To date, the USF College of Public Health has recognized dozens of alumni with significant impact in public health. Nominations are accepted on a rolling basis.

“During the process of soliciting and reviewing nominations for 2015 it became clear that the Outstanding Alumni Awards should be an annual event recognizing our more than 11,000 alumni doing great things in various places,” said Dr. Heather Stockwell, emeritus professor from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

To be considered for an Outstanding Alumni Award, nominees must have earned an academic degree (BS, MHA, MPH, MSPH, PhD or DrPH) from the COPH.

“Our alumni are doing wonderful things locally, statewide and internationally and this award is one way that the college can acknowledge their success,” said Dr. Karen Liller, COPH professor.

The Outstanding Alumni Awards are presented in Tampa during National Public Health Week, which is typically during the first week in April.

Complete details on eligibility and the nomination process are on the  alumni awards website. The deadline for all materials to be received is 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 1.

“I applaud the College of Public Health for recognizing alumni who not only have tremendous accomplishments, but who have made a difference in the lives of so many,” said Bill McCausland, executive director of the USF Alumni Association.

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For Jimmy Bayes, a USF College of Public Health (COPH) alum and former USF football player, family and culture are top priorities.

“I’m of Haitian descent and among the first in my family to go to college and graduate,” Bayes said. “My mom and dad are hardworking individuals and they are high on morals, tradition and culture. I was raised to show respect to the community around me.”

Bayes had an early introduction to public health, which ultimately led him to the COPH.

“Growing up I was heavily involved in the community and did a lot for organizations like Habitat for Humanity,” Bayes said. “Another thing that got me into public health was my sister being a nurse. I volunteered at our local health department and was always heavily involved in my community, even as a youngster.”

What led Bayes to USF was a relationship with Willie Taggart, head coach of USF football.

“We had an opportunity to really shock the landscape at USF,” said Bayes, a former defensive end. “We had a lot of playmakers in my class.” That, coupled with being able to stay close to family, is what solidified Bayes’ decision to commit to USF.

Academically, Bayes started at USF as a psychology major, then moved to a physical therapy major before ultimately deciding on public health.

“I wanted to use my experience to better the kids coming in behind me,” Bayes said. “I met my mentor, Dr. Joe Bohn, through public health and that’s where I became rooted. It was the best decision I made academically.”

Bayes said he was the only football player in his public health classes at that time.

“I came from a small town and going into a big city that has a lot of international students was a great opportunity. I had to make more friends. I had to learn new perspectives,” he said.

Bayes graduated from the COPH in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health.

Unfortunately, a shoulder injury changed his plans for a career in football.

 “I couldn’t pass the physical,” Bayes said. “When I realized I couldn’t go professional, I grew depressed. But one thing that helped me out of that depression was my work and focusing on my drive.”

Bayes said the fundamentals and lessons that sports taught him are invaluable.

“When you get knocked down, you get back up. When you don’t know how to make the play, you go back to the film and you watch what you did wrong and you correct it.”

Bayes said what led him back to his hometown in Immokalee, Fla., was the opportunity to give back. He is now coaching at his alma mater, Immokalee High School, is president of the Immokalee Youth Sports League and has even returned to inside the classroom as a teacher.

“The main thing that keeps me going is knowing that my coaches and the pillars in my neighborhood when I was growing up didn’t give up on me,” Bayes said. “They didn’t say they were too tired. They just kept going. I’m a product of that. Like they say, ‘It takes a village to raise a kid.’ My parents worked very hard, and the community helped raise me. I’m literally a product of that concept.”

Today, Bayes is a 9th grade English and intensive reading teacher at Immokalee High School.

“I became aware of the teacher shortage through discussions with the pillars in my community who also supported me growing up,” he said. “They told me there was a shortage of teachers, so I stepped up.”

Recently, Bayes spoke at a mental health wellness event.

“It was for athletes that didn’t go pro and are fighting depression. It targeted athletic suicide,” he said. “I want athletes and competitors to know that just because you don’t go professional, that doesn’t mean you’re not competing. There are always different aspects in life to compete in.”

“I want athletes and competitors to know that just because you don’t go professional, that doesn’t mean you’re not competing. There are always different aspects in life to compete in. I want people to know that just because you don’t train in a collegiate or professional sport, that doesn’t mean it’s over. You’re not ever done competing. There’s still much to tackle. Right now, I’m tackling youth development and it’s really fulfilling. I get to pour my experiences into developing youth.”

