Marie Hartel 

from the Tennessee Department of Health was elected as an IIS member director.

Nancy Sharova

from the Connecticut Department of Public Health was elected as an IIS member director.

Stephen White

from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control was elected as an IIS member director.

Tiffany Dent

from STChealth was elected as a non-IIS member director for a half-term vacancy and will serve from 2022 to 2023.

A huge thank you to our departing AIRA board directors! We will miss their leadership and friendly faces:

• Christy Gray from the Virginia Department of Health, who was elected to the AIRA board in 2018 and most recently served as board president 2021-2022
• Kathryn “Katie” Cruz from the New Mexico Department of Health, who was elected to the AIRA board in 2020

The new AIRA board terms began on October 1, 2022. Thanks to our voting members for participating in the election

Franchesca Benjamin joined AIRA as program assistant for the Education and Outreach Team in September 2022. Prior to this role, Franchesca worked as a pediatric behavioral technician and later as a respite worker. Franchesca has experience providing support to health care professionals in both administrative and health care roles.

Sabrina Matlock joined AIRA in July 2022 as the project coordinator for IIP. Prior to joining AIRA, Sabrina held various roles in the retail and service industries overseeing daily operations and enterprise-wide software systems. Sabrina brings to AIRA knowledge and experience in lean process improvement, user training and adoption, communication strategy, and consumer experience.

AIRA members have the ability to submit and review information requests—a circulation of questions to and answers from the community. The recent information requests regarding the topics below can be found by using the “Information Requests” filter in the AIRA repository. 

• School Data
• FDA's Vaccination and Safety Effectiveness Surveillance Program

Information requests are viewable only by individual members and individuals affiliated with member and partner organizations. Just log in to view these valuable resources! If you have any questions, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

HL7 Immunization User Group

• The HL7 Immunization User Group met on September 8.
• The HL7 Immunization User Group meeting received updates about the HL7 Immunizations Innovations Workgroup.
• The committee received a presentation from Nathan Bunker on newborn reporting/unnamed children and the current standard.
• The user group also received an update on emerging challenges with monkeypox from Mary Beth Kurilo from AIRA.
• The next meeting is October 13, 2022, from 2 to 3 p.m. ET, so add this to your calendar. 

Measurement for Assessment & Certification Advisory Workgroup (MACAW)

• MACAW met on September 8.
• The workgroup discussed the outcomes from the July in-person MACAW meeting.
• The group discussed the ACIP’s expanded age-based recommendations for HepB.
• MACAW also covered further information on DAR Assessment as well as the AART tool enhancements.
• The next meeting is November 10, 2022, from noon to 1 p.m. ET, so add this to your calendar.

Modeling of Immunization Registry Operations Workgroup (MIROW)  

• MIROW met on September 15.
• This was the final meeting of the current workgroup, because MIROW is transitioning to a new group structure this fall. The new group, the IIS Best Practices Community of Practice, will continue to create best practices for the IIS community.
• The new MIROW Data Quality Assurance in Immunization Information Systems guide is available in the AIRA repository.
• Both the new guide and the new group were discussed in a Discovery Session on Tuesday, September 6. The recording is available in the AIRA repository.

IIS Best Practices Community of Practice (CoP)

• The IIS Best Practices CoP will meet for the first time on October 19, 2022, from noon to 12:50 p.m. ET.
• Learn more about the group by visiting the IIS Best Practices CoP web page. 
• Join the CoP by filling out this quick online form.

Power BI User Group (PUG)

• PUG met on August 23, and a summary of the meeting can be found in the August 2022 AIRA Monthly Update.
• The next meeting is October 25, 2022, from noon to 1 p.m. ET. Interested in joining? Please email Amber Buckland.

Smarty User Group

• The Smarty User Group met on August 17, and a summary of the meeting can be found in the August 2022 AIRA Monthly Update.
• The next meeting is November 16, 2022, from 2 to 3 p.m. ET, so add this to your calendar.

Standards & Interoperability Steering Committee (SISC)

• SISC met on September 14.
• Paloma Hawry gave an update on code sets from the CDC.
• Nathan Bunker gave an update on the HL7 User Group as well as the SISC Small Group.
• The committee welcomed JP Pollack from Cornell Tech, who presented further information on Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI).
• Monkeypox coding and eligibility funding source was discussed with the committee as well.
• The next meeting is October 12, 2022, from 1 to 2 p.m. ET, so add this to your calendar.

Tableau User Group (TUG)

• TUG has welcomed seven new users to the group since the last meeting!
• TUG met on September 27.
• Tavio Pirrochi from the Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment presented “Tableau Formulas & Advanced Calculations, Part 2.”
• AIRA will be launching a new Slack channel to increase engagement and collaboration among TUG members and Tableau training participants.
• The next meeting is November 22, 2022, noon to 1 p.m. ET, so add this to your calendar.

NOTE: Meeting minutes will capture only action items and decisions made. Recordings of the meetings can be obtained directly upon request by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Are you interested in working for AIRA or in the IIS community? Find current job openings at AIRA and other states/jurisdictions on the Employment Opportunities and Requests for Proposals page on the AIRA website.

Opportunities for independent contractors

To be notified of future contracting opportunities, please sign up here.

Employment Opportunities in Other States and Organizations

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) is seeking an immunization information system (IIS) manager to work within the Public Health and Safety Division. The IIS manager will be responsible for interpreting program needs and ensuring IIS requirements are met. This position oversees the design, development, and implementation of IIS enhancements; analyzes HL7 data communication and produces narrative, quantitative, and visual reports; serves as a liaison between bureaus, vendor teams, health care providers and support staff, and system testing plans, including testing teams and initiatives; and administers the security for all assigned applications.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s (NYC DOHMH) Division of Disease Control is seeking a medical epidemiologist to serve as the assistant commissioner for its Bureau of Immunization (BOI). This role is responsible for overseeing, managing, and providing leadership. The primary duties of the position are as follows: lead multidisciplinary teams; develop and implement public health policies, strategies, and programs to increase vaccine coverage; provide oversight for the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program; manage and give strategic direction to the Citywide Immunization Registry (CIR); coordinate the implementation of evidence-based strategies and improved reporting of immunizations with health providers; oversee expansion of a Vaccines for Adults Program; and more.