Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
PH SPOT
Sujani Sivanantharajah, the founder of PHSPOT.org sits down with public health heroes of our time to share career stories, inspiration, and guidance for building public health careers.
The message she hopes to share through these conversations is that building a career is not only about climbing up the ranks, but about crafting a life that you want, around your unique needs, and one that gives importance to your mental health, wellbeing, and building relationships and friendships: you can only do good in the world if you take care of yourself.
Through PH SPOTlight, you will connect with peers you have never met before, and build relationships in a deep and meaningful way.
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Top 10 Public Health SPOTlight Podcast Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Public Health SPOTlight Podcast episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Public Health SPOTlight Podcast for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Public Health SPOTlight Podcast episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Find a problem and solve it, with Dr. Peter Singer, Former Special Advisor to the Director General of the WHO and cofounder of Grand Challenges & UofT Joint Centre for Bioethics
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
12/06/23 • 46 min
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Dr. Peter Singer, the Former Special Advisor to the Director General of the WHO and cofounder of Grand Challenges & UofT Joint Centre for Bioethics. They walk through Peter’s careers as a professor, cofounder of various organizations, and work in the WHO, using your lived experiences to find problems, and steps to take to solve these problems.
You’ll Learn
- How finding problems and solving them drew Peter into public health
- Taking risks at the beginning of your career and rethinking your narratives
- Peter’s three careers as professor of medicine, cofounding University of Toronto’s Joint Centre for Bioethics, and cofounding Grand Challenges Canada and how each career cascaded on to the next
- What Grand Challenges Canada is and how it came to be
- Social entrepreneurship and steps to take once you have found a problem and are now stuck on how to solve it
- Being ok with failure and learning from your mistakes
- Using your lived experience as an asset to become a great leader
- How Peter became the Special Advisor to the Director General of the World Health Organization and his experience working in global health
Today’s Guest
Dr Peter Singer has dedicated his career to improving the lives of people by building innovative institutions with high social impact.
Between 2017 and 2023, Singer was Special Advisor to the Director General of the World Health Organization, supporting Dr Tedros to transform WHO into an Organization focused on measurable impact in countries. He co-chaired the transition team; was the architect of WHO’s strategy and its “triple billion” target; and supported strategy implementation of initiatives to speed up the Sustainable Development Goals using data and delivery, innovation, and partnerships. During the pandemic, he was a passionate advocate for vaccine equity.
From 2008-2018 Singer was Chief Executive Officer of Grand Challenges Canada, raising CAN $450M to support 1000 innovations in more than 90 countries, which have the potential to save ~1 million lives and improve ~20 million lives by 2030. From 1996-2006 he was Sun Life Financial Chair and Director of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics.
Resources
- Connect with Dr. Peter Singer on LinkedIn
- Learn more about the University of Toronto's Joint Centre for Bioethics
- Read Peter’s career advice series on finding a problem and solving it, mentorship, and hopping aboard a rocket-ship and his blogpost Replace the SDGs with the GSDs
- Learn more about Grand Challenges Canada and read the paper that contributed to the formation of organization
- Learn more about the
Join The Public Health Career Club: A global membership community where public health professionals connect, learn, and support each other in building meaningful and impactful careers.
Go from feeling confused, alone and overwhelmed, to feeling confident and in control of your life and career!
Understanding personal finances when planning your career, with Darla Bishop
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
11/22/23 • 55 min
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Darla Bishop to talk money in relation to public health. They discuss how Darla’s relationship with money contributed to her education and career path, reshaping perspectives and tools to help manage personal finances, and how a public health degree can expand your financial opportunities.
You’ll Learn
- How Darla first discovered public health and how early financial experiences shaped her education and career path
- Understanding that budgeting is a tool to improve and not limit your lifestyle and the importance of knowing your budget when looking for job opportunities
- What the magic number is and how to use it to plan and reshape the influx and outflow of your money
- Rethinking and learning how to speak differently about finances to improve your relationship with money
- How a degree in public health and a flexible mindset expands career and financial opportunities
- Knowing your work values and finding and negotiating job opportunities to suit these values
Today’s Guest
Darla Bishop is the Director of Member Engagement for AmeriHealth Caritas DC, there she is responsible for the leadership, direction, and implementation of the strategic vision for all services that impact or interface with enrollees. Darla earned her MPH at University of Michigan and DrPH from George Washington University. As a self-proclaimed generalist she wears many hats: Managed Care Leader, Researcher, Professor, and Personal Finance Enthusiast. Her book How to Afford Everything is due out December 2023.