For now, Bayes has his sights set on returning to the COPH to visit his mentors and professors to continue to build connection. He says he’s also interested in coaching at the college level, continuing to be a mentor and has plans to start two non-profit organizations to feed the homeless and provide scholarships for future public health professionals. 

Fast Five:

What did you dream of becoming when you were young?

A pro football player.

Where would we find you on the weekend?

Behind a board drawing up plays or being with family.

What is the last book you read?

“The 48 Laws of Power,” by Robert Greene and “What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School,” by Mark McCormack. I read those simultaneously.

What superpower would you like to have?

Healing. A lot of people are hurt behind closed doors. We live in a generation where people don’t really know how to handle the things that hurt them.

What is your all-time favorite movie?

“Remember the Titans”

Story by Liz Bannon, USF College of Public Health

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Everyone was certain Dr. Michelle Crozier would grow up to be a veterinarian.

After all, Crozier, who grew up in Deland, Fla., and attended Stetson University, raised Belted Galloway cattle and even once won a cow in an essay contest.

But everyone was wrong.

“I was more interested in understanding how the human body worked,” Crozier stated.

As a biology major at Stetson, Crozier was taking pre-med courses and shadowing physicians. “But I didn’t feel much passion toward the field once I began learning about its realities,” she said. “During my junior year, I selected a book from the Health and Science shelf at Barnes & Noble called “Level 4: Virus Hunters of the CDC.” I was introduced to the exciting career of epidemiology, and I talked to my faculty advisor about how to become one just as soon as I learned how to say it. He helped me look into MPH programs, and the rest is history!”

Crozier enrolled at the USF College of Public Health (COPH) right after college and graduated with her MPH in epidemiology in 2009. In 2017, she received her PhD from the college.

“As a practical person, I love the emphasis on prevention in public health,” Crozier said. “I’m always looking to prevent bad things from happening and promote the good in life, and I’m a natural fit for a field with the same description.”

Crozier started out in public health as a communicable disease epidemiologist for the Volusia County Health Department—a job she started just a few months before the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic hit.

“I was the go-to person for the epidemiology response, and talk about baptism by fire,” Crozier said. “I learned more in the subsequent six months than I would have learned in five years on the job in non-pandemic times.”

Crozier took what she learned into the classroom. She’s held teaching positions at the University of Central Florida (UCF), USF (where she was the online epidemiology MPH coordinator from 2013-2017) and was most recently director of the Health Sciences Collegiate Academy at Lake-Sumter State College.

Today, Crozier is a lecturer at UCF in the School of Global Health Management and Informatics. She also serves as program director of the Health Care Informatics MS Program. 

“I spend my days handling admin stuff related to students and program accreditation, teaching, prepping classes, meeting with students and finding time to write a little on research projects. I like that it combines two of my childhood dream jobs, teaching and medicine, with a public health focus.  It’s also in my hometown where I can be close to my family,” Crozier said.

Crozier sees herself staying at UCF, building on the knowledge and skills she learned at the COPH.

“I’m diligently working on creating my niche at UCF so I am successfully promoted to associate lecturer in a few years,” she said. “I see myself retiring from here, but I wouldn’t mind doing it a little early so I can travel extensively, especially to cooler places during the hot Florida summers!”

Alumni Fast Five

What did you dream of becoming when you were young?

I wanted to become a teacher, architect or medical doctor.

Where can we find you on the weekends?

Swimming at the beach or pool, seeing a traveling Broadway show or concert and/or eating a scrumptious meal.

What’s the last book you read?

“Florida Woman,” by Deb Rogers.

What superpower would you like to have?

Invisibility

What’s your all-time favorite movie?

It’s a toss-up between “The Sound of Music” and “The Silence of the Lambs.”

To view the awards ceremony, click here.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Looking for a career that would provide job growth and allow her to help people in need, Pam Kelsky decided to pursue an MHA after receiving her bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Florida.

And she decided to pursue that degree at the USF College of Public Health (COPH) because of its highly regarded program.

