Commander Joe Laco is an active duty service-member with the US Public Health Service (USPHS) and is stationed at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. CDR Laco works closely with the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, and the CDC Emergency Operations Center. His work focuses largely on Recreational Water, Vector Control, Emergency and Outbreak Response, Food Safety, Drinking Water, Wastewater, Safety and PPE, and Hazardous Materials. CDR Laco has been deployed over a dozen times and has responded and served in roles to support hurricanes, Zika, Ebola, floods, infectious disease outbreaks, hazardous material spills, unsafe drinking water, and rural area health. He was the recipient of the 2017 Environmental Health Officer Responder Of the Year award, for the USPHS. CDR Laco has over 23 years of experience working in: the Federal government, State government, clinical and research laboratories, and private industry. He received his Baccalaureate Degree (Biology) from Ohio University in 1995, and a Master’s of Science Degree (Environmental Health) from East Tennessee State University in 2001. He is a Registered Sanitarian and Registered Environmental Health Specialist through the National Environmental Health Association. CDR Laco previously spoke at the 2011, 2016, 2017, and 2018 NEHA AECs.