Alumni Profiles: MPH
Zachary Peters, MPH
Graduation Year: 2014
Certificate: Health Promotion Research & Practice
Current Position: Deputy Project Manager at Salient CRGT
WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY WORK AND WHAT TYPE OF WORK DO YOU DO THERE?
I work in two capacities at Salient CRGT on a contract supporting the Defense Health Agency’s (DHA) Psychological Health Center of Excellence. In my technical role, I work as a Senior Health Systems Analyst in PHCoE’s surveillance and analytics branch, and utilize large administrative clinical datasets to assess mental health disorders and care utilization in the Military Health System. I also serve as the Deputy Project Manager for the contract, in which I directly manage 10 employees and provide administrative and contractual oversight for 45 positions/employees.
WHAT MADE YOU INTERESTED IN PURSUING THIS WORK? WHY DO YOU ENJOY IT?
I honestly stumbled upon my current position. I moved to the DC area after my partner (also a Mailman grad who got her MPH in Health Policy) was offered her “dream job” as a new graduate in PH policy at the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. In talking with friends of classmates about available opportunities, this position was the first opening that truly piqued my interest. Prior to my current role, I had very little experience thinking about public health and healthcare in military populations. But I was drawn to the prospect of leveraging large, routinely collected clinical and administrative data sources to understand how mental health care utilization and healthcare delivery happens for an entire sector of the US population…our service members, veterans, and their families. While at Mailman, I purposely pursued a few quantitative methods courses in my final year to shore up that skillset. In my current role, I’m able to leverage my SMS background to inform the questions we ask of these data, and then my quantitative and epi skills to carry out the analyses. I continue to learn and grow as a public health professional every day that I come to work, and I find my work meaningful at the same time…not much more I could ask for.
HOW HAS THE "SMS LENS" (SEEING PUBLIC HEALTH AS EMBEDDED IN SOCIAL/CULTURAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL CONTEXTS) INFLUENCED YOUR PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDES AND APPROACHES IN ADDRESSING ISSUES IN YOUR WORK?
Thinking about issues big and small through the SMS lens has become my normal. I’m sure all SMSers have a fledgling lens when they get to the program, but the department fosters the lens in a way that we can’t help but to embrace. In nearly every project and discussion at work, I find myself constantly trying to identify root causes of behavior, of disease, of policy change…you name it. What is happening, at what level(s), who are the players, and what are the drivers? These are the questions I find myself asking, whether I’m in a work meeting, reading an article on my commute, or talking with friends on a Friday night. The lens is and always will be a work in progress, but it influences my professional and personal lives alike.
HOW HAVE YOU APPLIED THE SKILLS YOU LEARNED IN YOUR SMS COURSES TO YOUR CURRENT WORK?
I use the knowledge and skills gained in several of my SMS courses on a daily basis. Through our surveillance efforts at PHCoE, I conduct monitoring and evaluation of mental and behavioral health programs, I serve as a methodologist and data analyst on several health services research projects, and I also work to engage all branches of the center in data-driven discourse. From the health behavior theories I learned in my health promotion courses to the needs assessment and evaluation skills to data and scientific literacy skills fostered in health literacy, my SMS education has proved invaluable to these aspects of my work. There are other SMS skills I wish I could leverage more (e.g. qualitative methods and survey design), but there’s only so much time in a day.
HOW HAVE YOUR INTERESTS IN PUBLIC HEALTH CHANGED (OR NOT) SINCE YOU WERE AT MAILMAN?
During the Core, I was inches away from changing my track to Environmental Health. I was immediately struck by the scale of the issues, the seemingly irrefutable evidence supporting the need for sweeping change, and my personal interest as a biologist by education. But as I thought about it more, I realized that even behind our most pressing environmental crises lie social, cultural, economic, and political drivers…as well as solutions! I continued in SMS knowing that the theories, the tenets, and the skills would be transferrable to any area of public health (or life) in which I apply them. There is never a shortage of social, political, and health-related topics on which our SMS skills can be utilized, so yes, I feel like every new public health challenges becomes my new interest. As a DC area resident, I can’t help but become even more interested in how public health policy at the national level can help to inform and shape public health policy and response across this diverse country…and across the globe.
Ariel Hurley, MPH, LMSW
Graduation Year: 2018
Certificate/Concentration: Dual Degree – School of Social Work
Current Position: Research Project Manager, New York State Psychiatric Institute Division on Substance Use Disorders at Columbia University Medical Center
WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY WORK AND WHAT TYPE OF WORK DO YOU DO THERE?
