Overview
Meet past and current fellows of the New York State Public Health Corps (NYSPHC) Fellowship Program as they share their experiences and talk about the skills they acquired to join the New York State public health workforce.
Aena Iqal
Alena Iqal
NYSPHC Fellow 2022-2024
Dutchess County Health Department
"Through this opportunity at the Dutchess County Department of Health, I have made a meaningful impact in the community, connected with inspiring changemakers, been trained and mentored by experts in the field, and learned about disease prevention and intervention.”
Sarah Robinson
Sarah Robinson
NYSPHC Fellow 2022-2024
Erie County Health Department Fellow
“I had a goal of continuing work in public health higher education, and the connections I built in this area helped me land a job with the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), the accrediting body for schools and programs of public health across the country! I’m excited to continue to work with public health workforce development on a national scale.”
Montinique McEachern
Montinique McEachern
NYSPHC Fellow 2023 -2024
Onondaga County Health Department Fellow
“I have long admired the community-based culturally responsive perinatal care this center provides Black and Brown birthing folks in Syracuse. Being selected as a fellow gave me the opportunity to work at this much-needed center in a role that allows me to support the birthing folks on the South Side, as well as the Black doulas who care for them. It feels like the first time in my career that I have been able to do real-time intergenerational healing work.”
Avinash Lekram
Avinash Lekram
NYSPHC Fellow 2022–2024
New York State Department of Health Fellow
“I am thrilled to transition from the New York State Public Health Corps, where I served as a Health Education Outreach Specialist I, to stepping into my new role as a Senior Health Program Coordinator in the Bureau of Child Health’s School Health Unit. The Fellowship program equipped me with invaluable skills and experience, making this transition exciting.”
Shakira Maki
Shakira Maki
NYSPHC Fellow 2022-2023
New York State Department of Health Fellow
“I enjoy many things about the fellowship, but I would say that my favorite part would be the various networking and professional development opportunities that we are given. I came into this role with a very small public health network, and I have gotten to meet and network with so many public health professionals with a variety of backgrounds and experience.”
Christina Bridge
Christina Bridge
NYSPHC Fellow 2023-2024
Fulton County Health Department Fellow
“I was grateful to be selected as a NYSPHC fellow within the county where I grew up and graduated from. It is exciting to bring a new graduate perspective to the public health department in hopes of creating new prevention strategies.”
Joy Levine
Joy Levine
NYSPHC Fellow 2023-2024
Nassau County Health Department Fellow
“As a late entrant to health care, I appreciate the integrated introduction to the Department of Health and all its health initiatives. It has further convinced me that through the Department of Health I can successfully contribute to my community and underserved populations.”
Spencer Keable
Spencer Keable
NYSPHC Fellow 2022-2023
New York State Department of Health Fellow
“The skills I developed with NYSPHC helped me to land my dream job as an Epidemiologist at the CDC Foundation, working with the NYSDOH Drug Overdose Surveillance and Epidemiology Unit. Here, I am applying my GIS and SAS skills to identify spatiotemporal trends in drug overdose and evaluate the health equity impact of harm reduction programs across the state.”
Andrea Mott
Andrea Mott
NYSPHC Fellow 2022-2024
Livingston County Health Department Fellow
“The NYSPHC Fellowship helped me build a strong foundation in public health. That foundation, paired with the experiences I’ve had at Livingston County over the last two years, has helped me grow into someone who is competent, passionate about what they do, and eager to see what my public health future holds.”