Dr. Becky Ofrane

Tell us about yourself.

I'm a professor public health, researcher, doula, advocate and mom. My career has taken many twists and turns, and nothing I expected! While I had an interest in public health early on, I didn't actually learn about it as a field until a few years out of undergrad, and it's been a wonderful journey since!

Why did you pursue a DrPH?

After my MPH, I was not interested in returning to school again. After working in different sectors of public health for many years though, I began to feel like I wanted more, both to advance and to grow. I wanted to stay connected to practice, and a DRPH was an obvious choice over a PhD for me.

What are you currently excited about in your job?

It's the best of all worlds! I get to teach and mentor, research things I care about, support organizations through service, and change the world! I did not know I would end up in academia, but my large public Hispanic-Serving Institution is such a great home for me, the students are really my inspiration every day.

If you could write a book about your life, what would the title be and why?

"What's Next?" I'm not very content sitting still, so my life story would be about my constant search for learning, growth and change.

What is something interesting about you that we should know?

I almost majored in violin performance in college, but instead ended up in biochemical engineering. And now I'm a doula and professor - what's next??