“I began my master’s program right after college,” Kelsky said. “I had the academic background and was learning the ins and outs of the industry through my first job post-college [handling insurance receivables at a medical clinic]. But the COPH supplemented my college education with advanced classes and exposed me to people in the field who had far more experience than I did. So many of the students were experienced professionals and executives, and their collaboration in group projects provided me with the critical insight I needed as a young professional. Having access to that experience was invaluable, especially through the group projects required as part of the curriculum.”

After she graduated the COPH in 2000, Kelsky spent nearly 10 years with Cigna Dental, ultimately serving as director of risk management, designing, implementing and managing the company’s HIPAA privacy plan. “It was very rewarding to execute a company-wide policy throughout the entire organization as a young professional,” Kelsky said. “I now manage my husband’s boutique civil litigation law firm and, in the course of that work, have been exposed to numerous instances of health access deficiencies.”

One of Kelsky’s proudest accomplishments to date is co-founding the nonprofit charity bcalmed. In 2019, Kelsky had surgery for breast cancer and found the surgical drains used during the post-op period cumbersome and hard to disguise. She and her best friend, Gaby Mann, a distribution specialist, developed the bcalmed bag, a bag with four mesh pockets to conceal drains. Using an adjustable strap, the bag hangs comfortably around the neck. Provided free of charge to any patient needing it, the bcalmed bag is marketed directly to surgeons, hospitals and other health care providers.

“Running a nonprofit utilizes many of the same skills learned in the MHA program,” Kelsky commented. “We had to maneuver many legal and operational challenges within the health care industry to fulfill the purpose of our charity, which is to help patients manage post-operative drains after surgical procedures such as mastectomies and lumpectomies.”

And according to Kelsky, the bcalmed bag is getting rave reviews from both surgeons and the patients they operate on.

“Receiving positive feedback from breast surgeons about the bcalmed bag and knowing that we are easing the journey for breast cancer patients is so fulfilling,” she said. “Patients have told us that the bag is comfortable and has provided them with dignity in the healing process. The bcalmed bag satisfied an identifiable need for breast cancer patients with surgical drains. At the suggestion of breast surgeons, bcalmed just designed and manufactured smaller bags for those requiring fewer drains. As a breast cancer patient myself, I wish I had the bcalmed bag when I was recovering.”

Kelsky’s next project is expanding the marketing of the bcalmed bag.

“At this point, we have distributed more than 800 bags to surgeons and hospitals throughout Florida, the Northeast and even Alaska,” she noted. “We hope to exhibit the bag at the American Society of Breast Surgeons annual meeting in Boston in 2023. We hope to bring the bcalmed bag to as many patients as possible throughout the U.S., and the world.”

Alumni Fast Five

What did you dream of becoming when you were young?

A doctor.

Where can we find you on the weekends?

Walking in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

What is the last book you read?

“Ragtime.”

What superpower would you like to have?

To heal.

What is your all-time favorite movie?

“Forrest Gump.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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The year was 2019 and the location was Lucky Strike in Philly. That was the last time we gathered for the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting …

We are grateful for pandemic progress that will finally allow us to gather again in November 2022!

Your USF College of Public Health colleagues are excited to see you this year in Boston, especially since it is the 150^th anniversary of APHA. We want to celebrate our association and with all of you participating in the largest gathering of public health scholars and professionals in the country!

Engage with us.
Members of the USF community are scheduled to give research presentations at APHA. Check out the APHA program guide for an impressive list of Bulls ready to share their passion with the masses.

Network with us.

Add the most happening APHA reception to your calendar for Monday, Nov. 7. Alumni, students, faculty and friends are invited to join Dean Donna Petersen for a bullish good time. We secured an indoor/rooftop space for this shindig and can’t wait to see you there! RSVP here.

Enroll with us.

USF is home to the highest ranked public health degree program in Florida and is #16 in the U.S.  (U.S. News and World Report, 2023). We offer multiple concentrations that lead to BSHS, BSPH, MHA, MPH, MSPH, DrPH, and PhD degrees, graduate certificates and online programs. In 2018, USF was named a Preeminent State Research University, one of three in the state. To learn more about how USF commits to creating conditions that allow every person the universal right to health and well-being, visit publichealth.usf.edu and swing by Booth #1558.

COPH@APHA Place hours:Sun., Nov. 6, 12:30 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Mon., Nov. 7, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Tue., Nov. 8, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

For the latest happenings before, during and after APHA, be sure to follow #USFCOPHRocks and @USFCOPH on your favorite social media platform.

