The COVID-19 pandemic inspired Danielle to shift her work to the technology sector and explore how technology can work with public health to reduce health disparities and create more equitable, accessible, and culturally responsive care. As the Global Social Impact - Global Public Health Lead at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Danielle has combined her public health experience with cutting-edge technology to address our most complex global health challenges and improve health equity by amplifying the work of innovators, researchers, and organizations around the globe. Read on to learn more about Danielle's career path and current work.
Alumni Spotlight: Danielle D. Morris, MPH, CHES
Name: Danielle D. Morris, MPH, CHES
Department & Class Year: Behavioral Science & Health Education, 2005
Job Title: Global Social Impact, Global Public Health Lead
Employer: Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Current town: Atlanta, GA
Tell us about the path that brought you to your current work/position.
During the 1980s and 1990s, my mother, Debra Gardner Morris, MPH, MCHES (87 PH), worked at Emory's Southeast AIDS Training and Education Center (SEATEC). Many childhood memories include spending afterschool hours listening to my mother and her colleagues plan training and technical assistance sessions designed to educate healthcare providers and others about different facets of HIV/AIDS. Topics also addressed reducing stigma and healthcare worker bias against individuals with an AIDS diagnosis. At an early age, I learned that segments of the population, in their most vulnerable condition, were cast out of their families and forced to exist on the very margins of society. Early exposure to public health in the midst of a pivotal health crisis lit a fire within me to advocate for the needs and priorities of vulnerable groups. Further, I had the benefit of learning from some of the most renowned public health professionals: Dr. Ira Schwartz, Felicia Guest, Dr. Kimberly Hagen, and Dr. Kathy Miner. Without a doubt, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, early exposure to public health experts and mentors, and an encounter with two Returned Peace Corps Volunteers in third grade set me on a path to pursue a career in global public health.
After graduation from Spelman College (B.A. Comparative Women's Studies, c/o 2003) and Rollins, I set off to explore and deepen my understanding of why certain populations thrived while others were made vulnerable. My first job at Northwestern University's Institute for Policy Research allowed me to engage community members, current and former gang members, and police across Chicago, Illinois as part of an evaluation of CeaseFire, a gang violence prevention program.
From 2006 to 2008, I fulfilled my childhood dream of serving in the United States Peace Corps (South Africa 15). Peace Corps service was one of the most memorable and meaningful experiences of my life. During this time, I learned the importance of being more adaptive. Further, I had the opportunity to apply the technical skills gained as an MPH student within a real-world context. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, I led the rollout of mobile HIV counseling and testing units designed to increase access to health services among mine workers and their sexual partners. Peace Corps served as a springboard into a career in global public health.
Following Peace Corps, I lived in the Kingdom of Lesotho for nearly a decade while working with Columbia University's International Center for AIDS Care & Treatment Programs. Among many highlights of my time in Lesotho, I oversaw the multi-year implementation of the Enhanced Prevention In Couples Study (EPIC). The study explored the feasibility and acceptability of HIV self-testing among serodiscordant couples. This study was the first of its kind in the country. It became the foundation for future research on this topic, in addition to the country-wide rollout of self-testing as a component of Lesotho's HIV prevention and treatment strategy. Upon returning to the United States, I joined Dr. Neel Gandhi's team at Emory to coordinate the South Africa-based, Transmission of HIV-Associated XDR TB (TRAX) Study.
From 2014 to 2021, I served in several roles at Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). As National Director, Youth Development Programs, I oversaw the strategic and operational direction of the organization's national program strategy and $50 million+ programming portfolio. In this role, I served as the Principal Investigator of a 5-year, $1.5 million cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Healthy Schools Branch. The project developed a scalable model to build the capacity of out-of-school-time organizations to improve nutrition and physical activity outcomes among youth across the country. Another highlight includes serving as the lead writer of the "Opioid/Substance Use Prevention Resource Guide." The guide offers best and promising practices for engaging youth, families/caregivers, schools, and community partners in youth-centered, substance misuse prevention initiatives. BGCA leveraged the resource guide to secure more than $1.5 million through the Department of Justice: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The opioid prevention strategy that informed the resource guide was presented during a special congressional briefing and received bi-partisan support.
COVID-19 inspired my shift into the tech sector. The pandemic highlighted technology's ability to reduce health disparities and create more equitable, accessible, and culturally responsive care. I wanted to be a part of the incredible synergy taking place between public health and tech. Public health expertise and experience addressing a diverse range of complex global health challenges uniquely positions me within the industry. Presently, I serve as the Global Social Impact - Global Public Health Lead at Amazon Web Services (AWS). In this role, I lead efforts to amplify the work of innovators, researchers, and organizations using technology to improve public health outcomes by advancing global health equity. One way of doing this is by managing the AWS Health Equity Initiative, a $40 million, 3-year grant. The AWS Health Equity Initiative provides grant recipients with AWS cloud compute credits to access services like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Another benefit of the grant is access to AWS Professional Services that provide "hands-on-keyboard" support to build digital solutions up to production.
