institutional policies, regulations, and misaligned incentives hinder coordination across sectors. Panelists consider legal and policy approaches that can remove barriers and support more effective collaboration. |
| 3:50 – 4:35pm | What Aligned Systems Would Require: Governance, Workforce Integration, and Sustainable Models Moderator: Anna Stout, MA, CAWA, AlignCare Health Inc. Panelists: Emily McCobb, DVM, MS, DACVAA, The University of California, Davis; Katie Kuehl, DVM, Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine; Jon Geller, DVM, DABVP, MPH, Colorado School of Public Health Highlights practical approaches to shared governance, cross-sector workforce integration, and sustainable funding. Presenters examine the structures and partnerships needed to build coordinated systems that endure. |
| 4:40 – 5:15pm | From Vision to Action + Closing: What Changes Because This Summit Happened Michael Blackwell, DVM, MPH, The University of Tennessee Center for Pet Family Well-Being Brings together the day’s key insights and considers what comes next. This closing session focuses on turning the Summit’s shared vision into continued collaboration and meaningful action. |
Delivered in partnership with the University of Washington Center for One Health Research, Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, The Street Dog Coalition, and Street Medicine San Antonio the Pop-Up One Health Clinic will be held the day before with the Summit as a real-time systems stress test.
By integrating human health care, veterinary services, and social supports in one setting, the clinic reveals where systems function effectively and where gaps persist. Insights from the clinic will be shared during Session IV, anchoring the afternoon’s structural discussions in direct, lived experience.
Who Should Attend
The Summit convenes professionals across four sectors whose collaboration is essential to systems change.
Health and Well-Being
Veterinarians, clinicians, public health professionals, social workers, mental health providers, animal welfare leaders, and animal control officers
Education, Policy
and Research
Animal law scholars, policy researchers, veterinary and medical schools, think tanks, and community outreach programs
Housing and Transportation
Housing advocates, municipal policy experts, real estate developers and property managers, public transit professionals, and pet transport services
Economic and Community Support
Funders, foundations, community health organizations, faith-based and civic groups, employers, and nonprofit leaders
No single sector can solve these challenges alone.
The Summit is designed to create the conditions for cross-sector collaboration that lasts.
Intended Outcomes
- A shared, cross-sector framework for One Health systems alignment
- Identification of structural barriers in law, policy, funding, and governance that impede coordinated care for pet-inclusive families
- Actionable policy directions and near-term pathways for continued collaboration
- Strengthened partnerships among animal welfare, human health, housing, and social service organizations
- A credible, sustained platform for advancing pet family health equity beyond the Summit itself
Thank You to Our Summit Sponsors!
REGISTER TODAY
How to Register for the One Health Systems Summit
Attending only the One Health Systems Summit? You still need an APHA account to access the registration system. You do NOT need to be an APHA member or register for the full APHA Annual Meeting to attend the Summit.
1. Go to the APHA 2026 Registration page and click Register Now.
2. Sign in to your APHA account.
If you already have an APHA account, enter your account information and sign in.
If you do not have an APHA account, select Create a New Account and create one.
Important: Creating an APHA account simply allows you to use the APHA registration system. You can still register only for the One Health Systems Summit.
3. If you are not an APHA member, select Register as a Non-member. You do not need to join APHA to attend the One Health Systems Summit.
4. Open the APHA Code of Conduct/Participation Policy Agreement, then check the box confirming that you accept the agreement.
5. Enter the required registration information.
6. When you reach the registration options, if you are attending only the One Health Systems Summit, select: Individual Workshop/Session Only Registration.
If you are also attending the full APHA Annual Meeting, select the appropriate conference registration option instead.
7. Select: Learning Institute, Workshop, and/or Pre-Meeting Event Only.
Then click Continue.
8. Under Pre-Meeting Events, find:
One Health Systems Summit — October 31, 2026
Select the Summit and continue.
9. Review your registration information and select Save/Checkout.
10. After completing registration, you will receive a confirmation by email.
12. Registration information will be emailed to you.
Having trouble finding the Summit?
Make sure you have first signed in or created an APHA account and selected Individual Workshop/Session Only Registration. The One Health Systems Summit will then appear under Pre-Meeting Events.
For questions about the Summit,
attendance, or partnership inquiries:
The Center for Pet Family Well-Being
is a proud recipient of funding
from Maddie’s Fund, a Duffield Foundation.
