The Public Health SPOTlight Podcast: stories, inspiration, and guidance to build your dream public health career

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:

• Follow Sujani on LinkedIn
• Join our community.

Support the show

Join The Public Health Career Club: the #1 hangout spot and community dedicated to building and growing your dream public health career.

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 WHO's Thirteenth General Programme of Work

Support the show

Join The Public Health Career Club: the #1 hangout spot and community dedicated to building and growing your dream public health career.

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

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Join The Public Health Career Club: the #1 hangout spot and community dedicated to building and growing your dream public health career.

In this episode, Sujani sits down with Andrea Mantsios, the Founder and Principal Consultant of Public Health Innovation and Action. They discuss Andrea’s career journey, how to navigate through jobs and experiences in your career, and how social justice and focusing on the human voice has been central through Andrea’s life.

You’ll Learn

• How the concept of social justice was instilled on Andrea from an early age and how she found her way into public health
• Andrea’s various job experiences and research interests
• Andrea’s experience doing global health in Tanzania and how it helped her connect theory to reality in health education
• Things to consider if you are thinking about pursuing higher education to open up job prospects
• Tips on crafting your career around your passions and personal lifestyle
• Why Andrea created her own public health consulting company to pursue her passions in public health

Today’s Guest

Andrea Mantsios, PhD, MHS, is Founder and Principal Consultant of Public Health Innovation and Action (Phia), a public health consultancy focused on amplifying the voices of underrepresented communities to promote equity in health research and programs. Her career has included working in government, academia, and healthcare institutions in settings around the world including the U.S., Latin America, Africa, and Europe. Andrea has a passion for qualitative research and focuses her work on the role of social and structural factors in shaping health outcomes. She has worked extensively on community-empowerment approaches to addressing HIV among female sex workers in Tanzania and conducting qualitative research in the U.S. and Spain on patient and provider experiences with long-acting injectable anti-retroviral therapy to inform programmatic rollout. Andrea's previous work includes research on risks for HIV, tuberculosis, and syphilis among people who use drugs in Tijuana, Mexico, and large-scale program design for New York City’s jurisdictional efforts to scale up routine HIV screening in health care and community settings. Andrea received her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Master of Health Science (MHS) degrees from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. When she's not working, Andrea can be found in the kitchen making family recipes with her kids.

Resources

• Follow Andrea on LinkedIn
• Learn more about PHIA Consulting

Support the show

Join The Public Health Career Club: the #1 hangout spot and community dedicated to building and growing your dream public health career.

In this episode, Sujani sits down with Reena Anthonyraj, a public health professional coming from a background in dentistry. They discuss Reena’s transition from dentistry to public health, how to tell if an MPH is right for you, and how you can work to better public health without necessarily having a dedicated degree.

You’ll Learn

• How Reena found her way into public health from her time working as a dentist at a public hospital in Mumbai
• Questions to ask yourself to determine why you want to work in public health
• Factors to consider when choosing which program or school to complete your degree in
  • A brief overview of the Cooperative MPH program between Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Indian Institute of Health Management and Research
• Ways you can work in public health without having a dedicated degree
• Why keeping an open mind is just as useful as knowing which specific area in public health you want to work in

Today’s Guest

Reena Anthonyraj is a dedicated public health professional with a Master's in Public Health and a background in Dentistry. With a span of 6 years, she has gained significant international experience in community engagement, applied research, and the development as well as management of evidence-informed programs. Her passion lies in addressing health inequities and social determinants by fostering collaboration with diverse stakeholders, to uplift marginalized communities and enhance their access to care, ultimately improving overall health outcomes. She was awarded the prestigious Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship in 2017 for a research fellowship at the University of Montreal, to develop an evidence-informed framework for tobacco prevention in Indian urban schools, based on Canadian best practices in school health promotion. Since then, her experience encompasses various projects with community-based organizations, international donors, and healthcare providers in the Global South, spanning multiple thematic areas including Sexual and Reproductive Health, Menstrual Equity, HIV, Adolescent Health, and Primary Healthcare. Majority of her work has revolved around qualitative research, project design, strategic planning, knowledge synthesis, program management, and utilizing evidence to drive impactful and sustainable programs. Reena’s multifaceted experience, coupled with her unwavering commitment, exemplifies a public health professional who continuously strives to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities in underserved communities.

Resources

• Follow Reena on LinkedIn

Support the show

Join The Public Health Career Club: the #1 hangout spot and community dedicated to building and growing your dream public health career.