The 2025 Election!

Joshua Bernick is an accomplished entomologist with over a decade of experience dedicated to understanding and managing arthropods of medical importance. Starting his career in 2013 with mosquito surveillance in Virginia, he worked under the mentorship of Dreda Symonds, where he gained invaluable field experience in collecting mosquitoes and caring for research animals.

Joshua furthered his expertise by attending Virginia Tech in 2014, where he studied mosquitoes and their associated viruses under Dr. Sally Paulson. In 2018, he transitioned to public health, honing his focus on ticks and tick-borne illnesses with the guidance of Dr. David Gaines. His deep-rooted passion for entomology drives him to educate others about the risks posed by these creatures.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Joshua took on the role of Data Analyst at the Virginia Department of Health, ensuring the accuracy of laboratory data while also serving as the Tick Surveillance Coordinator. In this dual role, he identified areas with significant human-tick interactions and developed standardized tools for data entry, all while raising public awareness about tick-borne diseases. 

Currently, Joshua is the Rabies and Vector-Borne Epidemiologist with the Vector-Borne Disease (VBD) Team at the Virginia Department of Health. With a focus on public health, he leads initiatives to enhance tick surveillance, oversees case reviews, and manages important rabies-related data. Joshua collaborates closely with federal partners, including the CDC's Division of Vector-Borne Diseases and the Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, to address vector-borne health challenges. He is also dedicated to partnering with academic institutions to research and disseminate knowledge about vector-borne diseases in Virginia. Throughout his academic and professional journey, Joshua has made significant contributions to several publications in the field.

Joshua is a dedicated public servant who enthusiastically embraces the motto of his alma mater, "Ut Prosim" ("So that I may serve"). With a strong commitment to community engagement, he is eager to apply this guiding principle in his role as Vice President and member of the Virginia Mosquito Control Association board.

Degrees: Bachelors of Biological Science at Virginia Tech, Minor in Animal and Poultry Science at Virginia Tech.

Rachel Kempf is a senior Environmental Health Specialist with the Fairfax County Health Department’s Disease Carrying Insects Program (DCIP). After graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a B.S. in biomedical zoology and a B.A. in anthropology in 2007, she began her vector control career as a seasonal technician with DCIP in 2009. After two summers trapping mosquitoes and ticks, she was hooked and obtained a permanent position with Prince William County’s Mosquito and Forest Pest Management Program in 2011, where she spent the next nine years immersing herself in all aspects of an IPM program, with a particular emphasis on the outreach and education efforts of the branch. She took numerous graduate courses in Environmental Science at George Mason University and served on a variety of VMCA committees. As the co-chair of the information committee, she designed and helped to publish the Skeeter for several years. In 2020 she returned to Fairfax County DCIP and was promoted to a senior EHS role in 2024, where she currently oversees the inspection and larviciding efforts of the program. When she’s not in the DCIP lab or out in the field, she can be found teaching aerial hoop classes at a local studio, photographing insects with her macro lens, walking her two unruly rescue greyhounds, Nixie and Patches, and spending time with her partner, Michael. She also adores scuba diving, metalsmithing, shooting portraiture and event photography, traveling, graphic design, and getting lost in the forests of Northern Virginia.