Entering the public health field as an early career professional can be both exciting and challenging. In today's complex political and social landscape, you may be wondering how to translate your experience and service into a meaningful career path.
We created the Public Health Pathways Summit to connect your valuable early professional experience with sustainable career opportunities in public health. Your background has already equipped you with unique perspectives and transferable skills that are highly valuable in the public health sector. In these uncertain times, the field needs resilient, community-minded professionals like you who can navigate complexity and drive positive change.
Interactive Format - This isn't a day of passive listening. You'll engage in interactive workshops, participate in discussions, receive personalized guidance, and connect with peers and professionals through our smart-match networking.
Practical Focus - Every session is action-oriented, focusing on skills and knowledge you can immediately apply to your public health career development.
Supportive Environment - We've created a space where you can ask questions, share concerns, and connect with others who understand the challenges of entering public health in today's climate.
By the end of the Public Health Pathways Summit, you'll feel more Ready, Confident, and Connected to pursue your public health career path. We're committed to providing you with the tools, connections, and knowledge to successfully navigate your journey in the public health sector.
Join us on May 15, 2025, and take a significant step toward your future in building healthier, more equitable communities!
Chris Chanyasulkit, PhD, MPH, is a public health consultant, advocate, keynote speaker, and master connector who speaks both nationally and internationally about public health, literacy, civic engagement, and racial, gender, and health equity. She is a Past President of the American Public Health Association (APHA), a mom of three, a dog mom of two pups, and an avid reader.
Assistant Director, Academic Programs, Department of Global and Community Health, College of Public Health, George Mason University
Kelly Beckwith, MPH, CHES®, is the Assistant Director for Academic Programs in the Department of Global and Community Health in George Mason University’s College of Public Health. She is passionate about ensuring that students have the information and tools they need to be successful in school and at the start of their public health careers.
Prior to her work in academic public health, Kelly worked at AASA, The School Superintendents Association. In that role, she collaborated with school district leaders to impact vulnerable students by improving school policies and programs focused on asthma management, indoor air quality, childhood obesity, service learning, and alternative school breakfast.
Kelly holds an MPH in Community Health Education from the University of Minnesota and a BA in English from SUNY Fredonia. Between her BA and MPH, Kelly completed two years of AmeriCorps service: first in the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), and then as a Vincentian Service Corps member who worked at St. John’s Bread and Life, a soup kitchen and social service agency in Brooklyn, NY.
Carly Bass (she/they) is an AmeriCorps VISTA alumni and current AmeriCorps program director in Philadelphia. She recently completed her MSW at Temple University. Carly's passions fall within the intersection of public health and social services. Carly's career path has been nontraditional, from moving cross country to intern with a literacy nonprofit, a brief moment of working part time at a mini-golf course, and as a barista, to finding their path during their first term as an AmeriCorps VISTA member in Camden, NJ. Carly has lived in Philadelphia for ten years and currently resides in South Philadelphia with her wife and two cats.
Donna is a Public Health Consultant with an extensive background supporting Organizational Development and Change Management Initiatives across private, nonprofit, and government sectors. She also provides a range of career services (resume & cover letter reviews, LinkedIn profile revamps, & more) to students & professionals seeking remote and international job opportunities at the intersection of public health, social work, tech, government contracting, and other sectors.
Job Titles Held: Product Communications Manager, Program Manager, Adolescent Program Coordinator, Gender Equality & Social Inclusion Specialist, Global Strategic Information Fellow
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chinonye-donna-egbulem/
Olivia Umoren Ezeuko is the Founder of LIV Consulting & Career Services, a business that provides professional and leadership development services to public health and health policy professionals, corporations, nonprofits, and academic institutions. Olivia is also the Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at USAging in Washington, DC. In this role, she develops and maintains relationships with federal agencies and Congressional offices and directs efforts to influence legislation related to the aging population and increase federal investments in the Older Americans Act.