I am a Research Project Manager at the New York State Psychiatric Institute’s Division on Substance Use Disorders, as well as the New York and New Jersey Technology Transfer Specialist for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration’s Opioid Response Network (formerly the State Targeted Response Technical Assistance Initiative). I coordinate comprehensive technical assistance initiatives that are designed to build organizational, staff, and individual capacities to apply evidence-based practices in order to meet locally identified needs related to the prevention, treatment, and recovery from opioid use disorder. The TA projects I manage frequently include emphasis on the intersection between the criminal justice and health care systems; the integration of mental health and substance use disorders treatment; and the shifting of the addiction treatment paradigm towards recovery-oriented systems of care.
WHAT MADE YOU INTERESTED IN PURSUING THIS WORK? WHY DO YOU ENJOY IT?
While I was pursuing my bachelor’s degree in public health, I decided to complete my fieldwork in Dublin, Ireland at an outpatient substance use disorders treatment program for women and their children. I was astounded by the stark contrast of their treatment model, which was harm reduction focused, empowerment based, and fully integrative in terms of the women’s needs. I decided to get the dual MSW/MPH because I really love doing clinical work (so much so that I still see patients and run therapy groups at an intensive outpatient program part-time), but I was also frustrated with how far behind the US has been in providing evidence-based, affirmative, and effective treatment. I enjoy my current work because it gives me an opportunity to turn these frustrations into action through strengthening existing initiatives from state and county agencies, hospital and behavioral health systems, and individual programs.
HOW HAVE YOU APPLIED THE SKILLS YOU LEARNED IN YOUR SMS COURSES TO YOUR CURRENT WORK?
I apply the skills that I learned in my SMS courses literally every day in my work. All of my projects are very complex, systems-level initiatives that involve sometimes dozens of moving, evolving parts. I frequently use the tangible skills that I learned in my courses, such as program implementation and evaluation, conducting needs assessments, and developing educational materials. At the same time, I am also always keeping the SMS lens in mind and using the critical thinking skills that I developed through classes like health advocacy, ethics of public health, and social determinants when determining who my stakeholders and partners need to be and how best to address each project.
HOW HAVE YOUR INTERESTS IN PUBLIC HEALTH CHANGED (OR NOT) SINCE YOU WERE AT MAILMAN?
When I first started my dual degree, I was told that most people end up pursuing either a social work or a public health-oriented field, and I feel very fortunate to be in a position where I get to use both of them. My interest in the addiction field has remained consistent since Mailman, but the avenues in which I see pursuing this passion has changed drastically. I have always had an interest in building program capacity and improving the implementation of evidence-based practices. Now that I have been opened up to the world of technical assistance, my interests and goals have become even more macro-level in that they are focused more broadly on bridging the gap among research, policy, and practice.
Irene Pasma
Graduation Year: 2018
Certificate/Concentration: Accelerated MPH
Current Position: Community Health Manager, Health Care for the Homeless and Farmworker Health, Community of San Mateo
Where do you currently work and what type of work do you do there?
I work for the County of San Mateo in Northern California for an entity called Health Care for the Homeless and Farmworker Health. It is funded by a federal grant and administered through the County’s Health System to ensure people experiencing homelessness of farmworkers are able to access health care. I am a community health planner: I am developing the programs’s strategic plan, building partnerships with other county organizations and nonprofits, and creating patient advisory boards so individuals with lived experience provide input into the decision making process.
What made you interested in pursuing this work? Why do you enjoy it?
During my time at Mailman I switched from the private sector to being interested in the role local government plays in developing and implementing policies particularly around social determinants of health. I’m enjoying working for the county because of the highly collaborative environment and ability to easily work across departments on issues related to homelessness.
How have you applied the skills you learned in your SMS courses to your current work?
I really enjoyed my mixed methods class with Merlin (Professor Chowkwanyun). It has contributed to my philosophy and process of collecting and analyzing data for needs assessments and strategic planning which both require qualitative and quantitative approaches. Further, particularly due to my work with vulnerable populations, I frequently draw on Professor Colgrove’s Persuasion and Coercion class when the program is deciding on how to encourage people to receive health care services.
What do you foresee in the next 50 years of public health?
Living in Silicon Valley, I think a lot about better technology solutions in the public health sector. Something like electronic health records which are reliable and inter-connected would eliminate inefficiency both in individual patient medical treatment and allow for better population health metrics. This feels more like a far-fetched dream when I'm sitting in my office located at the county hospital, but I'm hopeful it's in the foreseeable future too.