Questions may be directed to Natalie D. Preston at nataliep@usf.edu.

The post COPH@APHA Boston appeared first on College of Public Health News.

It was a passion for nutrition that first drove Norma Lisenko, who received her DrPH degree in Advanced Practice Leadership from the USF College of Public Health (COPH) in 2021, to investigate a career in public health. 

“I’m passionate about nutrition, physical activity, holistic wellness, mental health, children and women,” said Lisenko, who grew up in El Salvador and Mexico before immigrating to the U.S. when she was 15. “Communities cannot thrive unless we have healthy families. And to have healthy, thriving families, they must have access to healthy food, feel empowered to make healthy food choices and have access to and feel safe in spaces where they can engage in exercise and experience nature for physical and mental health.”

After getting her MPH with a concentration in community nutrition education from San Francisco State University, Lisenko, who lives in Benicia, Calif., started putting what she learned into action. 

She’s been a nutrition health educator with the Benicia School District (a public school district with about 5,000 students), the founding executive director of Healthy Cooking With Kids, Inc., a nonprofit with the mission of promoting healthy living and reducing childhood obesity and a nutrition educator to CalFresh participants (CalFresh is a federally mandated, state-supervised program bringing monthly food benefits to low-income individuals and families).

Looking to gain more leadership training, Lisenko started to consider a DrPH degree, and that’s when she stumbled upon the COPH. 

“It was an online program, which I had never done before, and I was kind of hesitant about online education,” Lisenko said. “But I decided to apply because the program didn’t require applicants to take the GRE if they had an MPH with a 3.5 GPA. This was truly the selling point for me—my GRE results were really bad! The other selling point was the fact that the program’s concentration was in developing advanced leadership skills in public health. I had been in public health for over 10 years at this point, so this part was very attractive.”

But the thing that really sealed the deal for Lisenko was the endorsement she got from a long-time friend. “I wasn’t sure about attending, as it was so far,” she said. “I had never been to Florida and the cost of travel with tuition might not be feasible for me and my family. The degree program is a hybrid course of study that requires students to attend three seminars in person. So, I did what I always do when I need to make a decision in an uncertain situation, I prayed and asked God for a sign.” 

Lisenko said that about that time she reached out to a friend who had been living in Georgia but had recently moved—to Tampa. “This was the sign I had been asking for,” Lisenko said. “I told her that I had recently been accepted to USF and I needed to let them know if I was going to accept, but I was hesitant because I didn’t really know about the school. She then laughed and told me that her daughter attends USF and that it’s an excellent research school!”

Lisenko said some of the best features of the DrPH program are its affordability and flexibility. She also appreciated the encouragement of faculty members, particularly assistant professor Dr. Joe Bohn, whom she says would email often to check in and keep her on track, and associate professor Dr. Heewon Gray, her faculty advisor. “She supported any ideas I had for my dissertation, even when I changed the topic after I had spent a year doing the literature review,” Lisenko said. “I recommend the program to everyone who asks. It allowed me to conduct my own research in the area that I’m passionate about.”

And some of that research has recently been published. In August, Lisenko had her first research article, Optimizing Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Psychosocial Risk Factors Affecting Perinatal Black/African-American Women with Substance Use Disorder in the United State, in the Maternal and Child Health Journal. Co-authors included the COPH’s Drs. Gray and Bohn.

“This was my very first time submitting a manuscript to an academic journal, and it got accepted on my first attempt,” Lisenko said. “I work full time and had two kids at home (and one in college) at the time, so finding time to complete my dissertation was a true challenge. COVID-19 happened when I was starting to write my dissertation in 2020. Being forced to stay at home, isolated, truly helped me concentrate on writing my dissertation.”

Lisenko now works as the founding CEO/CFO at Innovative Health Solutions, a nonprofit that collaborates with private and public organizations to bring wellness to the San Francisco Bay Area.

“It’s a job that allows me to grow and learn about different aspects of the wonderful field of public health,” she commented. “I’m developing my skills as a researcher now. I used to only work in planning and implementing programs but now, I’m moving toward developing evidence-based innovative programs that can be implemented in other communities. This is the legacy I’m leaving for communities.”

