How did you become interested in your field of public health? What lead you to DLSPH?
I had an understanding of community health and determinants of health from my previous sociology and anthropology degrees, but I didn’t know that “health promotion” existed. I had worked in both epidemiology and community economic development. I found that health promotion really as a fusion of these experiences, and I had inadvertently found myself employing health promotion principles in the projects I was working on.
At the time, DLSPH (then the Department of Public Health Sciences) was the leading health promotion program in the country (and arguably still is today). The quality of the academic staff, the program, the ability to develop connections for practicum, the opportunities, set you up for a career. The breadth of scope, the skills and experience, the connections, all of it combined made it an easy choice.
In what ways has your DLSPH experience had an impact on your career?
The program is set up to provide students with the fundamentals such as program evaluation and health promotion strategies and theories. The connections and practical experiences I developed from my practicums in my degree lead to consulting and project work right after graduation.
What have you been doing since leaving DLSPH?
Prior to my current position I was working at Toronto Public Health as Manager of Healthy Public Policy working on issues related to environmental determinants. Most of my work experience has been in management roles in health charities including the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Osteoporosis Canada. My focus has been a dichotomy of work in developing ehealth promotion resources or advocacy and policy development, sometimes doing both in one organization. Now I hold the position of Senior Manager, Prevention at CancerCare Ontario which has launched a new prevention focus. This includes an online cancer risk assessment tool for the public set to launch in late 2014 and creating a chronic disease prevention strategy building on the “Taking Action” report and including the establishment of a prevention performance measure framework.
Was there a specific faculty member or course that was particularly influential?
The Health Promotion Strategies course was probably my favorite because of the breadth of guest speakers that came to talk to us, folks that had been “in the trenches”. Those were the people we contacted afterward, and they provided us with potential opportunities for practicum placements during the degree as well as project work after graduation.
What advice would you give to younger alumni or current students who aspire to follow a similar career path?
In the world of health promotion there’s a great deal of project funding out there and when you’re just starting out you’re likely to find yourself in contract positions, but in that you can demonstrate and develop skills and expertise, with the benefit of flexibility. There are experiences you can obtain through project work that you wouldn’t necessarily get from a starting position somewhere else. Certainly having a wealth of experience under your belt makes it easier to transition into those management positions down the road.
What would you say to a prospective student who is considering DLSPH?
DLSPH has a great reputation and great faculty. What sets it apart are the relationships and networks that are fostered through practicum, and the testing of skills. As a student you are set-up for all the skills needed in the field. Training plus reputation leads to credibility. Being connected to this program allows for that.