CSTE

What CSTE does

CSTE (Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists) is a 75-year-old nonprofit professional membership organization founded in 1951 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, that serves as the professional home for applied public health epidemiologists across the United States. The organization represents all 50 states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and three freely associated states, with more than 3,600 individual members drawn from state, territorial, local, and tribal health departments. CSTE's core function is to advance public health policy and epidemiologic capacity by developing nationally recognized position statements, case definitions, and surveillance frameworks that become standard practice for state-level epidemiology, while providing technical advice to the CDC and other federal partners.

CSTE's product portfolio is built around workforce development and applied epidemiology practice standards. The flagship intellectual property is the Applied Epidemiology Competencies (AECs), updated in 2023 to emphasize data science, communication science, pandemic preparedness, and health equity, and operationalized through the AECs Toolkit launched in May 2024. The organization runs three fellowship programs—the Applied Epidemiology Fellowship (AEF), the Applied Public Health Informatics Fellowship (APHIF), and the Senior Public Health Data Strategy Fellowship—and multiple training programs including CSTE LEAD, the Data Science Team Training Program (DSTT), and Early Career Mentorship. Member-facing platforms include CSTE Connect (online community), CSTE Learn (LMS), and the CSTE Career Center, supplemented by 15+ domain-specific toolkits covering injury surveillance, HIV, foodborne illness response (Epi-Ready), chronic disease (RHAD), and novel influenza planning. Governance is structured around five steering committees—Chronic Disease/MCH, Health Security Policy & Law, Environmental/Occupational Health, Infectious Disease, and Surveillance/Informatics—with subcommittees covering every major public health vertical.

CSTE operates a hybrid revenue model anchored by federal cooperative agreements. The primary funding stream is Cooperative Agreement NU38OT000297 from CDC's Public Health Infrastructure Center, supplemented by recurring individual membership dues (annual subscription), Annual Conference registration and sponsorships, training program fees, and cooperative-agreement-funded fellowships. The organization reaches members through the Annual Conference, regional meetings, webinars, direct communications, and digital platforms, while also conducting annual Hill Day advocacy. The customer base is essentially state and territorial health departments, with end-customer concentration mirroring the CDC's downstream funding posture across the public health system.

Name

CSTE

Legal name

Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists

Website

https://cste.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CSTE is a 75-year-old nonprofit professional membership organization representing 3,600+ applied public health epidemiologists across all 50 U.S. states, territories, and tribal health departments. It develops surveillance standards, runs fellowship and training programs, and serves as the technical bridge between CDC and state health departments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: CSTE operates as a membership organization with individual members joining. Members receive access to CSTE Connect, CSTE Learn, webinars, publications, and other member resources.
2. Annual Conference: CSTE Annual Conference connects public health epidemiologists from across the country to share best practices. Revenue generated through conference registration and sponsorships.
3. Training Programs: CSTE Learn platform provides training courses. Fellowship programs (AEF, APHIF, SPHDS) are typically funded through cooperative agreements with CDC.
4. Cooperative Agreements: Funded by Cooperative Agreement number NU38OT000297 from CDC's Public Health Infrastructure Center, supporting applied epidemiology workforce development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

CSTE is a nonprofit professional membership organization that advances public health policy and epidemiologic capacity for applied public health epidemiologists. It delivers memberships, fellowships, training programs, surveillance and competency frameworks, online learning and community platforms, and an annual conference that convenes state, territorial, local, and tribal epidemiologists across the United States.

