Alumni Profiles

​Current Job Title:  Social Determinants of Health Coordinator​, Erie Family Health Centers

The DePaul MPH program prepared me very well for a career in public health. The combination of different classes and electives, along with a 9 month practicum experience was very comprehensive. I really enjoyed the wide range of practicum placement options and the interviewing/matching process. By selecting a practicum site that aligned with my public health interests I was able to apply concepts and theories learned in the classroom at my practicum site, as well as build professional connections within a public health organization. 

I really value the experience getting an MPH from DePaul has afforded me. I found it very helpful being a part of a cohort of students throughout the MPH program. This allowed me to get to know my classmates better and fostered collaboration. I also found it very valuable that we had a small group of professors and instructors from various departments. We were able to get a lot of exposure to different areas of public health and learn from a wide range of professors. 

I'm currently overseeing the newly created Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) team at a federally qualified health center. We are screening patients for things like housing, food insecurity, access to medications, transportation, and more. Our team then connects patients with resources within our organization and in the community. This has allowed us to address our patients needs outside of the exam room and help reduce barriers to accessing basic necessities. I'm also excited that we are collecting data on our SDOH program which will help us inform program activities and better understand the disparities and inequities our patients are facing. 

Overall, I am proud of being able to work in a non-profit setting for all of my career thus far. Studying at DePaul in a program focused on community health practice prepared me for a career in a non-profit setting. I'm proud to say that I am working to advance health equity and serve marginalized populations throughout Chicago.

Darielle Sherrod, MPH (Class of 2021)

Current Job Title: Research Specialist, Sinai Chicago

Since DePaul is grounded in its Catholic, and urban character; I knew that I would graduate as a well-rounded public health practitioner and be fully prepared for a career in public health. An MPH from DePaul has prepared me to evaluate how culture, social determinants, and the relationship between socio-ecological factors contribute to individual and societal behavioral habits on a micro-macro level.

DePaul gave me the resources, knowledge, applied experiences, mentoring, and advising needed to respond to situations preventatively and holistically, but also reactively. I am well prepared to understand how to collaborate with diverse communities, prioritize and investigate health concerns, create, and sustain programs and policies, evaluate those programs and policies, and reinforce health equity in an urban environment. Furthermore, the value of an MPH from DePaul provided me with skills through their integrated practicum-capstone model, research opportunities, fellowships with over twenty Chicago community agencies and work-study opportunities. These opportunities allowed me to encompass education, social justice, resilience, empathetic collaboration, and incentives to promote community involvement and public health.

An achievement that I am proud of which I have accomplished during my career is for my MPH capstone. For my capstone, I created, implemented, analyzed a program evaluation instrument for a non-profit, community-based organization, Gary Comer Youth Center which is in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood. The purpose of this evaluation instrument aimed to measure the effectiveness of the Counseling Departments services, resources, events, and activities and to gather feedback from youth about their mental health needs and their satisfaction with the services. I developed templates, timelines, and guidelines for the Counseling Team. I also disseminated findings to GYCY CEO and Counselors to support and nurture new and existing relations with funders and stakeholders to negotiate solutions and promote the effectiveness of the GCYC’s mental health services for the youth members they served.

I joined Sinai Urban Health Institute (SUHI) Evaluation Technical Assistance (ETA) Team as a Research Specialist in July 2021. I am currently working on various research studies and projects that are investigating how experiences of racial discrimination, community violence, and police violence influence trust in and engagement with healthcare systems and how that contributes to decisions around COVID-19 testing and mitigation strategies. I am also involved in research studies and projects that are investigating how to amplify hyper-local, community-led, culturally responsive strategies for equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines to provide health equity and accessibility across the Chicagoland.

Claire Donahue, MPH (Class of 2020).

Current Job Title: Clinical Research Project Manager, The University of Chicago

My DePaul MPH degree provided me with the foundation to understand the intricacies of our health system while also highlighting it’s inequities and ways it must be improved. Armed with knowledge from my MPH degree, I am able to facilitate the process of finding micro and macro solutions in a professional setting. 