Alumni Fast Five

What did you dream of becoming when you were young?

A veterinarian in my childhood. A dancer in my teen years. A child psychologist in my 20s. A registered dietitian in my 30s. 

Where would we find you on the weekend? 

At church on Sundays as part of the worship team, spending time with my husband of 25 years, hanging out with my kids or family or connecting with a friend. If I’m alone reading, writing or getting a massage/facial.

What is the last book you read?

I’m the type of person who reads many books at the same time but never finishes them unless they keep me interested. The last book I read fully was “Why We Sleep,” by Matthew Walker, PhD. It was fascinating! 

What superpower would you like to have?

The power of reading, absorbing and processing knowledge like a computer–that would be cool!

What’s your all-time favorite movie?

“The Notebook,” of course! I’m a hopeless romantic.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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Barmak Kusha said he experienced a change of heart while in medical school. While he liked the “fighting disease part” of the field, he wasn’t sure that treating ill people was what he really wanted to do for a career.

After leaving medical school, he immediately began taking courses in epidemiology and biostatistics as a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and decided to apply to a public health program while working in his first gig in public health at the Wisconsin Department of Public Health.

His new path led him to earn his MPH from Yale University in epidemiology of microbial diseases.

From there, he would go on to work in international public health for 15 years on issues including malaria, AIDS, tuberculosis, disaster relief, vaccine program implementation and maternal and child health, to name a few.  Most of his work was at private not-for-profits, such as International Medical Corps, RTI, Plan International and JSI, but he also spent two years as an Emerging Leaders Fellow at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including at the NIAID/NIH and the Office of Global Health of the Secretary of HHS.

“The ability to make a difference in the lives of people en masse—hundreds, thousands and millions of people—that’s something really very powerful,” Kusha said of what he enjoyed about working in the field of public health.

But, despite all that, he said that something was still missing for him.

“It became clear that a career track was very difficult in this field,” he said. “Because of the nature of the beast, most international public health/global health work is grant driven or contractor based. I was getting more sidetracked into management types of activities and doing less of what I wanted to do, which was the scientific and technical aspect of the work.”

After consulting with a former professor, Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Public Health at Baylor University, professor of pediatrics and molecular virology & microbiology, and co-director of Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, he started to consider working in hospital infection prevention and control.

With family in Florida and a new desire to move and change locations away from the competition-saturated Washington, D.C., area, he started to pursue USF College Public Health’s graduate certificate in infection prevention, which he earned in 2019.

“This program is extremely aligned with the knowledge competencies of the Certification Board of Infection Control. So, it doesn’t waste your time,” he said. “Every single objective of every single session of every single of those four classes is aligned with the knowledge competencies of the Certification in Infection Control (CIC). From the very beginning it pushes you toward your CIC and it is a very professionally driven curriculum that leads you somewhere.”

He said this graduate certificate program is “ideal for the adult learner who is looking for a career shift” and because of this program, he said, he was able to start his new path in infection prevention within a short period of time.

Kusha is now director of infection prevention at HCA Florida Trinity Hospital, a 350-bed acute care hospital in west Pasco County, with a catchment area that includes Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

He’s directly responsible for all infection prevention activities of the hospital that are required through hospital policy and regulation, or which are evidenced-based best practices.

“That runs the gamut from essentially preventing hospital acquired infections to preventing the spread of infections patients bring in. We want to make sure that infection doesn’t spread to visitors, staff and other patients. It also includes things that we do to patients here, whether it’s through invasive devices such as central venous lines, indwelling urinary catheters and ventilators and surgical procedures. But it also includes water safety, air quality, construction, protection of dialysis patients, pharmacy, food service, employee health and so on. It touches on every element of a hospital’s operation as it pertains to preventing infection of a patient,” he said.

He said this career shift from international public health to hospital infection prevention has been one of his proudest professional achievements.

“In a very short period, I gained the experience and accomplishments necessary to be promoted to becoming director of infection prevention,” Kusha said.

His future plans include applying to the USF COPH’s DrPH program.

“My public health practice is what I do every day, which is to help the hospital provide health care safe from infection,” he said. “My passion is to be able to be a source of information, resources, tools and expertise to help everyone else drive the practice in infection prevention. Infection prevention ultimately relies on all the primary bedside caregivers, nurses, doctors and ancillary departments such as EVS, food and nutrition and pharmacy. It’s knowing that you’re in a position where you can drive something on a mass community level, that’s my passion.”

