Rollins Magazine

Grove of Aspen trees

Spring 2026

Six Public Health Professionals Share What Keeps Them Motivated

By Kelly Jordan

The work of public health is never ending. It is complicated. It often involves problems without clear answers. Funding can prove elusive. Days can be exhausting. Much of the work is done in the background without notoriety or acclaim. 

And yet, there is something about public health that is undeniably attractive. Most importantly this is work that is needed. It is work that matters. This field carries promise, hope, and immense satisfaction that people will live happier, better lives because of public health. 

Public health professionals devote their careers to understanding complex health and societal challenges. Often, they are areas that can feel dark or heavy, like mental health disorders among people experiencing homelessness, intimate partner violence and femicide, stillbirth, and malnutrition among women and children. Challenges with motivation extend to staff too, who are charged with supporting researchers, facilities, projects, and the next generation of public health practitioners. 

Here, six long-time faculty and staff share the reasons why they do what they do, and what keeps them going during turbulent times. 

Nikita Burks-Hale headshot

We're All Human

"For me, what's getting me through these trying times is to remember that we're all human. We're doing the best we can.  

Trying times humble us, but they also bring out the best in us and remind us that we truly do need each other, and that with trust, responsibility, and hope we can get through anything."

Nikita Burks-Hale

Human Resources Specialist, Co-Chair of the RSPH Staff Council

Finding Meaning in Connection, Daily Gratitude

"What keeps me going is what has always kept me going: my students, my work, and my colleagues. It can be hard if you are worried about having a five-year or a 10-year time plan, but if you flip it and think about the preciousness of what we have right now and what we can offer, in a way, it just can give extra meaning to what we're doing. It makes me value what I have here on a day-to-day basis, the difference I can make, and find meaning in it." 

Ben Druss

Rosalynn Carter Chair in Mental Health; Research Focus: Improving Mental Health Policy, Services, and Care

Faculty Dabney Evans on Rollins Campus

I Do This for Women Everywhere, For Myself, For My Son

"About 48,000 women a year are killed by their intimate partners or family members. That's one woman every 10 minutes. This fact is a driving force for me—as a woman, a researcher, and a mother. Another motivating factor for me is that I have a son who is about to turn 13. I want to make sure I do everything I can to make sure his interactions—either online or in real life—are healthy, especially with dating or romantic partners." 
 

Dabney Evans

Associate Professor of Global Health; Research Focus: Intimate Partner Violence Prevention and Response

Vanda Hudson

Keep Fighting. Don’t Give Up. Public Health is Still Valued.

"I love working at Rollins. To me, it’s more than a job, it’s service. My team and I work to create a positive learning environment. We are contributing to the success of future leaders of public health.

"Last year, Dr. Bill Foege said, 'Vanda, I may never see things change. But I pray that you will.' He said, 'Keep fighting. Don't give up. Public health is still valued.' So that's why I do what I do."
 

Vanda Hudson

Senior Director of Operations

Lauren Christiansen-Lindquist

I Couldn't—and Won't—Look Away

"I've spent a lot of time working with stillbirth advocates and families who've been touched by stillbirth. Hearing their stories is really inspiring to me and motivates me to keep moving. As a mom myself, I've not experienced a loss like this. I truly can only imagine what their pain is like. It’s important to me to use the skills that I have to prevent other people from facing the tragedies that they have." 
 

Lauren Christiansen-Lindquist

Associate Dean for Education & Associate Professor of Epidemiology; Research Focus: Stillbirth Prevention

Usha Ramakrishnan headshot

Improving the Lives of Women and the Next Generation

"I do research and support programs that help improve the lives of women and the next generation. That continues to keep me motivated almost every day. My greatest pleasure is when I'm working with the next generation of junior faculty, graduate students, and doctoral students in continuing the work to make lives better, especially for women and their children in various low- and middle-income country settings, and right here in our own backyard."

Usha Ramakrishnan

Chair & Distinguished Richard N. Hubert Professor Global Health; Research Focus: Global Child and Maternal Health

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Rollins Magazine is published twice a year by the Rollins School of Public Health, a component of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center of Emory University, for alumni and friends of the school.

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