Rose Malinowski Weingartner
Shenise Nicole Henderson
Carlos Hernandez
Akil Pierre
Lesha Sanders
Anne Saporito
Alexander Lehr O’Connell
Anya Goldberg
Rose Malinowski Weingartner
Position: Research associate
PHMC partnership degree: Master of Public Health, Drexel University School of Public Health, Executive Program, 2010
Undergraduate Degree: BA in Sociology and Political Science
Why the MPH? I’ve worked in research around health and social issues for a while, but didn’t see my work as “public health” until I joined PHMC in 2006. When I saw that all of the topics I had worked on in the past—as well as the work I do in Research and Evaluation—fell under the broad theme of public health, I realized that I wanted to understand more about the threads that tied it all together.
Describe your favorite class: Environmental and Occupational Health was a surprise favorite. Before that class began, I did not feel that Environmental and Occupational health fit in with my interests. On the first day, our instructor turned to the whiteboard and skillfully drew a very graphic image of a fly spreading disease. I was horrified. But by the end of the semester I had learned quite a bit about environmental exposures and it all came back to neighborhood-level differences in exposure and social determinants of health.
Who is your public health hero? I can’t say I have a hero, but there are some people locally who are doing great work. I really admire two of the course facilitators from my classes at Drexel: Daryn Eikner from Family Planning Council and Allison Karpyn from The Food Trust. Both are doing amazing public health work in their respective fields—reproductive health and food access. It’s inspiring to see the practical application of the concepts we’re learning about.
How do you plan to use your degree in the future? I hope that what I’ve learned in this program informs all of my work moving forward, and that understanding the theories and history behind the work that I do improves my research and supports my writing and analysis.
Shenise Nicole Henderson
Position: Family services/aftercare coordinator, Interim House Inc.
PHMC partnership degree: Master of Social Services, Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, Leadership Program, 2011
Undergraduate Degree: BS in Psychology
Why the MSS? Graduates of the MSS program at Bryn Mawr hope to become change agents in society, promoting social justice and overall human well-being. With this degree, I will be able to make a difference at both the micro and macro levels in the area of supporting women who are survivors of domestic abuse and/or other trauma as well as their children.
Describe your favorite class: Thus far, my favorite subject is Human Behavior and the Social Environment I, a class that explores major psychological and social theories of human behavior and development across the lifespan. Our professor is awesome in teaching us clinical application to clients in our field placement in such a simplistic way. Practice becomes natural with our clients after a while because we have the opportunity to discuss and explore various clinical techniques in an open forum discussion.
Who is your social work hero? My social work hero is a woman by the name of Darlene Daughtry who runs a transitional housing program, Daughter of Zion. Although a small nonprofit organization, it is making a major difference in the community of Camden, New Jersey, an area plagued by crime, poverty and addiction. Daughtry started this organization from her passion to help addicted women and their children transform their lives and start fresh. She also does community outreach and supports families and communities with yearly empowerment and resource events to help other homeless women regain hope and look toward a brighter future.
How do you plan to use your degree in the future? I look forward to either beginning or being a leader of a social service agency that assists women, along with their children, who are survivors of domestic abuse and/or other trauma in transitioning their lives for the better. I would also like to do some work around family therapy prior to beginning the transition center. It is my belief that until we stop intergenerational dysfunction within families, we will be unable to begin to make a significant change with the various societal ills that exist today. My purpose is to be a change agent and make a difference one family at a time.
Carlos Hernandez
Position: Program manager, Behavioral Health Services
PHMC partnership degree: Master of Public Health, Drexel University School of Public Health, Executive Program, 2011
Undergraduate degree: BA in English
Why the MPH? Because it inherently values practical experience and collaboration while offering an interdisciplinary skill set.
Describe your favorite class: Behavior Assessment. This course allowed me an opportunity to apply theory in the context of case-based projects.
Who is your public health hero? In my opinion, a public health hero is an individual or group that motivates your work. For that reason, my public health “hero” is my mother. She passed away on October 27, 2009, from metastatic breast cancer but continues to inspire my ambitions in public health. I am certain that her experience will continue to inform and provide a personal context to my knowledge of public health.
How do you plan to use your degree in the future? The ultimate goal and plan is to use the skill set obtained through this degree to work toward improving health literacy and outreach efforts so that women with my mom’s background can avoid being victims of poor medical care and lack of education.
Akil Pierre
Position: Project coordinator, Preventing AIDS through Live Movement and Sound (PALMS) Project
PHMC partnership degree: Master of Public Health, Drexel University School of Public Health, Executive Program, 2009
Undergraduate degree: BFA in Theater Arts
Why the MPH? With this degree I was able to gain a broader perspective of public health and understand the nuts and bolts of the five core public health disciplines. I also wanted to grow as a public health professional and gain new skills that would enable me to facilitate pro-social changes in my community.
Describe your favorite class: Biostatistics was my favorite class. It was the most challenging, but also the most fun. I felt a greater sense of accomplishment passing Biostatistics than any other class because it was so difficult for me. The class also brought many of our cohort members together because we were all working collectively to do well. We wanted everyone to succeed.