Alumni Fast Five:

What did you dream of becoming when you were young?

A wildlife biologist.  

Where would we find you on the weekend?

Outside reading and sipping coffee.

What is the last book you read or what are you currently reading?

“Memory of Water,” by Emmi Itäranta.

What superpower would you like to have?

I don’t want any superpower, that is dangerous! I don’t trust myself!

What is your all-time favorite movie?

Denis Villeneuve’s version of “Dune” that came out in 2021.  

Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health

The post COPH graduate certificate opens doors to career in infection control appeared first on College of Public Health News.

Since 1990, the USF College of Public Health’s Alumni Society (COPH-AS) has been working to recruit alumni and mentor students, give out scholarships and plan events to foster Bull pride. At its peak in 1996, more than 300 paid alumni were members of the society.

Today, the COPH-AS is thriving. The group helps keep alumni connected to the college by publishing the quarterly newsletter, USF COPH AlumNews, hosting virtual campaigns, holding leadership meetings, Alumni in Residence events and student networking opportunities. 

The COPH-AS was named “the most improved program” by the USF Alumni Association in 2020 and received the “best student program” award in 2021 for their annual 7@7 event.

“The COPH-AS has made a great impact on my life. As someone who is proud to be a double USF COPH alumnus, the society has given me the opportunity to give back to the COPH. I have also met other incredible USF COPH alumni,” COPH alum and vice president of the COPH-AS Juan Pablo Sanchez said. “The society is welcoming, always thinking about innovative ways to engage with more COPH alumni and always open to new ideas. The COPH-AS is what WE want to make of it!”

The future heroes

The COPH-AS members are recently launched the initiative, “Heroes Helping Heroes.”

Members hope that this new initiative helps incentivize USF COPH alumni, many of whom are working on the frontlines of the pandemic response or in other heroic career paths, to help current COPH students studying public health and who aspire to contribute to the global public health workforce to prevent, mitigate and respond to future pandemics. They plan to implement the theme via a campaign to raise funds for the Alumni Student Scholarship.

This January, as part of the USF Stampede of Service, the Heroes Helping Heroes campaign invites all COPH alumni to join the alumni society and help welcome a child survivor of trauma to their temporary home.

The COPH-AS is partnering with Metropolitan Ministries to provide comfort items for children when they move into temporary housing at one of their shelters. With generous donations from COPH alumni, a welcome package including puzzles, board games, dolls, stuffed animals (Bulls, of course!) and more will greet children when they arrive at their temporary home!

This Stampede of Service project is virtual and is one that alumni can participate with regardless of their age and location. Learn more here.

Alumni in Residence

Alumni in COPH-AS are involved in every facet of the COPH. They serve on the dean’s advisory board, mentor students in practice experience and speak with prospective students about their academic endeavors and more.

Some of the main goals of the COPH-AS are to engage with as many COPH alumni as possible, provide opportunities that are of interest to alumni, give back to the Tampa Bay community by engaging in community service opportunities and develop relationships between prospective students, current COPH students and alumni via mentorship.

The group has also had to be strategic with how they engage with alumni given the current pandemic.

When the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the world, the society leadership group at the time decided to create a new virtual programming series.

As everyone was sheltering in place at home, the program was named Alumni in Residence and featured alumni at their place of residence leading a variety of programs. Some of the programs offered during that time included yoga, financial planning, the craft, quilting and career development.

The series also included a few fundraising initiatives that were also held virtually.

“The Alumni in Residence series has been extremely popular and successful,” said Natalie Preston, director of the COPH Office of Engagement and Constituent Relations.

Seven Alumni, Seven P.M.

One popular student/alumni event held every fall is 7@7. Seven alumni meet with students and other alums at 7 p.m. to discuss their careers and provide mentorship.

The current virtual nature of the event has attracted panelists from all around the United States and even across the globe. The alumni represent the public and private sectors—non-profit, all levels of government, military, academia, hospital administration and philanthropy.

The 7@7 events are open to all USF students and COPH alumni. This year, a total of 70 people participated.

“The 7@7 opportunity is great because it allows us to simultaneously engage with prospective students, current COPH students and alumni,” said Pablo Sanchez. “Prospective students are exposed to what public health is in the real world, current students get to learn about career opportunities in public health and alumni get to highlight their success and promote their organizations.”

