Meet some of our alumni! Learn about their paths to public health and their current roles impacting population health.
Janine O’Donnell, MPH’16
“I encourage everyone to continue taking necessary precautions; wearing a mask, washing their hands often, staying 6 feet away from people they do not live with, and working from home if/when possible. We’re all in this together. We have to try and stay positive while we keep doing the right thing.”
Alumni Profile, Continuum Magazine, Fall 2020
Cate Marchetti ’20
“I became more interested in social determinants of health after what I saw during our study, so I took more classes on how socioeconomic status, race and gender can impact health.”
Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute, November 2020
Amanda DellaGrotta, MPH ’20
“I feel very passionate about making sure children across the world have equitable education and opportunities to achieve in school and beyond.”
Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute, October 2020
Spenser Anderson ’18 MPH ’19
“I thought about how public health in regions of the Northeast is influenced by things like race or the expansion of Medicaid.”
Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute, July 2020
Samantha Rosenthal, MPH, Ph.D.
“I am interested in examining how mobile use is related to behavioral health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and injury. Everyone spends so much time on their mobile phones today. It is essential that we understand the health effects of this and develop appropriate prevention and intervention strategies using mobile phones.”
Alumni Profile, Continuum Magazine, Spring 2020
Nicole Alexander-Scott, MD, MPH ’11
“Just being able to see how you could go from a clinical experience to helping to make a difference at a population level certainly showed me the connection and drove my passion for public health.”
“Front and center: Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott,” The Providence Journal, April 11, 2020
Erin Clements, BSN, R.N. MPH ’19
“We found that prematurity was a huge driver of infant mortality in Rhode Island. Nationally, it’s the second highest cause, but in Rhode Island, prematurity is number one.”
Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute, June 2020
Kaley O’Connor ’19
“We worked with some of the important, special people in the community who had the trust of some of the families in the neighborhood. It was real boots-on-the-ground community work.”
Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute, May 2020
Chima Ndumele, MPH, Ph.D.
“How do you reconcile what’s happening in the community, and what the community needs, with what’s happening in the State House, or in Washington? Brown helped me to connect those two worlds.”
Alumni Profile, Continuum Magazine, Fall 2019
Clara Berridge, Ph.D.
“I study the social aspects of aging and the tensions between care and control ... there had been very little research on how older adults experienced these systems in practice, which really surprised me given the potential power shift they represent.”
Alumni Profile, Continuum Magazine, Fall 2019
Marissa Hauptman, MD, MPH’07
“Each week, clinically, I see and treat children affected by childhood lead poisoning among other environmental exposures from Massachusetts and neighboring New England states.”
Alumni Profile, Continuum Magazine, Spring 2019
Allegra Scharff MPH’17
“Remember that, MPH or not, the community knows the problems and has the solutions, so take the time to listen, to build relationships, and learn from them first.”
Alumni Profile, Continuum Magazine, Fall 2018
Mya Roberson, AB’16
“I’m a black, first-generation college graduate from a low-income Appalachian community in Pennsylvania. It was statistically unlikely that I would complete a four-year bachelor’s degree. It was even less likely that I would further my education beyond that.”
Op-ed in The New York Times, May 23, 2018
Andriy Chybisov MPH ’17
“The goal is to create a critical mass of NGOs that can successfully work with their governments in fighting cancer and meeting the overwhelming demand for quality prevention and care that the over-strained health systems are unable to meet.”
Alumni Profile, Continuum Magazine, Winter 2018
Larry Warner ’97, MPH ’13
“I’ve been listening to the leaders of state, local and community-based organizations to learn from their experiences and perspectives, and to think about what resources and conversations are needed to continue to improve health in Rhode Island.”
Alumni Profile, Continuum Magazine, Fall 2016
Nicole Alexander-Scott MD, MPH ’11
Nicole Alexander-Scott, MD, MPH '11, Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, speaks about the agenda and direction of the department. Alexander-Scott was appointed Director by Governor Gina Raimondo early in 2015, and has since launched a multi-faceted initiative to eliminate health inequality across Rhode Island.
Interview, Taubman Center for Public Policy, January 2016
Nicole Alexander-Scott, MD, MPH ’11
Now, instead of wearing a white coat and stethoscope and seeing individual patients, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, 39, puts on business attire and sets out to care for all Rhode Islanders.
“R.I.’s new health director passionate about making a difference,” The Providence Journal, August 26, 2015