Prior to her current role, she was a Manager of Federal Affairs at the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and a Government Affairs Manager at the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP). Olivia is the Co-Founder of Black in Health Policy and a former Board Member of the Society of Health Policy Young Professionals and Penn State’s Nutrition and Dietetics Alumni Society. Olivia received a BS in Nutrition from Penn State and an MPH from George Washington University.
Zoila Reyna graduated in 2012 with her Master's in Public Health from UC Davis and holds a Bachelor's in Psychology from UCLA. She has over 16 years of experience in public health within state government, non-profits, healthcare, and research. She has implemented and managed complex initiatives for tobacco control, chronic disease management, youth development, workforce training, substance use, and healthcare insurance enrollment. At the height of the COVID pandemic, she founded Public Health Hired and has successfully mentored over 300 colleagues across the nation on how to get jobs and internships in public health at reputable companies, all with no connections and no recruiters involved. Most recently, she quit her job at Kaiser Permanente as a Senior Consultant for Community Health to embrace full-time mentoring for the Public Health Hired community. She lives in Los Angeles with her 2-year-old daughter, 5-year-old son, spouse, and German shepherd named Delulu.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/public-health-hired
Dr. Claude A. Jacob has over two decades of administrative experience in public health. Since July 2021, Dr. Jacob has been the Public Health Director of the nationally accredited San Antonio Metropolitan Health District (Metro Health). In his role, Dr. Jacob directs over 50 programs and initiatives across Metro Health’s Communicable Disease, Community Health & Safety, and Environmental Health & Operations divisions and oversees a $100 million budget aimed at modernizing the work of the department.
In April 2022, Dr. Jacob spearheaded the launch of SA Forward, which is a multi-year plan that addresses the priority areas and social conditions that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial SA Forward milestones include the establishment of Metro Health’s Office of Mental Health & Community Resilience as well as the Policy & Civic Engagement Office.
Prior to joining Metro Health, Dr. Jacob was Chief Public Health Officer for the City of Cambridge in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Dr. Jacob’s previous professional experiences also include serving as the Deputy Director for the Office of Health Promotion at the Illinois Department of Public Health, Bureau Chief with the Baltimore City Health Department’s Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control, and Director of Community Affairs at the Sinai Community Institute affiliated with the Sinai Health System in Chicago.
Dr. Jacob currently serves on the board of directors for the American Public Health Association (APHA), the Public Health Accreditation Board, and the Texas Association of City and County Health Officials. He is a past president of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and past president of APHA’s Black Caucus of Health Workers, which awarded Dr. Jacob the 2022 Dr. Hildrus A. Poindexter Award for distinguished service in the field of public health. Jacob also completed fellowships with the W.K. Kellogg Emerging Leadership in Public Health and the CDC’s National Public Health Leadership Institute.
Jacob received a Doctor of Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health.
Dr. Erickson brings 18 years of experience in public health, including leadership in infectious disease and emergency response programs at the local and state levels. She has managed outbreak investigations, led cross-jurisdictional planning, and co-led Operations during the COVID-19 response.
A skilled project manager, Dr. Erickson specializes in strategic planning, quality improvement, workforce development, and data modernization. She has guided agencies in developing policies and procedures aligned with national public health standards.
Dr. Erickson serves on Georgia Southern University’s Public Health Advisory Board, is a Public Health Accreditation Board site visitor, and has held leadership roles with the Georgia Public Health Association. She is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of public health professionals.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/amber-erickson-drph-mph-a7949a21
Justin Snair is the CEO and Founder of Preppr, leading the integration of artificial intelligence into disaster preparedness and response. With over 20 years of experience in emergency management, public health, and technology development, Justin is pioneering AI-driven solutions that enhance resilience in homeland security. His work focuses on the responsible and ethical use of AI, equipping practitioners with cutting-edge tools to strengthen disaster response and community preparedness.
Previously, Justin was a Senior Principal Consultant at SGNL Solutions, where he applied his expertise in public health and technology to address health security challenges. He served as a Senior Program Officer at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, leading key initiatives on U.S. health security, disaster response, and medical countermeasures. Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles at the National Association of County and City Health Officials and the Acton Public Health Department, driving initiatives in environmental health security and emergency preparedness.
