BSHES CAREER PATHWAYS

BSHES Graduates Are Prepared To:

Analyze public health history for perspective on current health problems.
Apply the socio-ecological framework or other theories to examine public health research.
Select study designs to plan health promotion research.
Select valid and reliable instruments to measure variables in public health research.
Synthesize a range of multidisciplinary scientific literature to generate a research question.
Use behavioral and social science theories to guide data analysis that examines health outcomes for specific populations.
Engage stakeholders to inform a community assessment or evaluation.
Apply qualitative or quantitative methods in public health research or practice.
Implement an evaluation plan to assess public health programs.
Describe ethical principles relevant to public health research or practice.

Where Graduates Work

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Emory University
Rollins School of Public Health
Deloitte
ORISE Fellowship
ICF International Inc.
Boys and Girls Clubs of America
RSPH Prism Health
NORC at the University of Chicago

Alumni Job Titles

Public Health Program Associate
Physician Assistant
ORISE Fellow
Health Scientist
Clinical Research Coordinator
Evaluation Fellow
Program Analyst
Program Coordinator
Project Coordinator
Research Assistant
Research Associate
Social Science Research Analyst

My Nguyen

CDC Evaluation Fellowship, Brittain Award Winner

I serve as an Evaluation Fellow for the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Program in the Prevention Research and Translation Branch in the Division of Population Health at the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at CDC. I prioritize the operationalization of health equity within evaluation design throughout all of my work, and my contributions to projects work to advance the agency's and center's priorities for health equity.

I am leading the qualitative data analysis and comprehensive synthesis of the SDOH Accelerator Plans, and I am developing a PowerBI dashboard to help visualize this data from state and local health department partners for diverse stakeholders across the division and center. I provide consultation on the development of the conceptual model, logic model, and performance measures for the ACTion NOFO for future SDOH-focused demonstration projects. Also, I provide technical assistance to external contractors for the SDOH environmental scan to further diversify their subject matter expert (SME) list and project approach. Furthermore, I am a part of the Health Equity Subgroup that contributes to the development of the Prevention Research Centers (PRC) NOFO by ensuring that health equity is thoroughly incorporated throughout the NOFO.

BSHES helped prepare me for the CDC Evaluation Fellowship by strengthening my skills in qualitative data analysis and evaluation methods, such as thematic analysis and logic model development. My current work builds off the strong foundation I gained from focusing my coursework on certificates in social determinants of health and human rights, serving as a TA for the Addressing Racism as a Public Health Issue to Promote Health Equity, and working on the BSHES MPH EDI Working Group. Getting the opportunity to work with non-profit organizations through my APE and program evaluation course also helped me apply these skills outside of the classroom and directly in communities.

Yesnely Flores

1st-Year BSHES Doctoral Student, graduated from BSHES MPH program

Yesnely Flores is a doctoral student at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health. After earning her MPH, she joined the BSHES department as a doctoral student. During her master's degree, she focused on equity and diversity, serving in leadership positions in organizations such as RSGA and BSHES’ DEI committee. She was one of the founders of La Alianza Latinx, an organization committed to strengthening and building the Latinx community at Rollins. She was awarded the Outstanding Latinx Graduate Student and Eugene J. Gangarosa awards.

Prior to attending graduate school, Flores was a high school educator and taught primarily Latinx youth. Flores' occupational, academic, and personal upbringing influenced her passion to shed light on the intersections of immigration policy and intergenerational trauma among Latinx youth in the Southeast. Flores' work explores this intersection by utilizing community-based and mixed-methods approaches. She was awarded the Outstanding Student Paper Award for her work titled "Amplified Social Isolation from COVID-19 policies amongst Undocumented Latinx Families". She plans to expand on previous research by incorporating racial capitalism theory to inform policy-making decisions. Flores is an educator at heart and aspires to be a profesora with the hope and intent of mentoring Latinx students.

Shacoria Anderson

2nd-Year BSHES Doctoral Student, graduated from BSHES MPH program

Research interest: I am primarily interested in cancer prevention and control, health equity, and implementation science. I am specifically interested in working with Black faith communities to develop cancer prevention and control programs and interventions to reduce cancer-related inequities among Black communities.

BSHES experience: I have had a great experience as a BSHES MPH student and now doctoral student. In the MPH program, I immediately felt at home and met some of my best friends during the first week of orientation. I also felt I was able to connect with several of my peers in my BSHES courses through group work, where I learned lots of skills about collaborating with others. I especially enjoyed courses where we were able to work with local community and key partners to complete a community assessment and program evaluation, which provided me with lots of transferrable skills that I am applying in my community-engaged research interests. I also appreciate how supportive my BSHES professors were then and also now during my PhD journey. I have had the opportunity to TA for several BSHES professors over the years and have learned a lot about effective teaching and mentoring strategies. As a BSHES MPH student, I was a member of the Association of Black Public Health students and during my 2nd year I mentored a first year MPH student.

Public health career goals: Upon completing my doctoral program, I am hoping to work at the CDC to continue my passion in community-based cancer prevention and control research and am also considering a profession in teaching as well

Matthew McCurdy

MPH '16, Co-Founder and President, BLKHLTH

BLKHLTH Website | Article: Black Health Matters