Spotlight |
Past Interviews with Public Health Professionals
Scroll down or click a name below to view interviews featured in the past.
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Rickayla Dixon is a recent graduate of Towson University, where she earned a Bachelor's of Science in Public Health. During her time at Towson, she served as the Assistant Director of the Student Government Association and Co-Vice President/Founder of Towson University's Students for Public Health. Additionally, she is a John R. Lewis Scholar with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her academic journey has equipped her with the insight needed to understand human behavior and the complexities of promoting holistic well-being. Passionate about advocating for and healing underserved communities, Rickayla aims to drive positive change by providing transformational tools and resources that enhance the quality of life for individuals and communities. |
Dr. Jillian Fry is a distinguished public health expert specializing in environmental health, sustainable food systems, and public health policy. She earned her PhD in Health Policy and Management from Johns Hopkins University, holds an MPH from the University of New Mexico, and a BS in Biobehavioral Health from Penn State. Recognized for her contributions with honors such as induction into the Delta Omega Public Health Honor Society and multiple scholarships, her research, supported by grants like the American Water Charitable Foundation and the USDA, focuses on water conservation and sustainable food practices. Dr. Fry is also dedicated to education, teaching courses in wellness, public health policy, and environmental health, continually advancing public health and sustainability.
Alton Reid has been named by his alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University, one of the university’s top 10 graduates of the past decade. VCU Alumni’s 10 Under 10 awards celebrate alumni who earned their first VCU degree within the past 10 years and who have enjoyed remarkable professional success, made important contributions to their community and/or loyally supported the university. Reid, a health scientist for the EPA’s Office of Inspector General, graduated in 2013 with a B.S. in biology from the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences. Reid joined the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) in 2019. As a health scientist, he analyzes and evaluates EPA programs through a public health perspective for fraud, waste and abuse and creates reports to help programs improve themselves. His reports have allowed him to work with many different stakeholders from Mexican public health officials around the US-Mexican border , tribal groups, and various state public health agencies. For one such report, Reid and his team recently were awarded the Gold Medal of Exceptional Service in 2021, the EPA’s most prestigious award, for a report detailing how, in 2018, the EPA had deviated from typical procedures when registering a widely used pesticide. Reid pushed for more accountability and transparency in various processes for that report. He also had the honor of representing the OIG during a podcast, and for a media interview with Federal News Network’s Tom Temin.
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I am excited to be a part of this wonderful group of public health professionals who are focused on the health of all Marylanders. As a newer resident of Maryland, but having lived in Northern Virginia for most of my life, I am looking forward to learning more about Maryland and the public health issues that are important to our members. Prior to joining the MdPHA Board, I was and am actively involved in leadership in APHA, including Chair of the Student Assembly, Chair of the Intersectional Council, and currently a Governing Councilor of the Epidemiology Section and Chair of APHA’s Committee on Membership. With my experience working with all the boards and committees within APHA, I strive to increase member and student engagement and satisfaction. In my professional role, I am a research analyst at OCHIN, a nonprofit health care innovation company based in Oregon, and a PhD candidate in Epidemiology at Kent State University.
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Cara is an at-large board member of the Maryland Public Health Association. She is also the Director of Programs for the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. In her role, she leads ANHE environmental health programming to engage nurses, nursing organizations, and the profession in advancing health advocacy, education, and practice change. Cara has experience in critical care and public health nursing. She holds a Master’s in Community/Public Health Nursing through the University of Maryland.
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What a time to be a public health professional! As a first term Board Member, I am ready to dive into the exciting work of reducing disparities, addressing threats to public health, and empowering the next generation of health leaders in Maryland. In my nearly 15 years of professional experience in public health and healthcare settings, I have worked towards promoting healthy and equitable communities through partnership, collaboration and evidence-based programming. As we know, in public health we wear many hats. I am equally as comfortable conducting blood pressure screenings or leading a multi-discipline team at a COVID-19 testing site as I am in a set of financial statements. Similarly, any given day I could be addressing the health concerns of community stakeholders, collaborating to build a stronger continuum of care for discharged patients, or counseling an individual to manage their hypertension. I’ve also been known to leverage my certified fitness instructor skills to substitute a senior aerobics class. From chronic disease prevention and management, to pandemic leadership, to population health care transformation, I am proud to be serving others and champion the ever-important work of improving health.
