Michelle* wrote to me in her journal after the first day of class, after I’d told the students that it was their space to ask me questions or just say hi. She told me about her two year-old daughter, who stays with her grandma during the day while Michelle finishes out her senior year of high school. I wrote back how I’d love to see a picture of her, and how good it was to have Michelle in the class. As a teacher of a subject that has many personal implications for many students in the class, whether they share their personal stories with me initially or keep it to themselves I try to make sure that each and every student knows their experiences are real, important and unique, and they don’t have to be defined by them. They may call me “the sex lady,” but it’s so much more than that.

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When people find out what I do for a living they often ask me what I think the answer is to solving the “addiction problem.” It’s such a complicated issue that I often answer with a disheartened, “I don’t know.” There is no easy answer and the weight of it all can be very overwhelming. However, as bleak a picture as I can paint, there are success stories everywhere and everyday people dedicate themselves to exploring ways to support those with substance use disorders. Check out my blog to see how my personal story is connected to my work now as a social worker in the harm reduction sphere and the lessons I’ve learned.

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For many years, I imagined that passion would lead me to the medical field, but instead I was guided toward a career in public health, where my interest was piqued in the areas of Maternal and Child Health and Community Health.  My search for practical grounding in community-based public health soon led me to IWES, where I began my career over 14 years ago as an enthusiastic graduate intern with an altruistic heart to serve the people of New Orleans. To learn more about my journey and what it’s like to be a Chief Programs Officer at a non-profit, check out my blog!

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In the world of public health, research is often thought of as a distant and impersonal part of the work: community outreach workers, health educators, and social workers are out building relationships in the community, and researchers are at their desks crunching numbers. Truth be told, I spend my share of time writing and analyzing data. However, in my experience, research is a deeply personal part of the work we do in public health. Find out what I mean by that and some of the results of a recent research project we conducted in my blog here.

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When I went to film school I never imagined I’d end up working at a public health non-profit for nearly 10 years. Find out the lessons I learned from being on set that apply to working at a desk (and vice versa) in my blog here.

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