Tell us about yourself.
I am a public health educator, researcher, and former physician whose work sits at the intersection of medicine, public health, health equity, and community-centered practice. I currently serve as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Public Health at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in public health, global health, program planning, evaluation, and social and behavioral sciences. My teaching is grounded in helping students connect public health theory to real-world practice, especially around social determinants of health, chronic disease prevention, health systems, advocacy, and health equity.
My professional background includes clinical medicine, statewide program evaluation, public health education, community health assessment, and applied research. Before entering academia full-time, I worked as a physician in the Dominican Republic and later as a public health researcher and evaluator in Missouri. I have led or supported work related to chronic disease prevention, teen pregnancy prevention, kinship caregiver needs, cancer screening programs, and community health improvement.
My DrPH dissertation focused on perceived barriers to quality healthcare and their impact on chronic disease management and outcomes among African Americans in Missouri. I am also the founder and CEO of IPH Strategies, LLC, which stands for Integrated Population Health Strategies. IPH Strategies is an emerging public health consulting firm being developed to support organizations in translating community needs, lived experience, and public health data into practical, equity-centered strategies that can improve population health. The vision reflects the meaning of “integrated” in my work: bridging medicine and public health, centering lived experience, and turning public health ideas into strategic action that can strengthen systems and improve population health outcomes. At the heart of my work is a commitment to preparing future public health professionals to think critically, act ethically, and serve communities with humility, evidence, and care.
Why did you pursue a DrPH?
I pursued a DrPH because I wanted advanced training that would allow me to bridge scholarship, leadership, and practice in a way that directly serves communities. My background in medicine helped me understand illness at the individual level, but public health helped me understand the larger systems, policies, environments, and social conditions that shape health long before someone reaches a clinic or hospital. The DrPH was the right fit because it allowed me to deepen my work in health equity, applied research, leadership, advocacy, and population health practice. I was especially drawn to the opportunity to study the lived experiences of African American communities navigating chronic disease management, healthcare access, medical mistrust, racism, and structural barriers. My goal was not only to complete a dissertation, but to produce work that could inform more responsive, equitable, and community-informed approaches to care. The DrPH also helped me clarify the kind of impact I hope to make across teaching, research, service, and systems-focused public health strategy work. It strengthened my commitment to helping close the gap between what communities experience and how institutions respond.
What are you currently excited about in your job?
I am most excited about helping students see themselves as part of the public health workforce. Public health can sometimes feel abstract to students at first, but I love creating learning experiences that help them connect course concepts to real communities, current challenges, and practical solutions. I am also excited about curriculum development and mentoring. I teach across several areas of public health, including health promotion, program planning, evaluation, global health, and social and behavioral sciences. In these spaces, I get to help students build skills in critical thinking, health communication, intervention planning, evaluation, and equity-centered decision-making. I also advise MPH students and mentor emerging public health professionals as they clarify their interests, prepare for graduate school or the workforce, and grow in confidence. What energizes me most is seeing students move from “I’m interested in public health” to “I understand how I can and am excited to contribute.”
If you could write a book about your life, what would the title be and why?
The title of my book would be Beyond the White Coat: A Journey from Medicine to Population Health Strategy. That title reflects my journey from clinical medicine to public health and the deeper understanding I gained along the way: health is shaped not only by what happens in hospitals and clinics, but also by the systems, policies, environments, and lived experiences that shape people’s daily lives. I began my career as a physician, later became a public health professional, and now serve as an educator, researcher, and emerging public health strategist. Across that journey, I have worked across languages, cultures, countries, disciplines, and systems. The title captures my commitment to bridging medicine and public health, centering lived experience, and translating knowledge into strategic action that can strengthen systems and improve population health outcomes.
What is something interesting about you that we should know?
I communicate in four languages: Haitian Creole, French, Spanish, and English. My professional journey began in clinical medicine in the Dominican Republic and later expanded into public health, teaching, evaluation, and health equity work in the United States. Something else meaningful about me is that I am deeply passionate about mentoring. I believe many people grow because someone saw their potential before they fully saw it themselves, and I try to bring that spirit into my work with students and emerging public health professionals.