Resources
- Connect with Darla on LinkedIn
- Learn more about the services Darla offers on her website and listen to the FinanSIS Podcast
- Save 20% on Darla's book "How to Afford Everything" when you use the code PHSPOT
Join The Public Health Career Club: A global membership community where public health professionals connect, learn, and support each other in building meaningful and impactful careers.
Go from feeling confused, alone and overwhelmed, to feeling confident and in control of your life and career!
For women in public health: Get more done in less time, without hustling, with Marissa McKool
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
08/02/23 • 18 min
Tell us what you thought of this episode - send us a text!
In this episode, Sujani shares a bit about how much she’s invested in herself, followed by a conversation with Marissa about why she built the 5-week course “Not Your Average Productivity Course”.
Enrolment closes August 3, 2023
What You’ll Learn from this Episode:
- How much Sujani has invested personally in her personal/professional development ($9000!), and why she continues to do so
- Why Marissa McKool built this course
- What people get within the course
- How to get support from your employer for this course
Today’s Guest:
Marissa McKool, MPH, is a former public health leader turned career and life coach who helps public health professionals eliminate their burnout without quitting their job. Marissa received her MPH from Emory University and held several leadership roles in government and academia working on sexual violence prevention and reproductive health, before finding herself burning out. Through coaching, she was able to eliminate her stress without anything outside of her changing and now helps others do the same. She is also the host of the Redefining Rest Podcast for Public Health Professionals, where she helps listeners reduce their workload, create more time, get more rest, and feel better.
Featured on the Show:
- Not Your Average Productivity Course: Get more done in less time, without hustling
A 5-week course for women in public health - Contact Marissa: [email protected]
- Marissa’s Social Media Pages:
- Episode #76 with Marissa – Redefining Rest For Public Health Professionals, With Marissa McKool
Join The Public Health Career Club: A global membership community where public health professionals connect, learn, and support each other in building meaningful and impactful careers.
Go from feeling confused, alone and overwhelmed, to feeling confident and in control of your life and career!
Post-grad job search tips & getting into the private sector, with Jennifer Mandelbaum
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
06/28/23 • 38 min
Tell us what you thought of this episode - send us a text!
In this episode, Sujani sits down with Jennifer Mandelbaum, a healthcare economics consultant at Optum and lecturer at Tufts University. They discuss job search and application tips for public vs. private sectors and what factors to consider if you are thinking about pursuing a postgraduate degree.
You’ll Learn
- How Jennifer found her way into public health
- What personal and professional factors you should consider when thinking about pursuing a postgraduate degree
- Job search tips for those interested in the private sector of public health including how to navigate networking in the digital age
- How applying for jobs changes in the public, private, and academic fields and how to tailor your resume and cover letter for each field
- Job search tips for new graduates and things to start considering even as you are finishing your degree including:
- Being open minded about potentially not landing your dream job right away
- Building a mentorship network around you and joining professional organizations
- Developing transferable skills
- How academic work can differ between institutions and determining where you would fit best
- What a day in the life of a healthcare economics consultant looks like
Today’s Guest
Jennifer Mandelbaum, PhD, MPH is a public health researcher and healthcare economics consultant at Optum whose work focuses on chronic disease prevention and mental health care across the life course. Dr. Mandelbaum has experience working across sectors (e.g., academia, government, industry) to understand and address root causes affecting issues of health care access and equity. In recognition of her efforts to improve chronic disease outcomes, she received the Rising Star Award from the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (2022) and the Dr. Rick Foster Leadership Award from Live Healthy South Carolina (2020). She serves as a Governing Councilor for the Public Health Education and Health Promotion (PHEHP) section of the American Public Health Association (APHA) as well as a member of APHA’s Education Board. Cultivating the next generation of public health professionals is important to her, and she is currently a part-time faculty member in Tufts University’s Department of Community Health. Dr. Mandelbaum holds a BA from Brandeis University, an MPH from Yale University, and a PhD from the University of South Carolina.
Resources
- Follow Jennifer on LinkedIn
- Learn more about Optum
- Learn more about the American Public Health Association and the Society of Behavioural Medicine
Join The Public Health Career Club: A global membership community where public health professionals connect, learn, and support each other in building meaningful and impactful careers.