Justin serves on the Steering Committee for the Public Health Extreme Events Research (PHEER) Network and has contributed as an advisor and peer reviewer in disaster medicine and public health preparedness. A U.S. Marine Corps Combat Veteran, he holds an MPA with a concentration in Information Assurance and Critical Infrastructure from Northeastern University and a B.S. in Health Science from Worcester State University.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinsnair/
Dr. Joyee Washington is a community-engaged research consultant from Jackson, Mississippi. In 2020, she founded Joyee Washington Consulting with a mission to revolutionize public health by transforming public health research into life-changing public health solutions. Through her business, Dr. Joyee works with community-based organizations, non-profits, public health organizations, and academic institutions to help them build meaningful community partnerships, conduct impactful research, and create data-informed solutions.
Dr. Joyee has over 18 years of research experience and 10 years of public health experience. Her educational background includes advanced degrees in biomedical sciences and public health. In 2022, she graduated with her PhD in Education (emphasis in research, evaluation, statistics, and assessment). As a Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES), she has served as a coordinator of community-based participatory research, coordinator of community outreach for health resources, and faculty member in the Department of Public Health at The University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Joyee believes that a healthier and equitable future lies in the power of our communities.
Additionally, Dr. Joyee is the host of The Public Health Joy Podcast, a safe space for real and honest conversation about public health research and the relationship-building processes necessary to bring joy to the communities we serve.
For more information, please visit Dr. Joyee’s website: www.joyeewashington.com
Zamir M. Bradford, MPH, FRSPH, is a Program Officer at the de Beaumont Foundation, where he develops and manages initiatives that drive social innovation and advance health equity. He serves as the project manager for the Modernized Anti-Racist Data Ecosystems (MADE) for Health Justice initiative, a partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focused on transforming and accelerating the development of local health data systems to center equity, justice, and community power.
Zamir is an AmeriCorps Public Allies alumnus, previously serving as a Reentry & Community Engagement Coordinator at a community action agency in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. He holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) from The George Washington University, a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an Associate of Science in Pre-Medical Studies from Durham Technical Community College.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zmbradford/
I help people get jobs that matter. I am a career coach, talent developer, health workforce researcher and advocate, Associate Dean of Career and Professional Development at one of the nation's top public health schools, published author of 2 books and numerous academic journal articles, advisor to national and international public health organizations, co-founder of a nonprofit representing public health students and graduates, and national keynote speaker.
Melissa is an Epidemiologist and Informatician with over 15 years of experience in epidemiology, public health surveillance, and global health program implementation. She is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Ivey Public Health Partners, LLC, and works with clients in the government, NGO, and academic sectors. Melissa has deployed as a Field Epidemiologist with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) on five projects in East Africa, South Asia, and West Africa, and is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer with service in the Pacific Islands. She also worked as a surveillance epidemiologist with the Georgia Department of Public Health for several years, including during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-ivey-9622a864/
Environmental Health Specialist, Senior - Alexandria Health Department/VDH
Amanda Losardo Coletti graduated from The State University of New York College at Oneonta in 2014 with a BS in Human Biology. She earned her Master of Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology from George Mason University in 2017. Amanda started her career in environmental health working as an Environmental Technician in the Disease Carrying Insects Program (DCIP) at the Fairfax County Health Department. Amanda then interned at the United States Environmental Protection Agency and worked on a wide variety of projects, including but not limited to, pesticides, asbestos, air quality, and drinking water. After her internship, Amanda was hired as an Environmental Technician with the Onsite Sewage and Water Program at the Fairfax County Health Department. She inspected wells, septic systems, and public swimming pools. She then moved on to food inspections by working as an Environmental Health Specialist in the Food Protection Program for the Prince George's County Health Department.
