BY ANDY TAYLOR
chronicle@taylornews.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Whether it’s the soda pop you drink, the pizza you eat, or the antacids you ingest to calm the effects of both, it’s a guarantee that each of those actions will have been approved or regulated to some degree by the Food and Drug Administration.

And, it’s Beth Martino’s job to tell you if your cola is unsafe to guzzle, your pizza is unfit for consumption, or your antacids are concocted from unsafe sources.

On Monday, Martino, a 1998 graduate of Caney Valley High School, assumed the position of FDA’s associate commissioner for external affairs — a job where she oversees and manages the flow of information from the administration to the rest of the nation.

She will work directly under FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., and Martino herself will have the authority over dozens of communications employees, most of whom are housed in the FDA’s headquarters in Silver Springs, Md.

The role of chief communication director for a vast federal agency is daunting, Martino said, especially when a person considers how far the FDA’s regulatory arms can reach.

“The Food and Drug Administration is one of the small number of government agencies that really touches every American, no matter what age or gender,” said Martino. “No matter who you are, if you eat food, take medication or use or any medical device, then you’ve been touched by the FDA.”

The job of FDA associate commissioner for external affairs also allows Martino to have daily contact with a host of other federal agencies and non-governmental entities that, she said, “have the same mission.”  Those agencies include the “sister” agencies of the FDA, including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or the Office of Inspector General.

And, the job of chief communicator for one of the nation’s largest agencies will force Martino to provide information to the U.S. Congress, which holds the FDA’s purse strings.

The Food and Drug Administration is one of the 11 agencies under the umbrella of the Department of Health and Human Services. However, it’s the FDA’s job to regulate and record the safety of food, drugs and vaccines (for humans and animals), medical devices, cosmetics, radiation-emitting products like x-rays and CT scans, and tobacco products.

From toilet paper to Tostitos, the FDA will find a way to make sure that every thing that is ingested, injected, radiated or absorbed into humans will be tested and deemed safe for use.  Martino’s job will make sure her staff will get the information to the public about the safety and supply of the nation’s food and drug systems.

Prior to joining the FDA, Martino served as the spokesperson and communication director for Gov. Mark Parkinson and former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who left her position in 2009 to assume the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Before joining the governor’s office, Martino was the chief spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Labor.

So, how does a Caney Valley High School graduate make the jump as a Bullpup to a senior-level governmental administrator in just one dozen years?

“I’ve been lucky to have had a lot of great opportunities before me as well as numerous people along the way, both professionally and personally, who have opened the doors for me,” she said.

The Caney Valley High School graduate earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Washburn University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas.

She and her husband, Stephen Martino, who is the executive director of the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, are the parents of two children: ages 4 1/2 and 1 1/2.