May is Mental Health Month and in this newsletter we’re highlighting Rollins alumna Sharon Rachel 05PH, Interim Director of the Kennedy-Satcher Center for Mental Health Equity at Morehouse School of Medicine.
Alumni Spotlight: Sharon Rachel, MPH
Name: Sharon Rachel
Department & Class Year: Behavioral Science and Health Education, 2005
Title: Interim Director
Employer: Kennedy-Satcher Center for Mental Health Equity, Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine
Hometown: Highland Heights, Ohio
Current town: Atlanta, Georgia
Can you tell us about the path that brought you to working in your current position?
After I graduated from college, I got a Master’s in Women’s Studies, where I taught a women’s health course through a graduate assistantship. That got me interested in health education, so I decided to get an MPH, which is what brought me to Emory. After I graduated from Rollins, I started working for Dr. David Satcher, the 16th U.S. Surgeon General, in the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine (SHLI/MSM). I worked up through the ranks from Program Coordinator to Program Manager and then to Associate Project Director in the SHLI/MSM Division of Behavioral Health. When former U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) made an endowment gift and our division became the Kennedy-Satcher Center for Mental Health Equity (KSCMHE), I was named the Deputy Director. When the founding director of KSCMHE, Dr. Glenda Wrenn, stepped down in 2018, she appointed me to serve as Interim Director.
What is a typical work day like for you?
There is no “typical” work day! On any given day, I may be found in on- or off-campus meetings with internal and external partners and stakeholders, working on active research projects and public health leadership development programs, writing new grant proposals, working on manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals, networking and presenting at professional conferences, or working with my team in KSCMHE and SHLI to forward MSM’s vision of “leading in the creation and advancement of health equity.”
What types of skills do you think are important to being successful in your career? How did Rollins help to prepare you?
RSPH also taught me about the importance of research methods, ethics, and rigor, and courses in biostatistics, epidemiology, and evaluation taught me how to interpret research. The group projects were also helpful – much of the work that I do is collaborative and often feels like an extended version of a group project! The most important “soft” skills that I need to be successful at my job are organization, collaboration, and time management. As academics, we are pulled in many different directions, which can feel overwhelming. My relationships with my co-workers have also been essential to my success. Working with Dr. Satcher and Dr. Wrenn has opened doors that I otherwise never would have even known existed!
On days you feel the most accomplished at work - what did you do that day?
Those are the days when I finish something – like turn in an annual report, submit a proposal or manuscript, or finalize a curriculum or research protocol. Those are the daunting tasks that take several days or even weeks to finish, and it is such a great feeling when I hit the “submit” button!
What advice do you have for those who are interested in working in a similar position / career path as you?
If I had to do it all over again, I would have worked for a few years after college before going back to graduate school so that I would have gotten a better idea of what I wanted to do, have gone into graduate school with some work experience to apply to my learnings, and so I would have been better positioned for employment post-graduate school. Also, if I knew that I would go into a career in academia, I would have just gone ahead and gotten a PhD.
More broadly, what advice do you have for current students looking to pursue public health roles?
My advice to future public health leaders is to use your voice and advocate for yourself. I encourage future health leaders to find mentors and sponsors who will advocate for you and set you up to succeed. You also have to be patient. You will most likely not get hired as a director in your first job out of school, but if you align yourself with peers, professional networks, and mentors, you will be able to carve out your own path to success.
How has your work changed your perception of public health work (if at all)?
My work has opened up my eyes to the realization of how privileged my life has been, and it has made me grateful for all of the resources I have had available to me. Sure, some people have been able to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” but by and large, people’s circumstances are shaped by the environment that surrounds them – i.e. the social determinants of health, or the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and play. As public health leaders, it is also our duty to involve the community in the design and implementation of health interventions.