Who is your public health hero? Professor John Rich. He is the chair of the Department of Health Management and Policy at the Drexel School of Public Health (SPH). He helped to establish the Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice which is also a part of SPH. The Center focuses on urban trauma as a public health issue and aims to provide healing to victims of violence, which is an issue I have a growing passion for.
How do you plan to use your degree in the future? Ideally, I would like to create a youth division that focuses on positive youth development and health behavior and promotion.
Lesha Sanders
Position: Director of Specialty Courts
PHMC partnership degree: Master of Social Services, Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, Leadership Program, 2009
Undergraduate degree: BA in psychology and sociology with a track in criminology
Why the MSS? I have always wanted to work in the helping profession and felt that social work was my calling. It is a profession that is committed to social justice and strives to enhance the quality of life for both individuals and communities.
Describe your favorite class: My favorite class was Human Behavior in The Social Environment I. This class explored the major psychological and social theories of human behavior and development across a life span. The professor combined real life situations and theory to create a dynamic combination that kept us enthusiastic and engaged.
Who is your social work hero? While it is difficult to identify a favorite author or expert in the field, I am currently very interested in the work of Sandra Bloom, M.D. She was the founder of Sanctuary inpatient psychiatric programs for the treatment of trauma-related disorders.
How do you plan to use your degree in the future? With my degree I would like to enhance my current department’s involvement with the veterans population and am interested in the current development of a veterans court.
Anne Saporito
Position: Senior manager, Training at PHMC
PHMC partnership degree: Master of Public Health, Drexel University School of Public Health, Executive Program, 2009
Undergraduate degree: BA in English
Why the MPH? The MPH has conditioned me to be analytical in finding connections between and among systems, organizations, and people. It’s a degree that really satisfies my generalist nature and has empowered me to participate in higher levels of discussion, both professionally and personally.
Describe your favorite class: Health Management and Leadership. It was wonderful discussing a range of management, financial, and workforce issues that we all deal with every day with peers and instructors from different backgrounds at different phases of their careers.
Who is your public health hero? Richard Cohen. He is enormously committed to building a future for PHMC and has taught me a good deal about vision, relationships and adaptability.
How do you plan to use your degree in the future? I hope to continue to learn about and eventually impact the public health workforce by having a voice in the evolution of nonprofit leadership paradigms.
Alexander Lehr O’Connell
Position: Grants development and project manager, NNCC
PHMC partnership degree: Master of Public Health, Drexel University School of Public Health, Executive Program, 2009
Undergraduate degree: BA, Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology
Why the MPH? Because of the broad scope of social issues that public health addresses and the unique lens through which it views them.
Describe your favorite class: Health Policy because it provided a great framework to operationalize our strategies for addressing problems. Writing policy is an entirely different approach and language, one not taught to most professionals, but essential to public health professionals.
Who is your public health hero? Susan Sherman, president of The Independence Foundation, is able to simultaneously challenge nonprofits to take risks, and hold them accountable for their efforts. By accepting mistakes as a natural product of change, she creates a safe space for honest communication, without which social innovation cannot take root. At the same time, by demanding that these innovations be able to measure their impact, she positions them for sustainability, expansion, and replication. This dual approach is all too rare in the philanthropic sector.
How do you plan to use your degree in the future? To encourage multi-sector collaborations and cooperation in the nonprofit community to address increasingly complex public health and social justice issues that limit our nation’s ability to fulfill its promise.
Anya Goldberg
Position: Forensic therapist at CHANCES
PHMC partnership degree: Master of Public Health, Drexel University School of Public Health, Executive Program, 2009
Additional graduate degree: Master of Social Services, Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, Leadership Program, 2009 (not through PHMC partnership program)
Undergraduate Degree: BA in Psychology with a minor in Spanish
Why the MPH? I had first enrolled in Bryn Mawr’s graduate school of social work in 2006 and was attending part time. The more I worked in the field at CHANCES with women in recovery from addiction, the more I became passionate about larger public health issues. When PHMC offered the opportunity to go to Drexel for the MPH, I felt compelled to pursue it because of the way it complemented my interests and passions.
Describe your favorite class: At Drexel, my favorite class was Health and Human Behavior because of the way it linked theories to large-scale public health issues and public health interventions. At Bryn Mawr, my favorite classes were Family Therapy for the way it highlighted the family’s role in one’s level of functioning, as well as Social Service Management, which emphasized the importance of strong management and leadership skills in social work in order to have more effective programs.
Who is your public health hero? Michelle Obama is a hero in my view because of the way she is championing public health in her powerful and influential role. From encouraging healthy nutrition with the vegetable garden at the White House, to using herself as a model of the importance of physical fitness as a crucial element of well-being, and supporting reform in health care, she has shown that health is a priority for her, her family and the nation.
How do you plan to use your degree in the future? My passion is women’s health, which continues to be fueled by the daily work I do with resilient women who face enormous challenges with courage and charisma. In the future, I hope to be administrating programs focused on women’s health while also continuing to be involved in direct practice.
