Alumni

What do you currently do?
I am an acting branch chief in the Office of Partnerships of the FDA. I started off as a state liaison, working in collaboration with health and regulatory agencies in NC, SC, and GA. I transitioned into my current position while I was studying in the program. My office awards grants and inspection contracts to state and local agencies that support food and medical product safety. I am also working on a doctorate in Health Policy at John Hopkins.

What is your favorite part about your job?
My group manages a lot of the funding programs we have for state and local public health agencies. It is really fulfilling to run these programs and award grants that help improve the public health infrastructure for our state and local partners. We aren’t on the front lines, but we are supporting those who are.

Why did you choose to get an MPH and more specifically, study Public Health Leadership at Gillings?
Before my career in public health, I completed a master’s program in biochemistry at UNC. I realized through that experience that I didn’t want to work in a lab and that I wanted to do something more applied. I ended up in public health and wanted to have a stronger foundation in the basics of the field, which is why I wanted to get an MPH. The most important thing that drew me to PHLP especially as a distance program was the idea that you didn’t have to leave public health practice to study public health practice. The opportunity to advance my public health skills without leaving the workforce was really important for me.

What was most useful skills that you gained from your MPH studies that you use at your current job?
Program assessment and evaluation are skills that I regularly use because I have to evaluate the quality and outcome of agencies that apply for grants. As a manager of a grant program, the main responsibility is to make sure that the money given out is being used thoughtfully as well accomplishing the goal intended for the program. Courses like project management and quality assurance really armed me with the tools that I need to do this type of work.

What advice would you give future students?
Take advantage of faculty and their knowledge. One of my favorite things about PHLP was that almost all of the faculty have been a practitioner, not just academics. That really enhanced the learning experience and made the lectures more interesting because I knew that the courses were being taught by someone who has also been in the workforce for a while.

What were the most useful skills that you gained from your MPH studies?

The project management, leadership, and intercultural skills I gained have been most useful. I support a Coalition of global partners, which requires effective communication and cultural humility.

What advice would you give future students?

Have the courage and make the time to know SPH professors and your classmates well. The professors genuinely care about investing in your growth, and there is so much to learn from your classmates who come from diverse personal and professional backgrounds. The people are truly your most valuable resources!

What was your first job after graduating from the program?

After completing my Preventive Medicine residency training and MPH degree at UNC-Chapel Hill, I took a position as the Fellow in Public Health Practice at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH).

What do you currently do (if applicable)?

For the past two years, I’ve served as the Senior Director of the Mental Health Innovation Lab at NYC DOHMH.  My office has been the main data, technology, implementation science, quality improvement, and research evaluation arm for Mayor Bill de Blasio’s ThriveNYC initiative, a strategic roadmap for re-envisioning New York City’s mental health system with an $850 million investment across 54 programs over 5 years.  In this role, I’ve provided the vision, strategic planning, and practical guidance to design, develop, and implement innovative projects supporting the ThriveNYC agenda.  The work of my office has extended across a wide range of stakeholders, partners, collaborators, and policymakers in the public mental health, city government, and academic arenas.

Most recently, I’ve also been activated to serve in a lead role on the 2019 measles outbreak response for New York City.

What were the most useful skills that you gained from your MPH studies?

The most useful skills I gained during my MPH studies came from courses that had concrete applications to public health practice, such as epidemiology, biostatistics, project management, and program planning/evaluation.  These skills have given me a foundation on which to build my leadership skills in public health.

What advice would you give future students?

My time at UNC-Chapel Hill was a formative experience.  So my advice to future students is:  Push the boundaries and be proactive in your learning and exploring – there’s a kaleidoscope of incredible opportunities and people available to you at the university, and from this place, you can truly go “from the Well to the World!”

What is your favorite part about your job?

I am thankful that I am able to work with other healthcare professionals for the common goal of protecting public health by ensuring that the treatments available to patients are safe and improve quality of life. I enjoy learning about the latest options for treatment and working with my team to ensure that the treatments available for patients are safe and effective.

What advice would you give future students?