The degree earned from DePaul University is invaluable. Framed within the mission statement, my degree from DePaul forced me to ask,  “How can we foster human development, social mobility, and social transformation through the lens of Public Health?”  While I am only at the beginning of my career, so far I am proud that the work I have done hopes to advance scientific knowledge and protect research subjects while also improving research infrastructure to do so. 

The work I currently do as a Clinical Research Project Manager is indirectly related to Public Health. However, the ultimate goal of my current job is to build, improve, and implement research infrastructure so that clinical research trials can keep subjects safe and trials remain compliant. The end goal of this work intends to improve public health and works towards scientific advancement.

Current Job Title: Coordinator for the Center for Healthcare Delivery Science and Innovation, University of Chicago Medicine

I can honestly say that every class at DePaul had a lasting impact and prepared me for my career in public health. The MPH curriculum touches on not only the practical skills but also the high-level discussion and conversations skills you need to achieve in this career. The discussion style of some of the classes taught me new concepts and how to engage peers to further your knowledge. I was someone who was interested in the organizational/business level of the MPH degree – finding more interest in the budgeting, operations, quality improvements, computational, etc. – and this program definitely prepared me for the career I have today.

DePaul University is such a unique school. With the heart of the Vincentian mission built into the university you feel empowered that not only is DePaul a high class institution, but the core values of a MPH program match the bedrock foundation that is DePaul. Also, being in a urban environment while obtaining your MPH opens the doors for countless opportunities in Chicago. In the workforce today I am proud to say I got my MPH from DePaul. 

I am proud of the work we complete every day, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As people working in public health and medicine during the pandemic we truly put the community we work in first and together we should celebrate that achievement. Some highlights from my career thus far would include, publishing my first article as a lead author & running vaccination clinics at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently I would for the Center for Healthcare Delivery Science and Innovation at UChicago Medicine. The center works to implement innovation practices, improve, modernize, expand and develop programming to  further innovation and healthcare delivery science at the hospital. Right now I am working with Quality Improvement to change the culture of death and dying at UChicago Medicine. Hospital wide we are working to improve our number of advanced care planning documents in our electronic medical record and encouraging patients to have proactive conversations about end of life. (Great book recommendation on this is Being Mortal by Atul Gawande)

Hear what other alumni have to say about DePaul’s MPH Program. 

Derek Craig, MPH (Class of 2017)

Current Job Title: Research Coordinator, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health

The MPH program faculty and staff provided me with great information about health behaviors and the best practices for planning and evaluating health programs. From writing out grant proposals to understanding which research methods to employ, looking back I am very pleased with the information that was taught and how applicable it is now being in the work force.

Additionally, I enjoyed interacting with the diverse student cohort. Chicago is large city that brings together people of many different views. It allowed me to see public health issues from a different viewpoint, and the professors were very effective in guiding students ideas to solving these problems.

Kelly Rice, MPH (Class of 2015) 

Current Job Title: Program Manager: Intensive Community Care Services, Howard Brown Health

The MPH program provided me with a strong foundation in many areas that I utilize daily. I currently am overseeing a needs assessment, developing health intervention programs, and overseeing medical case management programs. Additionally, I really appreciated the community based practice focus of the program. I valued the small cohort model and the access to the staff and faculty was wonderful.

Rachel Magoon, MPH (Class of 2017)

Current Job Title: Senior Project Manager, Data Analytics and Reporting, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

The MPH program prepared me for a career in public health practice by providing me with a variety of theories and public health frameworks. I never thought I would have to use theory in my current job but I do! That and a lot of logic models! In addition, DePaul’s MPH program gave me  hands-on experience in public health. The fact that I got to work with outside organizations on class projects and participate in a 9 month practicum site helped me put my public health skills to work in a real world setting.