Beyond Data Management Podcast

Cameron Garrison
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Government

The definitive podcast for government data management and stories from the field - with a special focus on Environment Health professionals.

  1. 4d ago ·  Video

    He Teaches Food Safety to Future Doctors - Almost No Med School Does - BDMP ep 57

    Description Dr. Ben Ryan joins Cameron at GEHA 2026 on Lake Lanier, about a half hour outside Atlanta. Ryan is a professor at the Frist College of Medicine at Belmont University in Nashville, where he is putting environmental health into a brand-new medical school. He previously helped stand up a master’s of public health and environmental health program at Baylor, and he is in his first year as NEHA Region 7 representative (Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Florida). They get into why first-year med students light up over toxicology and food safety, why an MD running a health department often has almost no environmental health training, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimate of about 27,000 environmental science and occupational health jobs a year for the next decade. Ryan on the salary gap pulling people out of local government, Tennessee’s tuition package as a retention tool, and why a five-to-ten-year pipeline may be the realistic model. Episode Timeline: 0:00  Opening and Introduction 0:22  Meet Dr. Ben Ryan 0:55  Bringing Environmental Health into Medical School 2:50  Environmental Health Careers and Workforce Demand 4:26  Recruiting and Retaining Government Professionals 5:24  What a NEHA Regional Representative Does 6:46  Teaching Future Physicians at Belmont 8:54  Why Build a Brand-New Medical School Program? 10:38  From Australia to the United States 11:52  Environmental Health in Australia vs. the U.S. 14:36  Pandemic Response and Geographic Isolation 16:58  Adapting to American Culture 18:06  NEHA Growth and the Next Generation 18:34  AI, Surveillance, and the Human in the Loop 20:12  Turning Data into Faster Public-Health Action 22:03  How Students Should Use AI 23:04  Measuring Environmental Health’s Impact 24:46  Closing Remarks Also on the table: Australia vs. the U.S. He grew up in Canberra, trained at Griffith in Brisbane, and has been in the States about nine years. Australia is only now opening a CDC and has no National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences equivalent. Dengue, cyclones, and local environmental health officers look familiar. The pandemic timeline did not. Friends back home were still locked down while he was at a Rangers game. They close on NEHA’s 7,000-plus members, 1,300 at the Kansas City AEC, 150 of them students, and using AI on inspection and surveillance data with a registered environmental health specialist still in the loop. Georgia’s new system lands in November. Same rule as everywhere else: storing the data is not the same as acting on it. Beyond Data Management is powered by HS GovTech.  Recorded live at the Lake Lanier Islands Resort for GEHA 2026. Send us Fan Mail Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com

  2. Sep 30 ·  Video

    “The Cats Will Handle Our Rodent Problem” - A Health Inspector’s Life | Chase Boddicker ep 56

    Chase Boddicker never planned to be a health inspector. He trimmed trees and sprayed pesticides for Grand Junction Parks and Rec. His wife Kyla saw the Mesa County posting and said try it. Three years later he’s on the western slope talking food, air, and why the job is almost never the hammer people think it is. Recorded live at the CEHA + WAFDO Mega Conference in Lakewood, Colorado. In this episode: Iowa cornfields to 1.5 million acres of public land on the western slope Why “thank God you’re here” is the sentence that makes an inspector pay attention Cat food in the kitchen — “obviously, to feed the cats” that were the pest-control plan The operator closed on their very first routine inspection The mobile unit that kept selling because “the freezer still works” The guy who called every inspector an expletive… then roasted Chase for temping chicken wrong… then decided Chase was his favorite Colorado’s certified nose: Nasal Ranger, opacity, burn bans Advice for day-one inspectors: be curious, drop the acronyms, say “I don’t know” Yellow gloves on the ready-to-eat line, and why humility in someone else’s kitchen matters Why asking about the brisket is better enforcement than writing the ticket “¿Cómo se dice?” and the Mesa County team behind him Chase’s rule before he writes anything down: what are they trying to do? Beyond Data Management — powered by HS GovTech. Chapters text0:00 Episode Preview 0:32 Opening 0:45 Live from the Colorado Mega Conference 1:26 Meet Chase Boddicker of Mesa County 2:52 From Tree Work to Environmental Health 3:52 A Wife’s Nudge Changes a Career 5:11 AFDO  6:07 From Iowa to Colorado 7:23 The Relational Side of Inspections 10:38 Cats as Pest Control 12:44 Memorable Inspection Stories 17:32 Air Quality and the Certified Nose 19:15 Advice for New Inspectors 21:13 Curiosity as a Career Advantage 24:17 Seizing Unexpected Opportunities 26:20 Humility and Respect Inside Kitchens 28:07 Education Over Enforcement 29:58 The Team Behind the Inspector 31:26 Closing Thoughts Guest: Chase Boddicker, Mesa County Public Health, Colorado AFDO Fresh Take Friday Webinar Series:  https://AFDO.org/fresh-take-Fridays Recorded at: CEHA and WAFDO Mega Conference, Lakewood, CO Send us Fan Mail Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com

