March is Women’s History Month which means it’s time for Heluna Health to recognize some standout women shaping public health. This year Heluna Health recognizes four women, each a program director of change-making organizations that help improve the lives of millions. We interviewed these outstanding female leaders to discover where they find career inspiration and what women’s empowerment in public health looks like to them.
Yvette Baptiste, Ph.D., is a mother of children with special health care needs and Executive Director of the Eastern Los Angeles Family Resource Center. Yvette has worked in the developmental disabilities field for 30 years. Born in Panama and arriving in the US at four years of age, Yvette enjoys sharing knowledge and developing skills among parents, especially immigrant families, seeking a better life for their children.
Where do you find career inspiration?
“I am inspired in my career by ordinary and extraordinary women who create change in the world with a single purpose and without fuss. Mothers who, despite incredible odds, manage to raise extraordinary people who themselves go on to do beautiful things, whether it is raising a child of their own or creating the vaccine for COVID. In my career of supporting families of children with a disability, there are frequently only oral legends of women who have had an exceptional influence on the historical arc of system change and improvement for children.”
What does women’s empowerment in public health look like to you?
“I believe that the elevation of the female voice in public health will serve as an equalizer not just for women (in the broadest sense) but for all of us. Promoting the use of women (and men too) with lived experience to guide public policy will improve access and equity in terms of population health for Black and Brown people. Shirley Chisholm said, ‘If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.’ The vision is a bigger table with more seats!”
Kimberlee Homer Vagadori, MPH, is the Project Director at California Youth Advocacy Network (CYAN). In tobacco control for 21 years, she is an expert on youth and young adult engagement, smoke/tobacco-free advocacy initiatives, and tobacco industry sponsorship issues and has successfully coordinated systemwide policy initiatives in California.
Where do you find career inspiration?
“I find my inspiration through the people I work alongside and the communities I serve. After graduating from college, I never imagined a career in public health, but over 20 years in this field, I wouldn’t dream of doing anything different. It’s a gift to advocate for and with others to promote health for all.”
What does women’s empowerment in public health look like to you?
“In public health, most of our work needs to start with listening and believing what we hear. For women, whether these are women who do public health work or community members who we seek to serve, we need to hear their voices, their realities, and listen to how we, as a society, can do better for them. Whatever we learn, we need to use it to guide our work and do all we can to ensure our efforts don’t further disenfranchise women and young girls.”
Gretchen Rothrock, MPH, is the Associate Director at the California Emerging Infections Program (CEIP). Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and sponsored by Heluna Health, CEIP has been an invaluable national resource for the surveillance, prevention, and control of emerging infectious diseases. Rothrock oversees vital projects managed by CEIP, including multiple projects associated with COVID-19.
Where do you find career inspiration?
“I have found career inspiration in the women in leadership with whom I have had the privilege of being trained, including one who was recently the Deputy Director of the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She taught me the importance of keeping one’s perspective, sense of humor, and maintaining the highest standards of data quality and surveillance standards, even when faced with the difficulties of fluctuating fiscal support. As a swimmer, I also find inspiration surrounded by the sights and sounds of the ocean and tides as I swim in the San Francisco Bay. It is there that I often come up with solutions to difficult problems.”
What does women’s empowerment in public health look like to you?
Women’s empowerment in public health has women of all ages, races, ethnicities, beliefs, and economic backgrounds operating from the top and through all levels to design change in public health and the health care system. At the California Emerging Infections Program (CEIP), women are in leadership positions not only at the top but also in mid-management as Project Coordinators and entry-level positions such as Research Assistants. This lays the groundwork for women at all levels to contribute to change.
Vicki Webster, is the Managing Director of the California Youth Advocacy Network (CYAN), alongside Kimberlee Homer Vagadori. Ms. Webster is a co-founder of CYAN and has over 30 years of experience administering public health grants, training advocates, and providing technical support on youth advocacy, youth public health campaigns, and tobacco policy.
Where do you find career inspiration?
“I’ve been fortunate to find career inspiration in so many parts of my life: my mother, who showed me how a strong, hardworking career woman can also be a loving mother who could take care of it all; my father, who told his three daughters that they could accomplish anything they put their mind to; my husband, who shows me unwavering support, encouragement, and love in all that I do; and my three children, who inspire me every day to be a better human to help make the world better. I am continually impressed and inspired by my friends and colleagues who are brilliant, dedicated, and kind, and all the talented, amazing, passionate young people I’ve had the privilege to work with throughout my career.”
What does women’s empowerment in public health look like to you?
“The California Youth Advocacy Network was founded to train and support youth and young adults to become advocates, not only in tobacco control, but in all aspects of their lives. For the past 25 years, our program has helped to inspire and nurture young people to be the next generation of public health professionals and community leaders. Many of the young women and men we worked with in high school and college now work in the health field. It’s so rewarding to help light that spark and see it grow. I feel extremely lucky to work in the public health field which is dominated by so many extraordinary women who have dedicated their lives to helping people and communities be healthier.”
These four extraordinary women working in public health inspire Heluna Health’s team and remind us why our work transforming population health through effective partnerships and innovation is so important. We look forward to featuring more change-making female leaders next Women’s History Month and invite you to revisit last year’s featured women who continue to help build healthier communities for all.