To get involved with the alumni society at any level, complete this brief interest survey.

Story by Sabrina Arancibia and Caitlin Keough, USF College of Public Health

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When USF College of Public Health alumna Kristen Lewis graduated from Purdue University in 2010, she had her heart set on becoming a medical doctor—a neonatologist, in fact. Never mind that she didn’t really like science and didn’t do well in her science courses.

“I wanted to impact the health of communities in need,” said Lewis, a Detroit native. “I thought, at the time, the only way to do that was to become a medical doctor. At no point in my undergraduate career did anyone ever tell me about public health.”

Switching gears

It wasn’t until Lewis had graduated and she was shadowing an MD that the words public health came up in conversation. 

“The doctor asked me why I wanted to get into medicine, and I told him because I want to help people prevent disease, live healthy lives and have access to quality medical care. He said, ‘Oh, it sounds like you’re interested in public health.’ “

Suddenly, Lewis had her calling. She did some networking and became a public health intern with Detroit Wayne County Health Authority.

One of her first public health experiences was volunteering at a local health fair. 

“There were tents and tons of people and just this great community environment,” Lewis recounted. “There were all these opportunities for people to access the things that could keep them healthy. I just remember walking through the fair and saying to myself, ‘Where has public health been all my life?’ ”

From a rocky beginning to a solid finish

In 2012, lured by Tampa’s warm weather and a desire to further her public health career, Lewis started at the COPH, where she concentrated in health policy management. She also began working full time as an outreach specialist for the Drug Abuse Comprehensive Coordinating Office, Inc. (DACCO), one of Florida’s largest community-based providers of behavioral health services. Six months in, she was promoted to program supervisor of DACCO’s Disease Intervention Services, supervising the facilitation of six concurrent HIV and substance-abuse prevention programs.

But the high-stress, demanding job was taking its toll on Lewis’ studies, and she began to wonder if she’d ever get her degree.

“It was really very challenging to perform at my job and school,” Lewis said. “There was actually a point where I was asked to withdraw from the university because my grades were so low.”

Lewis switched to a non-degree-seeking track and over the next few months brought up her GPA to a point where she was back in good standing with the college. 

“I had to realign my priorities,” said Lewis, who graduated with her MPH in 2015. “I put 90 percent of my energy into my schoolwork. I probably wasn’t the best employee during that time, but I knew I needed this degree to get where I wanted in my career. I did everything possible to get the highest grades I could. I went to my professors’ office hours, I took the extra webinar, I built relationships with the faculty. They saw me working really, really hard. I always tell people you never know where your work ethic will take you. Maybe you’re not the best biostatistician student. But if you try your hardest and build those relationships, your professors will work with you.”

Supporting the underdog

Today, Lewis runs CBK Consulting Group, which provides career transition and development support for public health, health care administration and social service professionals.

She’s also a vice president of health strategies for the American Heart Association, where she’s currently working on the National Hypertension Control Initiative, evaluating how well the program is reducing rates of hypertension in African American and Latino communities. In addition, she’s an evaluation consultant with American Bone Health’s Healthy Bones Educational Initiatives.

But what Lewis finds particularly rewarding is her work training public health professionals in small, community-based organizations to build their evaluation resources and capabilities so they can perform their own program evaluations and increase their funding.

“I love that I’m able to support the underdog and get these small organizations to be self-sufficient,” Lewis said. “I’m providing them with resources and tools to empower them to do their best work. I develop a data-driven set of proof that shows this program is working. And if it’s not, here’s what we can do to improve it. My goal is to expand the number of organizations we work with and help them continue to do the great work they do.”

Alumni Fast Five

What did you want to be when you were young?

The president

Where can we find you on the weekends?

Doing pretty much anything that my two-year-old twins are screaming at me to do, like playing on the splash pad or hanging at the pool!

What’s the last book you read?

“Parable of the Sower,” by Octavia E. Butler

What superpower would you like to have?

Time travel and flying

What’s your all-time favorite movie?

“Cabin in the Sky”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

The post An underdog…fighting for the underdog appeared first on College of Public Health News.