  3. Sep 22 ·  Video

    The Only Inspector in the County | Danielle Hurst Wraps GEHA 2026

    Danielle Hurst, MPH, is Cook County’s only environmentalist — 87 food services, septic, land use, billing, the whole door. She also emceed every session at GEHA 2026. Recorded as the conference wrapped at Lake Lanier. She spent 10 years as an X-ray tech, started an undergrad for PA school, and applied for this job when epi didn’t have an opening. She stayed because she does not like sitting in an office. In this conversation: What it means to be the only EHS in a 10-county South Georgia district’s smallest county Mom-and-pop consistency vs. corporate turnover — and restaurants that never came back after COVID Regulating people you see in the grocery store and whose kids go to school with yours Why she calls people like Tim Callahan “hidden heroes” Food trucks, sister agencies, and why Georgia’s Health–Ag relationship is stronger than most states Rolling into president-elect and running the conference again next year How she booked the guests before the podcast even unpacked Live from GEHA 2026, Lake Lanier, Georgia. Beyond Data Management, powered by HS GovTech. Chapters 00:00 Wrap-up at Lake Lanier 00:53 She booked Food Truck Matt off an episode 01:00 Emcee of every session 01:16 Cook County — 87 facilities, one environmentalist 02:34 Mom and pop vs. turnover 03:18 COVID, staffing, restaurants that closed 04:05 Neighbors in the grocery store 05:37 Was the conference a success? 07:54 Tim Callahan’s award 08:08 Hidden heroes 09:13 X-ray tech to environmentalist 12:20 President-elect next 13:10 The food truck session 13:49 Health and Ag in the same room 15:14 Find your Danielle 16:38 Tear-down / thanks Links AFDO Meaningful Metrics — https://www.afdo.org/training/ Send us Fan Mail Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com

  4. Sep 16 ·  Video

    An Inspector’s Camera Roll: Sewage in Neighbor’s Yard, Dentures in a Bowl, and a creepy Pizza Place

    Joseph Addison (Fayette County, Georgia) has placed in the NEHA photo contest three years running. Recorded live at GEHA 2026, he walks Cameron through 12 photos from the field — the funny ones, the filthy ones, and the one he did not put on the report. In this episode: -“Biscuitus” and other kitchen personality that isn’t in the code -A septic repair that got dumped into the neighbor’s yard (2nd place, NEHA general category) -The pizza-place back room that looked like a lab — and why he pocketed the phone and left -Dentures in a mixing bowl A septic tank that floated out of the ground after a pump-out and a downpour -Bloodshot googly eyes over a prep sink -A hibachi floor so greasy it looked black — and why that still wasn’t an automatic close -The difference between “gross” and “will put someone in the ER” -Joseph’s point the whole hour: this is not a gotcha job. Inspectors are guests in someone else’s house. Call your inspector before the floor turns into sludge. Beyond Data Management — powered by HS GovTech. Recorded at GEHA 2026, Lake Lanier.  Special thanks to Danielle, Austin and the entire GEHA team for their invitation and hospitality. Be sure to subscribe for free to AFDO's Quick Take Friday's: https://AFDO.org/fresh-take-fridays Chapters: 0:00 Intro 0:23 Live from GEHA + the NEHA photo contest 1:48 Why some departments won’t let inspectors take photos 2:34 Fayette County, Georgia 3:09 Photo 1: World Famous Biscuitus 4:07 Photo 2: Septic repair dumped into the neighbor’s yard 7:11 Photo 3: The pizza-place back room 10:25 Why he didn’t write it up — or call the cops 11:17 The roadside fish box with one prop fillet 12:03 The dentures 21:00 The septic tank that floated out of the ground 21:45 Googly eyes over the prep sink 23:42 Dishwasher grease + the same facility’s floors 26:00 Hibachi grease measured in inches 28:20 Gross vs. what actually shuts you down 30:10 They volunteered to close — then pressure-washed the building 31:15 Recurring segment: Life on the Road with Joseph Addison 32:10 Advice to operators: call your inspector 33:14 Close This episode captures the unvarnished side of public health work. Cameron walks through an actual inspector actual camera roll, showing the bizarre and challenging scenarios that inspectors encounter daily. It is a raw look at what really happens when you walk into a site and find a pizza place that defies all logic. Subscribe for weekly public health and safety breakdowns. Let us know in the comments: what is the strangest thing you have ever found on an inspection? Beyond Data Management, powered by HS GovTech. Send us Fan Mail Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com