Go from feeling confused, alone and overwhelmed, to feeling confident and in control of your life and career!
How to start a public health podcast, with WHO's Global Health Matters Podcast host Garry Aslanyan
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
03/29/23 • 47 min
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Dr. Garry Aslanyan, the Manager of Partnerships and Governance with the World Health Organization and host of the Global Health Matters podcast. They discuss what the TDR is, how the Global Health Matters podcast came to be, and advice for anyone thinking of starting their own podcast.
You’ll Learn
- What the TDR is and how they are helping to connect and advance public health around the world
- How the “Global Health Matters” podcast came to be
- Highlights and topics of interest that have been covered on the podcast
- The advantages of using podcast as a medium for knowledge dissemination
- What skill sets and team members may be needed to run a podcast
- What costs and resources should be taken into consideration
- Advice on pitching a new podcast project
- Other advice for anyone thinking of starting their own podcast
Today’s Guest
As Manager of Partnerships and Governance, Dr Garry Aslanyan is responsible for TDR's wide range of engagements with global health stakeholders, including mobilizing programme resources and TDR's governing bodies. TDR has a unique relationship with co-sponsors: UNICEF, World Bank, UNDP and WHO. This includes applying research evidence in global health programming of the co-sponsors and collaborating with six regional WHO offices which is overseen by Dr Aslanyan, including the highly successful impact grants tackling public health challenges in those regions. In addition, Dr Aslanyan is the Head of the ESSENCE on Health Research Secretariat that provides support to its Steering Committee and funding agencies which are members of ESSENCE to move forward on various activities.
Garry is also the host of the highly popular Global Health Matters podcast and leads its production team.
Dr Aslanyan is Canadian, with a background in dentistry, public health, research/innovation management, health policy/systems as well as global health diplomacy. Prior to joining TDR, Dr Aslanyan has taken on various roles that allowed him to lead various organizational and technical innovations and is a recognized leader in global public health. As well as holding senior executive positions within Canada’s federal government and as the past President of the Ontario Public Health Association, Dr Garry Aslanyan has experiences living and working across the world including in Brazil, South Africa, Armenia, Barbados and Vietnam.
Resources
- Listen to the Global Health Matters podcast and learn more about the TDR
- Contact Garry via Email: [email protected]
- Follow Garry on LinkedIn and Twitter
- Learn more about Garry’s research
Join The Public Health Career Club: A global membership community where public health professionals connect, learn, and support each other in building meaningful and impactful careers.
Go from feeling confused, alone and overwhelmed, to feeling confident and in control of your life and career!
Network widely to build your public health career, with Kimberly Jocelyn
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
08/10/22 • 38 min
Tell us what you thought of this episode - send us a text!
In this episode, Sujani sits down with Kimberly Jocelyn, a Public Health Analyst at the CDC. They discuss Kimberly’s path into public health, how she has used networking throughout her career, and give advice on how to establish and build connections.
You’ll Learn
- How Kimberly discovered public health and what motivated her to pursue a combination MPH/MSW degree
- What career opportunities are made possible by the MPH/MSW dual degree
- What kinds of jobs Kimberly has held and how she identified and landed those opportunities
- The role that networking plays in navigating the public health realm
- Advice from Kimberly on reaching out and establishing professional relationships
- Advice from Kimberly on maintaining new connections
- The importance of positivity in supporting a team and building connections
Today's Guest
Kimberly Jocelyn holds a Master of Public Health and a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University. As a social worker and public health practitioner, she creates sustainable change and advances strategies to promote and strengthen human service delivery effectively. Her area of expertise lies in developing programs, setting metrics, and managing large-scale operations, teams, and federal grants at the state and local levels. As a Program Manager in New York City, she develops policies, operationalizes equity, protects and promotes safety and well-being, and eliminates the health and social barriers. It is her firm belief that networking and collaboration deliver results.
Resources
- Read the NY Times article featuring Kimberly
- Connect with Kimberly on LinkedIn
- Listen to the previous episode featuring Tieisha Walters
Other PH SPOT resources:
- Share ideas for the podcast: Fill out this form
- Never heard of a podcast before? Read this guide we put together to help you get set up.
- Be notified when new episodes come out, and receive hand-picked public health opportunities every week by joining the PH SPOT community.
