Ģ����Ƶ

Brandon Graves relayed that his first job during his graduate studies was as a Worksite Wellness Specialist for Transit Employees Health & Welfare Plan. After graduating with an MS HPM, he received an offer at Optum where he built a corporate health program from the ground up. Brandon said, “If it wasn't for what I had learned at Ģ����Ƶ, I would not have been able to confidently and successfully done that.” From there, Brandon went on to become the Director of Health & Wellness at the Transit Employees' Health and Welfare Plan. Brandon’s accomplishments in this role include launching a new workplace wellness website for transit employees and speaking on well-being and mental health for transit workers at the 57th Amalgamated Transit Union International Black Caucus Conference.
��
“Everything that I was able to do in my graduate program directly correlated over into my work experience, from piloting projects to research methods to communication strategy and design, all of that allowed me to take what I had learned…that foundation and then progress towards the next level.” Brandon mentioned that through his ongoing connections with his fellow grad students, “We [alumni] continue to still lean on each other. We continue to still sharpen each other, and we continue to still support each other in regard to our own professional endeavors. That is one thing that I did not know about as a prospective student, but as an alum, I am incredibly grateful for that continued support.”

—Brandon Graves (MS Health Promotion Management ‘20), Director of Health & Wellness at Transit Employees' Health and Welfare Plan

Lisa Joseph earned her MS in Health Promotion Management in 2022 and landed her dream job before she even graduated as the Program Coordinator of Education at the prestigious American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Since then she was promoted to Senior Program Coordinator and helps organize educational courses conducted by volunteer/partnered doctors for the pharmaceutical industries. The goal is to help patients better understand current research and new drug developments.

While at Ģ����Ƶ, Lisa worked as a graduate assistant in the Department of Health Studies, doing program development, data collection, and data analysis. She helped produce a “Faithfully Fit Toolkit” for ministries to implement into their own programs, as well as a report on how to balance food store profits with customers’ needs for fresh, healthy food. Finally, as a COVID Case Coordinator at the university, she worked on contact tracing and as a source of information for individuals who were potentially infected with the virus.

Lisa credits Ģ����Ƶ faculty for helping her to obtain her dream job at ASCO.

“Each of my professors have played a key role in my success at Ģ����Ƶ. From my very first conversations with Dr. Snelling, I immediately felt supported when weighing my financial options. Since attending Ģ����Ƶ, I have had professors consistently provide wisdom and career advice, send job postings, and serve as references, supporting both my professional development and job applications.”

—Lisa Joseph (MS Health Promotion Management '22), Senior Program Coordinator at American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)

��

Originally from Maryland, after attending the University of Delaware to earn her Bachelor’s degree in Health Behavior Science, Caitlin knew she wanted to move back to the DC area. Part of Caitlin’s decision-making process about the best graduate degree program for her included factors such as location and academic integrity. She explained, “I thought going to a grad school in DC would be the best choice to help me foster and build connections in DC where I eventually wanted to live. Also, I was already familiar with Ģ����Ƶ’s reputation for being a really good school especially in health sciences.”
During her master’s program at Ģ����Ƶ, Caitlin worked as an Employee Well-Being Intern at NRECA, a cooperative trade association. As a part of her internship, Caitlin helped implement a well-being program for over 900 cooperatives and analyzed insurance claims data to determine the major health concerns of cooperative members. She also designed three educational webinars on behavior change, nutrition, and physical activity.

Reflecting on her MS HPM program, Caitlin said, “One of the things that stands out is that the program exposes students to a wide variety of general health topics (nutrition, fitness, exercise). This broad exposure has been really helpful because now in my job I can review, evaluate, and promote health information from the perspective of a subject matter expert. For example, while I’m not creating nutritional programs, I can assess nutrition program information and choose which information is better to push out [to employees] than others.”

‘The manager I have now also went through the [Ģ����Ƶ MS HPM] program. That alumni connection opened doors I wouldn’t otherwise have had.”

—Caitlin Lavigne (MS Health Promotion Management ‘20), AVP, Health Promotion Specialist at Citi

��

On receiving the Outstanding Student Achievement award in 2022, Javier Rivera reflected on his experience HPM experience. “I am honored to be awarded the Outstanding Student Achievement – Health Promotion Management. My time in the Ģ����Ƶ Health Promotion Master’s program has been a fantastic opportunity to help mold my ongoing career path. It has been a positive experience during a hard time in the COVID-19 pandemic inflicted on everyone. This program and the people I have met along the way have helped me shape my interest and passion for health and wellness into a career. My takeaway from this program has provided me with the tools and drive for how I want to establish my career in health and wellness moving forward.”

“Additionally, the previous experiences I have had within internships, school, life, jobs, etc., have helped me build a foundation and given me direction towards what I want to pursue and how I want to capitalize on my passion for working with people, communities, and organizations through health promotion management.”

—Javier Rivera (MS Health Promotion Management ‘22), Education Programs Specialist at the American Society of Hematology | Health Coach at FX Well

��

During and after earning her MS in Health Promotion Management, Kamalia Blunt worked as a Senior Analyst and Outreach Design Specialist for Lord and Tucker Management Consultants, LLC (LTMC). Kamalia is now self-employed and is the award-winning author of the book, “Searching for Serotonin: When Hardship Makes Happiness Hard to Find,” under the pen name Mali Millie and is the creator and designer of the “My Therapy Assistant Journal.”

Upon receiving the Outstanding Student Achievement award in 2022, Kamalia said, “I applied to this program at Ģ����Ƶ as I believed I needed to entrust myself to an institution acclaimed for invaluable education.”

“I did not anticipate how much the tools I sought to learn and use for others would be so applicable to me and shift much of my previous paradigm. My perspective has broadened toward not just developing an effective health program, but also to being a living example of a champion of health in my multiple social environments.”

“... Thank you Ģ����Ƶ for giving me a better foundation and education on what it means to be a healthier overall human being that will impact others now and in the future.”

—Kamalia Blunt (MS Health Promotion Management ‘22), Self-employed author and former Senior Analyst and Outreach Design Specialist

In her role as the Wellness Program Administrator, Stephanie George works with a team of passionate health professionals who facilitate a comprehensive suite of wellness programs for all employees at the Navy Federal Credit Union. This includes strategic oversight of wellness services and the creation of in-house programming to engage their population and support their well-being.

While pursuing her MS in Health Promotion Management at Ģ����Ƶ, Stephanie’s excellent academic record helped her achieve a position as a Research Assistant in the Department of Health Studies. She worked on a USDA-funded study exploring how behavioral economics can boost vegetable consumption in elementary school lunchrooms. Stephanie helped design and plan the study, and contributed to writing the research findings report. This hands-on experience was a great way to apply the skills and knowledge gained through her program studies AND see the impact of health studies in action.

Stephanie George (MS Health Promotion Management ‘14), Wellness Program Administrator at the Navy Federal Credit Union