  5. Sep 8 ·  Video

    LA Has 15,000 Unpermitted Vendors — And 119 Free Carts Sitting in a Warehouse | Matt Geller

    Matt Geller is back — National Food Truck Association, Best Food Trucks, Revolution Carts — recorded live at GEHA 2026 at Lake Lanier. This one is not a “how to start a food truck” episode. It’s a field report from the biggest mobile-vending mess in the country. LA County paid for 125 permitted carts to get unpermitted vendors into the formal economy. Most of them are still sitting in a warehouse. An NGO was paid $1.2 million to get paperwork signed. Eight vendors made it through. Enforcement of unpermitted vending was paused. Meanwhile 15,000–30,000 unpermitted vendors are operating every day — no sinks, no commissary, no A grade — and permitted operators are competing against people who follow none of the rules. Matt also breaks: Kansas City’s 300-foot “no trucks near restaurants” rule Home Depot’s national push to put permitted carts in front of stores How ChatGPT sent Apple to Best Food Trucks Feeding Boeing’s Everett plant (the building that spans two counties) A new app that lets permitted trucks photo-report unpermitted vendors and heat-map problem corridors for health departments Plus the advice he actually gives people who want to start a cart: know your numbers, test throughput with 20 friends, and don’t price off pre-cook weight. If you work in environmental health, this is the episode that explains why “just give them a cart” fails without enforcement, education, and a real path into the formal economy. Recorded at the Georgia Environmental Health Association 2026 conference. Afdo.org/training  0:00 Intro 0:20 Live from GEHA 2026 with Matt Geller 1:03 National Food Truck Association + Kansas City’s 300-foot rule 2:04 Georgia laws, Home Depot, and the tamale-to-six-figures story 3:19 Revolution Carts: what they’re building 3:40 125 permitted carts for LA — most still in a warehouse 5:12 $1.2 million to hand out paperwork (8 vendors processed) 6:32 Enforcement pause, ICE, and competing with unpermitted vendors 8:29 Why vendors won’t take a free permitted cart 9:08 “Are we waiting until someone gets sick and dies?” 9:45 Two food systems: Venice gets an A, East LA gets whatever shows up 11:28 The pendulum: too strict in 2010, too loose now 13:06 Pop-up tents, no sinks, and outbreaks as a when not an if 13:52 The carrot: Home Depot, LA Metro, and county buildings 24:54 How ChatGPT sent Apple to Best Food Trucks 25:52 Feeding Boeing Everett — the building that spans two counties 28:29 What actually wins catering work (photos, signatures, not “sent from iPhone”) 30:21 From food-truck mania to part of the landscape 30:28 The operator who kept one truck unpermitted on purpose 31:33 The new app: permitted trucks report unpermitted vendors + heat maps 33:16 Advice if you want to start a cart: know your numbers 35:23 The pastrami-shrink math that killed a $5.99 sandwich 37:08 Wrap + what’s next Shorter set if you don’t want 18 markers: text Beyond Data Management — powered by HS GovTech. Send us Fan Mail Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com

  6. Sep 3 ·  Video

    From IBM Statistician to Kroger Food Safety Chef | Chef John live at GEHA 2026

    Chef John does food safety and regulatory compliance for Kroger’s Atlanta division — 182 stores across Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. Recorded live at GEHA 2026 on Lake Lanier. He started at IBM as a statistician, took a buyout, and IBM paid for Johnson & Wales. Now he’s the chef who still cooks for TV — and the guy who trains store leaders as Certified Food Protection Managers. In this conversation: How Kroger’s FAST system (Food at Safe Temperatures) puts sensors every four feet and alerts when a case goes above 41°F Freezing day-of-expiration product for Second Harvest instead of throwing it away. A mobile grocery store for food deserts, built with the Georgia Department of Agriculture Why Chipotle, Blue Bell, and Boar’s Head still sit in the back of consumers’ minds Wet-aging a ribeye in cryovac, sear hot, finish at 250°F to 133 Feeding 3,500 people at South Beach Food & Wine — with food safety first  What industry should actually do at state EH associations instead of treating inspectors like “the cops” Live from GEHA 2026, Lake Lanier, Georgia. Beyond Data Management, powered by HS GovTech. Chapters 00:00 Intro — live at GEHA 00:40 “If I told them my last name…” 01:45 182 stores, three states 04:12 IBM statistician → Johnson & Wales 06:32 Shrink, food banks, Second Harvest 09:19 FAST sensors every 4 feet 11:35 Chipotle, Blue Bell, Boar’s Head 13:49 CFPM training for every store leader 15:47 Mobile grocery store / food deserts 23:50 How Chef John cooks a ribeye 28:13 King’s Hawaiian / 3,500 covers 29:17 Super Bowl and World Cup food safety 33:41 Everybody has a camera 35:02 Recipe on the front, food safety on the back Links AFDO Crucial Conversations — https://www.afdo.org/training/ GEHA 2026 Send us Fan Mail Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com