- Contribute to the public health career blog: www.phspot.ca/contribute
- Upcoming course on infographics: phspot.ca/infographics
- Learn more about PH Spot's 6-week training program
Join The Public Health Career Club: A global membership community where public health professionals connect, learn, and support each other in building meaningful and impactful careers.
Go from feeling confused, alone and overwhelmed, to feeling confident and in control of your life and career!
The Burnout Gamble, with Hamza Khan
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
06/09/21 • 54 min
Tell us what you thought of this episode - send us a text!
Show Notes
In this episode, Sujani sits down with managing director of the Student Network and author of The Burnout Gamble, Hamza Khan to talk about the subject of burnout. They explore the ways that the pandemic has affected everyone during the pandemic, as well as the ways that healthcare workers and students have been impacted specifically.
You’ll Learn
- How to identify burnout as well as how to address it
- About the personal experiences that Sujani and Hamza have had with burnout and what they took away from these experiences
- What are the origins of the 12 Stages of Burnout Model
- How the CASTLE factors can lead to burnout
- How to understand and control stress
- The ways that the pandemic has affected everyone in terms of burnout, as well as the ways that students and medical professionals have been impacted specifically
- Tangible tips for students in how to avoid burnout
- How to audit your energy expenditures
Resources
- TEDx talks by Hamza:
- Articles and studies mentioned in the interview
- Books mentioned in the interview
Other PH SPOT resources:
- Share ideas for the podcast: Fill out this form
- Never heard of a podcast before? Read this guide we put together to help you get set up.
- Be notified when new episodes come out, and receive hand-picked public health opportunities every week by joining the PH SPOT community.
- Contribute to the public health career blog:
Join The Public Health Career Club: A global membership community where public health professionals connect, learn, and support each other in building meaningful and impactful careers.
Go from feeling confused, alone and overwhelmed, to feeling confident and in control of your life and career!
For students and new grads – a conversation with Career Education Specialist, Ken Lee
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
02/03/21 • 54 min
Tell us what you thought of this episode - send us a text!
Show Notes
In this first episode of 2021, Sujani sits down with Ken Lee who is a Career Education Specialist at Ryerson University. His role is to specifically support students in the area of health. I love this conversation because the episode offers practical tips for students and new graduates. We really wanted to provide guidance to help navigate their careers.
You’ll Learn
- What a Career Education Specialist’s role (also known as a Career Centre or Coop Centre) within a university is, and its value.
- What students can expect from these services career centre (i.e. resume writing, networking).
- How Career Centre services have changed in the face of a pandemic.
- Why students should reach out as early as possible (i.e. first year) to these Career Centres/services, even if they don’t need any help or guidance just yet.
- Whether students’ questions and concerns for their public health careers have changed since the pandemic.
- How Career Centres help students achieve their goals: we take a common goal that students come to Ken about and talk through the type of advice we’d offer them.
- A specific question we tackle and discuss strategies for is: “how do I get policy/research type roles and/or experiences?”
- Strategies related to the following top questions received by PH SPOT from public health students and new graduates:
- How do I get public health experience – specifically, if I am about to graduate soon and need to quickly build experience?
- What cover letter tips should I keep in mind? (Hint: Regurgitating what the organization knows about themselves is not enough anymore. It’s no longer about “what” you said, but how you say it.)
- How do I get a mentor? Do I need a mentor? What’s the difference between a sponsor and a mentor? How to build strong relationships and give back to your mentors.
- Skill building: How to build skills outside of your academic courses?
Resources
- Articles related to Sponsorship versus Mentorship
- The Relationship You Need to Get Right, Harvard Business Review
- A Lack of Sponsorship Is Keeping Women from Advancing into Leadership, Harvard Business Review
- Sponsors Need to Stop Acting Like Mentors, Harvard Business Review
- Building public health experience: Example – UN Volunteer
- Discovering public health experience: PH SPOT’s Public Health Newsletter
- Skill Building – Infographics 101: How to design public health infographics with software you know and use.
Other PH SPOT resources:
- Share ideas for the podcast: Fill out this form
- Never heard of a podcast before?
Join The Public Health Career Club: A global membership community where public health professionals connect, learn, and support each other in building meaningful and impactful careers.
Go from feeling confused, alone and overwhelmed, to feeling confident and in control of your life and career!
Public health leadership in action, with Anjum Sultana
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
09/23/20 • 54 min
Tell us what you thought of this episode - send us a text!
Show Notes
Today on the show, Sujani speaks about leadership once again.