Get to know your classmates and professors. My favorite part of the program was working with the people that I met. Hippocrates once said, “Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity,” and this holds true at Gillings. One really wonderful part of healthcare and public health is that these fields attract people who genuinely want to take care of others and promote health. The friendships that I made during my short time at UNC have continued on past graduation and it is nice to be able to continue to share what projects we are working on after the MPH program and in some circumstances even work together afterward.

What was most useful from your MPH studies?

During my time at UNC, I was able to develop my leadership style and learn how to apply a collaborative approach to solving community issues. These skills have shaped my decision-making process, my communication technique and my approach to supervising employees, which prepared me for my management position. I also appreciated the opportunity to be a research assistant under Dr. Schenck and work with United Health Foundation and Community Health Rankings. I learned not only how to conduct research but the importance of asking the right questions.

What advice would you give future students?

I would say take advantage of your resources and do not allow the word leadership or the amount of experience of others to intimidate you. I myself was initially intimidated by the experience of those in my cohort, I quickly realized that I was selected into the program for a reason. Take advantage of all the opportunities that the program offers including learning from others in your cohort.

What was your first job after graduating from the program?

My first job after graduating from the program was serving as a Special Assistant at the New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene tasked with developing policies, assisting in hiring decisions, data analysis, training providers on the policies and procedures of the program in addition to special projects.  Working as a Special Assistant allowed me to learn about the many different moving parts of the program and provided me with the opportunity to learn a new statistical program that prepared me for promotion to my current position.

What advice would you give future students?

Take advantage of getting to know your classmates beyond just your class interactions. We had such a rich diversity of professions, backgrounds and nationalities in my cohort and I learned so much from peers’ personal experiences in their own health settings. Those interactions greatly enriched my experience at Gillings and I made many last relationships that continue today, both personally and professionally.

What is your favorite part about your job?

The dynamic nature of our work. I love that no day is the same and I am able to draw upon many different skill sets simultaneously to help lead our organization forward – leadership, program design and implementation, outcome evaluation, project management, etc. I’m very mission-driven and I feel fortunate to work in a setting that allows me to put both my passion for children’s health and my professional skills towards developing high-impact, sustainable programs.

What was your first job after graduating from the program?

As a distance learning student, I was able to keep my full-time job while completing my MPH. During my time as a student, I was employed as a Senior Program Director for the World Pediatric Project, an international health NGO working to develop pediatric surgical capacity in low and middle-income countries. Since graduating, I have assumed the role of Chief Program Officer for the World Pediatric Project.

What was your first job after graduating from the program?

Upon graduation, as a Fulbright and PHLP alumna, I had the terrific opportunity to do a one-year, post-academic training and on June 2016 I started serving as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in PHLP under the amazing mentorship of Dr. Anna P. Schenck until May 31, 2017. During that year, I collaborate with faculty and staff in delivering high-quality education to students enrolled in Gillings MPH or certificate programs. I co-taught with Dr. Schenck the course PUBH 754-SP17: Research Frameworks and Methods for Assessing and Improving Population Health. Another rewarding experience during that time was the opportunity to conduct the evaluation of the reaccreditation of North Carolina Local Health Departments (FY2013-2016) in collaboration with the North Carolina Institute of Public Health (NCIPH), which findings and recommendations were shared via oral presentations at the 2016 NCPHA Fall Educational Conference under the Academic Practice-Based Research Section, in New Bern, NC, September 14-16, 2016.

On June 2017, I went back home [Haiti] and started my current job as Technical Advisor for HIV Testing Services (HTS) and Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) at USAID funded project, EQUIP [Extending Quality Improvement Practices for HIV/AIDS].

What is your favorite part about your job?

I enjoy my job and UNC-Gillings has prepared me very well to exceed the expectations at work. Since I am passionate about global health, I must admit that my favorite task is to contribute to the development of national guidelines and service delivery tools with the National AIDS Control Program, which I then go on the field to teach/coach front line providers on. My philosophy is “Know to better serve others! Therefore, I am grateful to God for my ability to transfer my knowledge and skills to others for equity in healthcare and public health.

What were the most useful skills that you gained from the MPH studies that you use at your current job?

I would say the most practical skills from the numerous ones that I have gained from my studies at UNC-Gillings include: Collaborative leadership; Evaluation; Grant writing; Questionnaire development; Negotiations; Logic model and framework.