  7. Sep 2 ·  Video

    He Walked Away From a PhD. Now He’s GEHA’s President | Austin Haney at Lake Lanier | Ep51

    Austin Haney is EHS-5, district standard trainer, data specialist — and president of the Georgia Environmental Health Association. Recorded live at GEHA 2026 on Lake Lanier. He did not take the lunch-table path. Bachelor’s and master’s at Valdosta State. Two years of a PhD at Oregon State. One year at UF’s Whitney Marine Lab. Then 2020 hit, and he asked what he actually wanted: a job that let him come home and still matter. His old office mate at the health department said there were no openings. Called back the next day. The job had been vacant a year. In this conversation: The interview question he actually asked: what does a day in the life of an EHS look like? Why the job is ServSafe + CPO + Level 2 soil classifier + chief rabies officer + mosquito ID under a microscope 12 to 15 mosquito species you see in a gravid trap — and the weird ones that show up in a light trap The memorable inspection isn’t the disaster. It’s the third visit to a troubled restaurant when he walked in and said “fantastic” before he started Why manager turnover broke the relationship that used to create that change GEHA’s travel-restriction year vs. this year’s rebound — and why he’s serving a second term as president Testing Georgia’s new statewide EHIS with 60–70 people on the call, going live in November Live from GEHA 2026, Lake Lanier, Georgia. Beyond Data Management, powered by HS GovTech. Chapters 00:00 Live from Lake Lanier 00:54 EHS-5, trainer, data specialist 01:18 GEHA president 03:32 The non-traditional path 04:16 Oregon State, UF, and 2020 05:22 The office-mate phone call 06:06 “What does an EHS actually do?” 07:13 How you ID a mosquito 09:13 Rabies, septic, and every cert in the book 10:37 GEHA, travel cuts, second term 16:00 The inspection story that isn’t gory 18:31 Turnover and lost relationships 19:50 Statewide data conversion 24:02 Thanks / next guest Links AFDO eNews & Quick Bites — https://www.afdo.org/newsletter-updates/ Send us Fan Mail Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com

  8. Sep 1 ·  Video

    Bullfrogs, Movie Sets & a SWAT Raid: Georgia EH Director Galen Baxter | Live from GEHA 2026

    In this episode of Beyond Data Management, recorded live at GEHA 2026 on Lake Lanier, host Cameron Garrison sits down with Galen Baxter, Director of Environmental Health for the Georgia Department of Public Health. Galen traces an unusual path into the field: high-school military enlistment as a linguist (Arabic instead of the Russian he wanted), a short stint teaching, then health education in Tift County before becoming an environmental health specialist. He moved from rural South Georgia counties to Lowndes County manager, state food program consultant and director, DeKalb pool program manager, Fulton County EH director, and finally the state director role he’s held for nearly four years. The conversation covers what that job actually looks like in a state with 159 counties, coast-to-mountains geography, and a metro area that briefly became “Hollywood of the South.” Galen explains how Georgia adapted rules for large-scale movie catering operations (including a visit to the Halt and Catch Fire set), created identifying stickers for production food trucks, and handled craft services versus full catering. He also talks about the political side of state-level advocacy, working with leadership that values environmental health, the challenge of recruiting into a “hidden profession,” internships with CDC and NEHA, and two inspection stories that stuck: live bullfrogs in a restaurant cooler and a night inspection that arrived with SWAT, ATF, and DEA. Special thanks to GEHA for inviting us to do the show live from Lake Lanier Resort. Send us Fan Mail Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com

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About

The definitive podcast for government data management and stories from the field - with a special focus on Environment Health professionals.

Information

  • Creator
    Cameron Garrison
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    69
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Beyond Data Management Podcast
  • Show Website
    Beyond Data Management Podcast