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Allie Berry is the Maryland Public Health Association's first part-time staff member, leading our advocacy efforts in climate and health. She recently completed her master's in Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with research focused in food systems resilience and environmental justice. She is a passionate believer that every individual has the right to live in a healthy and sustainable environment, and hopes to engage other public health professionals in Maryland in the issues of climate change and environmental health.
Jonathan is a lifelong resident of Western Maryland. I am currently serving my first term as an At-Large Board Member. I now work as the Executive Director of the Maryland Rural Health Association; previously, I worked for a federally qualified health center overseeing their community health and enabling services departments. I am excited to work with my fellow board members to advance the organization's mission. I also serve on numerous state-appointed committees and councils, and when not working in healthcare serve my community as a firefighter and emergency medical technician. I am also a last-year doctor of public health student.
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I am excited to serve on the board for the first time as secretary. As a Maryland transplant, I became a member of this wonderful organization in 2021. I have enjoyed meeting fellow Maryland public health professionals and working together to improve the health of our state residents. I am the accreditation coordinator for the University of Nevada, Reno’s School of Public Health. Prior to this role, I spent four and half years working at the accrediting organization for public health higher education. I have had the opportunity to travel the country, meet both academic and practice focused public health professionals, and evaluating curricula. I have also worked as an adjunct professor, a program manager for a reproductive health organization, and an analyst for a regional health insurance company. Each of my roles have had been rooted in quality improvement, which is very important to me. In addition to public health education, my research interests include social determinants and reproductive health.
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Click here to see our discussion with Jody!It has been wonderful getting to know public health folks from across the state and collaborating with state association leaders in Pennsylvania and Delaware in the Mid-Atlantic Public Health Partnership that we formed at the beginning of the pandemic. With three decades of experience planning, implementing and evaluating public health programs, I now have the pleasure of teaching the “tools of the trade” to undergraduate public health students at American University. Prior to becoming a full-time faculty member ten years ago, I worked for federal and state governmental health agencies developing health communication products and community outreach strategies for a wide range of programs. Earlier in my career, I coordinated prevention programs for college students at the University of Maryland and my academic interest areas continue to revolve around teen and young adult health.
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My journey in the public health sector began in 2015, when I began studying in the American University's Public Health program. My key interest areas include topics such as oral health, mental health, infectious disease control, and pharmacy, many of which I am currently exploring in the Master of Public Health (MPH) program at the George Washington University.
It has been an extremely rewarding experience to collaborate with and learn from instructors and classmates from a variety of disciplines all over the world. We all have a common goal to achieve health equity on a global scale. One of the most notable experiences I have had thus far was the MPH practicum experiential component, for which I had the opportunity to intern for the Director of Infection Control and Prevention at Suburban Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medicine. In addition to these experiences in academia, I am thrilled to be serving the MdPHA Board as this year’s Student Representative. In this role, my goal is to act as a leader and mentor for other students who wish to explore the field of public health to ultimately give back to the community on a grand scale. What an honor it is to represent an organization whose mission is to promote and advocate for health equity to improve health outcomes, especially among underserved populations.
Maria Julian is the executive director of Counter Tools, a nonprofit organization that works to advance place-based public health. From startups to local governments in the U.S. and abroad, Maria has led teams through the implementation of behavior change strategies to improve health outcomes. Prior to joining Counter Tools, Maria led a 20-member team in the implementation and evaluation of public health policy, systems and environmental programs at a rural district health department. Maria earned her Master of Public Administration from Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Moldova from 2011-2012.
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As Deputy Director at Maryland Health Care for All! Coalition Ms. Klapper advocates for quality, affordable health care for all Marylanders alongside hundreds of faith, business, labor, policy, community, and health organizations.
Ms. Klapper has successfully advocated for legislation to create a health equity program which will direct millions of dollars to reduce health disparities, increase access and affordability of coverage offered through Maryland Health Connection, and create and fund the first-in-the-nation Prescription Drug Affordability Board. She has served as a consumer representative on state workgroups hosted by the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, Health Services Cost Review Commission, and Maryland Health Care Commission. She also oversaw creation of the Maryland Faith Health Network to create stronger connections between health systems and faith congregations.
Ms. Klapper taught a public health advocacy course at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health with her colleagues Vincent DeMarco and Catherine Kirk Robins and enjoys making presentations on effective advocacy to organizations and in classrooms around the state.
In 2018 Ms. Klapper received the first annual “Innovation in Social Work” Award by the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Social Work Alumni Council.”
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