What is a typical workday like for you?
The only thing "typical" about my workday is that I start and end my day inspired. I have the great fortune of interacting with and amplifying the work led by innovators around the world who identified a complex public health challenge, had a big idea to address the issue, and are pushing the limits of technology to bring equitable access and care to underserved populations around the world. One example is the work led by Vodafone Foundation and the Touch Foundation to improve maternal and child health in Sub-Saharan Africa with technology. Their program m-mama, uses mobile technology to convert readily available local taxis into an emergency medical transportation service for pregnant and post-partum women and newborns.
Another component of my role is shaping strategies that drive global public health technology and health equity. First and foremost, strategies are informed by experts in the field using technology to address complex health-related challenges. I also have the great fortune of building relationships with leading experts across multi-national organizations, federal agencies, and other thought leaders to inform policies, programming, and collaborative philanthropic initiatives. Further, I have the opportunity to collaborate with experts across Amazon who are equally passionate about global health equity to coordinate resources and build and innovate on behalf of our customers to drive global social impact.
What types of skills do you think are important to being successful in your job/career? How did Rollins help to prepare you?
Skills essential to success in my role are cross-cutting and relevant to all public health professionals. For example, the social-emotional skills I rely heavily on include critical thinking, continuous learning, ethical decision-making, empathy, cultural competence, building and nurturing relationships, adaptive communication, and collaborating with diverse stakeholders. Strengthening these skills is a life-long process. RSPH laid a strong foundation of technical skills, skills that enable me to translate public health theory into practice. Technical skills allow me to navigate everything from research to program implementation to public health strategy development. However, to be a successful public health leader, one needs both technical and social emotional skills. The synergy between the two types of skills is essential to meaningfully engaging communities, individuals, and other interested parties to address their identified needs and priorities.
On days you feel the most accomplished at work - what did you do that day?
An accomplished day includes informing researchers, innovators, and organizations that have applied to the AWS Health Equity Initiative that their big idea will receive funding. It takes incredible determination, vision, and sweat equity to move from identifying a problem to developing an innovative solution. I am fortunate to be part of a larger mission and organization that actively seeks to amplify the work of builders developing digital solutions designed to improve global health outcomes and reduce health disparities.
A great day also includes working with others to develop a shared understanding of health equity as an "everyday practice," rather than a buzzword to be used when convenient. This shared understanding is particularly relevant within the technology space. Technology and digital solutions are only as good as the depth of engagement of the end users within a given community. Digital solutions must be informed by the end user's biggest challenge and refined until it responds to their needs.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your work?
The work that I lead is in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 amplified the longstanding health disparities experienced by communities around the world. During the height of the pandemic, tech solutions were applied to a wide range of complex public health challenges. AWS demonstrated its commitment to harnessing cloud technology to advance global health outcomes and health equity by launching two grant mechanisms - both of which fall under my portfolio - the AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative and the AWS Health Equity Initiative. Both grants have issued millions of dollars in cloud compute credits and technical expertise to organizations worldwide using the cloud to respond to gaps in health care, diagnostics, and social determinants that impact underserved and underrepresented populations globally. COVID-19 also presented new opportunities for collaborative relationships across sectors and for diverse voices to be part of innovating a more inclusive future where everyone has equitable access to health.
What advice do you have for those who are interested in working in a similar position/career path as you?
Public health and technology are inextricably linked. Current and future public health practitioners must develop an appreciation and understanding of how technology can be applied to address complex challenges. However, technology is only a tool in a public health professional's toolbox. Practitioners must be ethical, adaptive, collaborative, and good communicators. Lastly, rather than pursuing the job titles you want, seek opportunities that allow you to explore budding interests and passions. By doggedly focusing on the latter, you may find yourself moving in unexpected directions that are fulfilling and blaze new paths for yourself and others.
Tell us about your passion project(s).
On a personal note, the COVID-19 pandemic created space for self-reflection. One insight included a desire to further hone and refine skills as a global public health leader. While years of practical experience and technical skills developed as an MPH student brought me this far, I felt a tremendous pull to return to a classroom setting. In fall 2022, I enrolled at the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis to pursue a Doctorate in Public Health with a focus on Global Public Health Leadership. My passion project for the next three years is to become a better version of myself, mentor other public health professionals, and inspire the change I wish to see.
Want to connect with Danielle? Find her on LinkedIn.