Renee Palting

For more than three decades, my professional and community work has centered on education, advocacy, communication, and connection.

I am a Registered Nurse, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and library and information science professional whose career has crossed maternal and infant health, breastfeeding support, public health, women's advocacy, nonprofit leadership, education, communications, archives, and community engagement.

My maternal-child health career has included direct support for families, professional education, program development, statewide advocacy, nonprofit management, and public-health initiatives. I served as Executive Director of Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Arizona, chaired the Pima County Infant Health Action Team, served as a community health educator with the March of Dimes, and have held multiple leadership positions with the Arizona Breastfeeding Coalition.

Public service has also been an important part of my career. From 2001–2008, I served as the Ward 5 Commissioner on the Pima County/Tucson Women's Commission, advocating for issues affecting women and families in Southern Arizona.

My work in maternal-child health eventually expanded into another longstanding interest: information, history, and preservation. I earned a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Arizona and have developed interests in archives, preservation, research, and the stewardship of historical materials.

I am also the founder and Executive Director of the Arizona Correspondence Society, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and promoting handwritten correspondence. Through community letter socials, educational outreach, postal history, workshops, and writing programs, the Society encourages people to rediscover the connection created by putting pen to paper.

Although these pursuits may appear very different, the same principles have guided my work throughout my career:

Educate. Advocate. Preserve. Connect.