We introduced the topic of leadership in public health on the PHSPOTlight podcast in episode 12 with Nadia Akseer. In that kick-off episode, we committed to bringing conversations with more of our peers around the topic of leadership. We want leadership in public health to be a skill that you are constantly thinking about building on, as much as (if not more) than building technical or software skills. The conversations we are choosing to share with you are with leaders who are not only our peers but those who we feel we can learn a lot from and be inspired by to take real action.
In this episode, Sujani sits down with Anjum Sultana. Anjum is someone Sujani has known for a number of years and has interacted with via phone calls and messaging/email, but this was the first time they both "saw" each other (virtually), so it was a special conversation. Anjum’s advocacy and leadership work is also something that Sujani has been inspired by over the years.
The conversation with Anjum is not only jam-packed with inspiration and motivation to be a leader in public health but also weaves tangible first steps for all of us to take.
Public health needs many strong leaders to push agendas forward, and we hope that by sharing stories like that of Anjum's, you walk away feeling like you too can be a leader in public health.
You’ll Learn
- How Anjum defines leadership
- Whether she intentionally chose to become a leader in her space, or it naturally occurred
- A bit about the young Anjum, her first memory of thinking that she could be a leader, and how her dad was an inspiration to her, which has resulted in the work she does in her community
- Attributes of a good leader (skills to build on for anyone wanting to be a leader in their space), and skills Anjum wished she had gained early on
- Things students can focus on specifically while in school to set themselves up to become a strong leader
- Step-by-step how we can go from feeling passionate about a topic/issue/cause to taking incremental action that leads to change.
- Whether leadership only comes from a management/senior-level role (hint: no it doesn’t)
- Whether leaders are born OR if leadership can be learned
- Challenges Anjum faces as a leader in her space
- A final example where Anjum showed that she is a leader in her space: she talks about her journey first authoring Canada’s First Feminist Recovery Plan.
- It is the first nationally-focused one in the country and possibly the world
- She encourages the PH SPOT community to read it, make it your own, and reach out to her should you be interested in taking action
Join The Public Health Career Club: A global membership community where public health professionals connect, learn, and support each other in building meaningful and impactful careers.
Go from feeling confused, alone and overwhelmed, to feeling confident and in control of your life and career!
Five reminders when applying for public health jobs, with Sujani
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
12/13/23 • 11 min
Tell us what you thought of this episode - send us a text!
In this episode, Sujani shares 5 reminders for anyone applying for jobs, especially during this period of economic uncertainty.
What You’ll Learn from this Episode:
- The five reminders when applying to jobs:
- Network. Start today. Having a community around you on this journey will be key.
- Keep an eye on industry trends. Be informed on changes and developments in the public health field.
- Be flexible. Consider all types of experience (part-time and contract work), work on expanding your skillset, and think outside of the box when searching for jobs.
- Don't be afraid to negotiate. When you do receive a job offer, have a conversation about a higher salary or other benefits. This is where your community can help you.
- Stay positive. Reignite the passion and excitement that got you into public health.
- Economic uncertainty, or not, job searching is tough. Use these reminders to keep you going.
Today’s Guest:
Sujani Sivanantharajah is the founder and CEO of PH SPOT. She is a public health professional/Epidemiologist and entrepreneur. She has a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Saskatchewan and an Honours Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto. Sujani's passion lies in building relationships and using these relationships to create and cultivate spaces where more meaningful partnerships that serve communities are formed.
Featured on the Show:
Join The Public Health Career Club: A global membership community where public health professionals connect, learn, and support each other in building meaningful and impactful careers.
Go from feeling confused, alone and overwhelmed, to feeling confident and in control of your life and career!
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FAQ
How many episodes does Public Health SPOTlight Podcast have?
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast currently has 172 episodes available.
What topics does Public Health SPOTlight Podcast cover?
The podcast is about Career, School, Community, Wellness, Podcasts, Self-Improvement, Education, Job, Health, Business, Higher Ed and Careers.
What is the most popular episode on Public Health SPOTlight Podcast?
The episode title 'Can your strengths change?' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Public Health SPOTlight Podcast?
The average episode length on Public Health SPOTlight Podcast is 37 minutes.
How often are episodes of Public Health SPOTlight Podcast released?
Episodes of Public Health SPOTlight Podcast are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Public Health SPOTlight Podcast?
The first episode of Public Health SPOTlight Podcast was released on Jan 26, 2020.
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