Amanda currently works as an Environmental Health Specialist in the Environmental Health Division for the Alexandria Health Department. She has worked in many different areas of environmental health and earned her REHS, CPO, CFPM, and Lead Inspector license during her career. Amanda currently resides in Alexandria, VA, and enjoys cooking and spending time with her three crazy dogs.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/acoletti
Director, Child, Adolescent, and Family Health Bureau, Boston Public Health Commission
Uchenna Ndulue is the Bureau Director of the Child, Adolescent, and Family Health Bureau of the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC). BPHC is the oldest municipal health agency in the nation and is responsible for promoting public health in the City of Boston. The Child, Adolescent, and Family Health Bureau (CAFH) is supported by almost 100 dedicated public health professionals who promote maternal, infant, child, and adolescent health. CAFH initiatives range from implementing home visiting programs to support pregnant and parenting families to coordinating school-based health centers designed to provide care to adolescents. In his role at the Commission, Uchenna provides general oversight to all Bureau programs, assisting with program design, implementation, management, and evaluation.
Emely Sanchez, JD, MPH, is a government affairs professional with expertise in public health law and policy. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, she earned her undergraduate degrees in political science and criminal justice from Florida International University. She then pursued a Master of Public Health and a Juris Doctor at the University of Miami, focusing her efforts on health policy and leadership. She is committed to deepening her expertise through scholarship, mentorship, and community engagement.
During her educational career, she worked with several offices within and with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), including the Public Health Law Program at the Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support (CSTLTS) and the Center for Global Health (CGH) at the CDC, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), and the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. She currently serves as the Vice President for Policy in the Health & Life Sciences Section of the Hispanic National Bar Association, Co-Chair of the Hispanic Bar Association’s Legislative & Policy Subcommittee, and is an At-Large Board member of the Hispanic Lobbyists Association.
Kristi James has worked as a Public Health Practitioner for over 10 years with experience in local and state governmental agencies. Her experience includes non-profit administration, policy-related strategic planning, workforce technical support, and community-based organizational program development. She has designed, implemented, and evaluated several public health projects in various settings, primarily in Black and Brown communities. Her work as a data storyteller has helped translate systems-level data into digestible, energizing narratives of community impact. Future career interests include teaching at the collegiate level, designing culturally relevant health curricula for middle school students, and designing policy agendas to inform mental health programs on a national scale.
Ms. Lauren Shirey is a Public Health Program Manager at the Defense Health Agency, a U.S. Department of Defense organization that provides healthcare and public health services to about 9.6 million Service Members, their Families, and more. Her career spans over 20 years working in the areas of community health assessment and improvement planning, public health performance improvement, program planning and evaluation, and infectious disease prevention. In her current role, she oversees public health accreditation of military installation departments of public health and leads strategic and cross-cutting projects. She has worked in military prevention and public health since 2013 and spent the first decade of her career working in or supporting local public health departments. Lauren is especially passionate about bridging science and practice, improving public health systems, and strengthening governmental public health. She holds a Master of Public Health degree and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a minor in Biology. A Michigan native, she currently resides and works in the Baltimore metropolitan area.
Jason Thompson is the co-founder and principal of Fahrenheit Creative Group, LLC, a Black-owned, full-service marketing communications firm based in Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating as salutatorian at Crystal Springs High School, Jason attended the University of Mississippi where he graduated cum laude as a Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College Scholar with a degree Business Studies, emphasizing in Marketing and Management.
In 2011, Jason founded Fahrenheit Creative Group, and as the company nears its fifteenth anniversary, Jason has grown the firm to generate more than $2M in annual revenue and over $15M in total revenue, providing services for the CDC Foundation, Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women, American Civil Liberties Union, US State Department Office of Global Criminal Justice, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, National Network of Public Health Institutes, National Association of County and City Health Officials, Woodward Hines Education Foundation, and several other statewide, regional, and national clients.
Jason is married to his college sweetheart and best friend, Katrice Powell-Thompson, a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserve. The couple currently resides in Jackson, Mississippi, with their son, James Kayen Powell Thompson. They own and operate The Orchid Bed & Breakfast, the largest Black-owned bed and breakfast in the South, located at the site of the historic Millsaps Buie House.