Product overview

CSTE (Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists) is a professional membership organization offering a comprehensive portfolio of programs and resources for applied public health epidemiologists. The organization provides workforce development through fellowships (AEF, APHIF, Senior Public Health Data Strategy Fellowship), training programs (CSTE LEAD, DSTT, Early Career Mentorship), and competency frameworks (Applied Epidemiology Competencies with accompanying AECs Toolkit). Member engagement platforms include CSTE Connect (online community) and CSTE Learn (learning management system). The organization also produces position statements, surveillance toolkits (Injury Surveillance Toolkit, RHAD Toolkit), training resources (Epi-Ready, HIV Surveillance Training Manual), and hosts an Annual Conference. CSTE serves as the professional home for applied public health epidemiologists with over 3,600 individual members and provides technical advice to CDC and federal public health agencies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Applied Epidemiology Competencies (AECs) Competency framework that defines the role of an applied epidemiologist and supports workforce development activities including job descriptions, career portfolios, and training plans for public health agencies.
• AECs Toolkit Free interactive web resource that helps health department supervisors and applied epidemiologists assess knowledge, skills, and abilities across the AEC domains and informs performance reviews and training plans.
• CSTE Connect Members-only online community platform providing forums, networking channels, and resource sharing for applied public health epidemiologists across jurisdictions.
• CSTE Learn Online learning management system offering courses, webinars, and training materials supporting applied epidemiology workforce development.
• Applied Epidemiology Fellowship (AEF) Two-year fellowship placing early-career epidemiologists in state and local health departments for on-the-job training under experienced mentors; funded through CDC cooperative agreements.
• Applied Public Health Informatics Fellowship (APHIF) Fellowship program training fellows in public health informatics, data systems, analytics, and health information technology applications within state and local health departments.
• Senior Public Health Data Strategy Fellowship Fellowship program for senior-level professionals advancing public health data strategy initiatives across jurisdictions.
• CSTE LEAD Leadership development training program for applied epidemiologists focusing on executive and management skills.
• Data Science Team Training Program (DSTT) Training program developing data science competencies within public health agencies to modernize analytical capabilities.
• Early Career Mentorship Program Program connecting early career epidemiologists with experienced mentors for professional guidance and development.
• CSTE Annual Conference Annual in-person conference connecting public health epidemiologists from across the country to share best practices, with steering committee meetings and business sessions.
• CSTE Career Center Online job board providing career opportunities for applied epidemiology professionals across jurisdictions.
• Epi-Ready Team Training Foodborne illness response strategies training program for public health professionals, supporting rapid needs assessment during outbreaks.
• Injury Surveillance Toolkit Resource for using ICD-10-CM coded hospitalization and emergency department visit data to track injury burden in health departments, including Special Emphasis Report tools and Exploratory Injury Indicators.
• Injury Data Linkage Toolkit Training resources for injury surveillance data linkage covering linking principles, database connections, and best practices.
• RHAD Toolkit 2.0 Toolkit supporting chronic disease epidemiology capacity building and health assessment activities for state health departments.
• HIV Surveillance Training Manual Comprehensive training manual for HIV surveillance activities and epidemiology practices in state and local health departments.
• Novel Influenza Planning Toolkit Templates and resources for novel influenza outbreak planning and surveillance at state and local public health jurisdictions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 83% of funding for epidemiologic activities in state health departments comes from CDC
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and key.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSTE provides technical advice and assistance to CDC and serves as a key partner in public health surveillance and epidemiology. Funded through Cooperative Agreement NU38OT000297 from CDC's Public Health Infrastructure Center. CSTE members work with CDC programs including NCEZID, NCIRD, NCIPC, and others.
• Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSTE collaborates with APHL on infectious disease surveillance, antimicrobial resistance surveillance, and public health informatics initiatives.
• Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSTE works with ASTHO on public health emergency preparedness, policy development, and health security initiatives.
• National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSTE collaborates with NACCHO on public health practice, preparedness, and surveillance initiatives serving local health departments.
• Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response (CIFOR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSTE is a founding member of CIFOR, a multidisciplinary collaboration working to improve methods to detect, investigate, control, and prevent foodborne disease outbreaks.
• Council for Outbreak Response: HAI and Antimicrobial-Resistant Pathogens (CORHA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSTE co-leads CORHA with CDC, ASTHO, and NACCHO to address healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance outbreak response.
• National Association of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSTE partners with NASTAD to support national efforts to end the HIV epidemic and integrate HIV surveillance and prevention.
• Public Health FoundationkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSTE updated Applied Epidemiology Competencies in 2023 to align with Public Health Foundation's Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals.
• Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSTE works with SHEA on healthcare-associated infections surveillance and prevention guidelines.
• Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSTE collaborates with APIC on HAI/AR surveillance, infection prevention, and public health workforce competency.
• National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSTE works with NASPHV on vector-borne and zoonotic disease surveillance and One Health initiatives.
• National Environmental Health Association (NEHA)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSTE collaborates with NEHA on environmental health surveillance and food safety initiatives.
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSTE collaborates with NIOSH on occupational health surveillance, developing occupational health indicators, and increasing state-based occupational health surveillance capacity.
• de Beaumont FoundationkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrian C. Castrucci, President and CEO of de Beaumont Foundation, was a former supervisor of Hillary B. Foulkes and reflects on the impact of CSTE's Applied Epidemiology Fellowship program.
• Johns Hopkins UniversitykeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSTE has collaborated with Johns Hopkins University on joint data dashboard projects and non-traditional partnerships advancing public health informatics.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• de Beaumont Foundation: de Beaumont Foundation is a leading philanthropic force in US public health workforce and policy, partnering with CSTE on fellowships. It is an emerging peer/funder that increasingly shapes the same workforce development agenda as CSTE.

Direct peers

• Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL): APHL represents public health laboratories and collaborates with CSTE on infectious disease surveillance, antimicrobial resistance, and informatics. It is a direct peer in adjacent public health domains with shared CDC-facing mission.
• Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO): ASTHO represents state and territorial health officials and is a core CSTE partner on preparedness, policy, and health security initiatives. It is a direct peer as the senior public health official counterpart association, serving overlapping government membership with complementary scope.
• National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO): NACCHO represents local health departments and collaborates with CSTE on preparedness and surveillance. It is a direct peer with overlapping government public health membership at the local level, co-leader of CORHA.
• Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA): SHEA partners with CSTE on healthcare-associated infection surveillance and prevention guidelines. It is a direct peer serving a specialized epidemiology sub-discipline with overlapping membership in infection prevention.
• Society for Epidemiologic Research (SER): SER is an academic epidemiology society that overlaps with CSTE on epidemiologic methods, training, and annual meetings. It is a direct peer targeting a more academic rather than applied epidemiologist audience.
• Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB): PHAB accredits state, local, and tribal health departments, intersecting with CSTE's competency and workforce development mission. It is a direct peer in setting standards for US public health practice and frequently co-develops programs with CSTE.
• National Association of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD): NASTAD partners with CSTE on HIV surveillance and prevention integration. It is a direct peer representing state health program directors with a focused disease-area mission.
• National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV): NASPHV collaborates with CSTE on vector-borne and zoonotic disease surveillance. It is a direct peer in a specialized epidemiology niche with a similar government/state-based membership model.

Broad incumbents

• American Public Health Association (APHA): APHA is the largest and broadest US public health association, spanning epidemiology, policy, and practice. It is a broad incumbent peer that overlaps on professional development, advocacy, and an annual meeting but at a much wider scope than applied epidemiology.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CSTEnews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CSTE