USF College of Public Health associate professors Dr. Jill Roberts and Dr. Katherine Drabiak went live on Facebook to answer questions and share what concerned parents and caregivers can do to protect K-12 children as they return to the classroom this school year.  

A more contagious strain and new peaks

The Delta variant is more contagious than the other COVID strains, according to Roberts.

“[With] the previous strain of coronavirus, if you got it, you’d likely spread it to one person. [With] the current strain, the Delta strain, you’re likely to spread it to eight people. So, it is significantly more contagious,” Roberts, who specializes in molecular epidemiology, said.

The return to school is going to impact case numbers, according to Roberts.

“When we talk about going back to school in the fall, we are going to need to protect the children.”

“We are watching a pretty significant increase in cases, so much so that we are predicting a peak in September that may exceed what we had seen in January, and that’s unfortunate. When we talk about going back to school in the fall, we are going to need to protect the children,” Roberts said.

A difficult choice to return in person

Drabiak, who specializes in health law, said that despite the increase in cases, we are more equipped this time around with knowledge about what we can do to minimize spread.  

“Any choices we make will entail policy tradeoffs,” she said. “Any type of mitigation efforts that we took before may have decreased transmission, but we also saw a spike in suicides, mental health problems and students not attending school. This has a particular effect on potentially exacerbating educational disparities and learning loss for lower socioeconomic students, so there is always a tradeoff to keep in mind when we’re making decisions about schooling and types of learning.”

Masks will be key to preventing spread  

Currently, only children 12 and older have access to the vaccine, so protecting younger children will require other public health mitigation efforts, according to Roberts, with a strong emphasis on masks.

“I do believe the kids should be back in school, however, they should not be back unprotected. We can put into place the mask policies that were there before and have very strict policies about sending kids to schools only if they are healthy. We don’t want any sick kids in the school,” she said.

With schools at full capacity, social distancing will be a difficult practice, Roberts said.  

“Basically, the mask is the only thing that can protect your child,” she said.

“Staying home if somebody is sick, this is something we saw over the past year, that it is ok and necessary to stay home if you’re sick from work or school,” Drabiak agreed.

Masks are currently optional for students returning to school in Florida, something that Roberts would like to see change.

“I would definitely take the hardline on that. It should definitely change and it shouldn’t have been removed in the first place,” Roberts said. “When the policies came out, they were really directed at people who were vaccinated; the take away of social distancing and masks, and the go ahead and get back out in the world, these guidelines were meant for vaccinated people, not unvaccinated. Children are unvaccinated. It’s a no brainer. There are too many possibilities. Children getting injured by COVID, having long term effects, and now looking at data from countries that got the COVID Delta strain before us it most certainly spreads through schools.”

Long-term effects of COVID in children

Roberts emphasized that the long-term effects of previous COVID infection in children is still largely unknown.

“COVID has the potential to be a dangerous disease.”

“We don’t know the long-term impact of having a COVID infection. We don’t know whether children will take that infection with them home and infect somebody who will have serious disease, and we cannot predict the ones that will go down the MIS-C road, a very serious systemic disease in which you can get inflammation in various parts of the body including the brain, heart, kidneys and other organs. It can be deadly. Children who get this usually end up in an ICU. COVID has the potential to be a dangerous disease,” said Dr. Roberts.

Drabiak added that although children make up only a small percentage of deaths from COVID, it is worrisome that children are dying.

Vaccine for children on the horizon

Roberts said the original vaccine trials for children look “really good” for children in the 2–12-year-old sets.

“However, there is a long road ahead,” she said.

Pfizer, the company currently leading in the trials process, will still need to apply for FDA approval according to Roberts.

“Best case scenario, around Christmas is when we may be able to take vacations and not have to worry about the 2–12-year-old sets,” she said.

Protecting children

“It is time to go put those masks back on again for everybody, vaccinated or unvaccinated.”

“We are definitely looking at cases starting to peak again in Hillsborough County, it’s here,” said Roberts. “It is time to go put those masks back on again for everybody, vaccinated or unvaccinated. Think about taking that mask with you everywhere again.”

“I think Dr. Roberts said it well [that] parents can make these types of decision for their kids,” Drabiak said. “It’s empowering for parents to think about what it is they can do to not only survive back to school, but to thrive.”

Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health

The post Protecting children as back-to-school coincides with Delta variant cases appeared first on College of Public Health News.