Valerie McAllister serves as the Senior Program Manager for CHW Workforce Strategy and Innovation with the Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHI). In this role, Valerie leads state efforts and implementation of CHWs for a Healthy Virginia, a CDC funded National Initiative that seeks to increase CHW presence in vulnerable communities to address and increase COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, while building community resiliency.
Before coming to IPHI, Valerie served the Virginia Department of Health as the Clinical Community Linkage Coordinator/Community Health Specialist. In this role, she led state efforts to establish strategies, policies, and practices to support the Community Health Worker Workforce for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Under the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s DP1815 and DP1817 funding, Ms. McAllister convened stakeholders from across the state to develop guidelines and standards for Virginia’s first CHW accreditation program. Ms. McAllister assisted in the formation of the Virginia CHW Council, ensured standardization in CHW training delivery, and supported legislation that provided the state health department the authority to promulgate regulations for CHW certification and training.
Director of Public Health Strategy and Programs, Community Catalyst.
Sheree H. Keitt, DrPH, MPH, CHES, is the Director of Public Health Strategy and Programs at Community Catalyst. Dr. Keitt oversees the program development and strategic execution of Community-First Public Health (CFPH) initiatives. Dr. Keitt’s role leads efforts to address health disparities, promote community empowerment, and advance health justice initiatives while contributing to long-term strategic planning and long-term vision setting. She plays a critical part in fostering collaborations, building partnerships, and exploring innovative opportunities to expand the impact of CFPH initiatives and drive positive change in public health.
With over 20 years of experience in public health, Dr. Keitt has primarily focused on addressing racial and ethnic disparities in maternal, child, and adolescent health, as well as community health promotion and chronic disease prevention. Her research has examined life course approaches in understanding preconception health and preterm birth differences in U.S.-born and foreign-born Black women.
Early in her career, Dr. Keitt worked in the community where she was raised at the Healthy Start Initiative, where she served as a trusted community voice, coalition lead, and grassroots organizer moving strategies to address racial and ethnic disparities in infant mortality. Prior to Community Catalyst, Dr. Keitt worked at the National Healthy Start Association, where she managed projects focused on infant and maternal mortality reduction and family well-being. Dr. Keitt has also worked at several other organizations throughout her career focused on advancing equity and addressing the social determinants of health to reduce disparities and improve population health outcomes, such as the National Association of County and City Health Officials, Anne Arundel County Department of Health, Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential, Center for Black Women’s Wellness, and Morehouse School of Medicine.
Nathan James, Ph.D. is a Statistical Scientist at Berry Consultants. He has previous experience as a public health data analyst, an academic research associate, and a CRO biostatistician. He earned a Ph.D. in Biostatistics from Vanderbilt University, where his doctoral research focused on semi-parametric Bayesian cumulative probability models and Bayesian variational inference for population pharmacokinetic models using real-world evidence. He also completed an FDA ORISE Fellowship to explore Bayesian copula modeling and semi-parametric regression for clinical trials. At Berry, he has adeptly translated clinical research questions into statistical modeling while designing early phase and pivotal trials for cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, and genetic diseases, among other areas. He is passionate about answering complex scientific questions using innovative statistical methodology.
Rachel Kessler, MSW is a Senior Project Manager at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, a nonprofit association that represents over 3,200 mental health and substance use treatment organizations from across the U.S. Rachel has nearly 10 years of experience in the nonprofit and public sectors. She began her career providing community-based wraparound mental health services for youth and families involved in the child welfare system and moved into human service roles within local government. Since joining the National Council in 2020, Rachel has engaged in diverse initiatives from business development, stakeholder engagement, research, and has launched national projects with a key focus on meaningful collaboration to best support organizations providing mental health and substance use treatment services. She currently focuses on initiatives to advance the size and capacity of the mental health and substance use treatment workforce. Rachel holds a Master of Social Welfare (MSW) from the University of California, Berkeley within the Strengthening Organizations and Communities track. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Development from California State University, Long Beach.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelcretcher/
