The Wisconsin Population Health Service Fellowship

Cait was dual-placed with the City of Milwaukee Health Department and Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

Cait is from Janesville, WI. She has a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology with a Certificate in Global Health from UW-Madison and earned a Master of Public Health from the University of Pennsylvania in May 2022. During graduate school, she worked for the Pennsylvania Immunization Coalition doing a qualitative and quantitative investigation into disruptions of routine childhood immunization during the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. As a fellow, Cait was dually-placed at the City of Milwaukee Health Department and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. At the City of Milwaukee Health Department, Cait worked on the Data and Evaluation team doing communicable disease surveillance, investigative analysis, and participating in the Equity Champions and Equity Advisor Committee programs. In her role at the state, Cait worked on a small team administering grants for community-based organizations to conduct outreach to populations with low vaccination coverage. Outside of her placement sites, Cait was also involved with the UW-Madison Global Health Field Experience program in Sri Lanka where she served as the public health lead on the trip. After finishing the fellowship, Cait has stayed with the City of Milwaukee Health Department where she will serve as an epidemiologist. Outside of her professional life, Cait enjoys painting, kickboxing, camping, and hiking.

Methany was placed with the Milwaukee Health Department.

Methany received her Bachelor's degree in Sociology and Nutrition from the University of Pennsylvania and her Master of Public Health with a concentration in Nutrition from the NYU School of Global Public Health. During her graduate career, she joined the Socioeconomic Evaluation of Dietary Decisions Lab, utilizing research to inform food policy and reduce health disparities. She also worked with the NYC Department of Health in the Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention on a project examining the health impacts of the racial wealth gap. 

As a fellow, Methany was placed with the Milwaukee Health Department. At the health department Methany utilized findings from community assessments to inform collective action, and advance policy, systems, and environment strategies within the Policy, Innovation, and Engagement branch. Methany also conducted local community assessments on the health impacts of food insecurity and hunger and developed projects to increase access to healthy foods among SNAP. Following the fellowship, Methany moved back to Philadelphia to be closer to family and accepted a position as Engagement Associate at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Stef was placed with the Wisconsin Department Health Services, in their Chronic Disease Prevention program.

Originally from Minnesota, Stef grew up gardening and spending time outside with her family. Through her high school and college experiences, Stef became passionate about learning where our food comes from and how to create a positive connection to food. After graduating from UW-Madison with degrees in Environmental Studies and International Studies, Stef worked with non-profits for over 7 years to build garden-based education programs at summer camps, schools, community sites, and early care and education sites. Stef returned to UW-Madison and graduated with her Master of Public Health, in order to learn more about community-building, increasing food access, health equity, and early childhood education.

As a fellow, Stef was placed at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services in the Chronic Disease Prevention Program. Through her placement at the Chronic Disease Prevention Program, Stef got to explore this aspect of community and belonging through looking at policy, systems, and environmental changes around access to nutritious and culturally affirming foods, safe spaces to move one’s body, and access to high quality early care and education sites. Stef is ecstatic to continue this work as the Nutrition and Physical Activity Program Coordinator with the Chronic Disease Prevention Program and see where the work can take her!    

Jade was placed with the Office of Population Health at UW Health.

Jade holds a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Maternal and Child Health from the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health Sciences with a minor in Art from Xavier University of Louisiana. Prior to this fellowship, Jade served as a Research Coordinator aimed to improve policies on corporal punishment and as a Graduate Research Assistant that worked with moms who experienced a maternal miss during pregnancy or postpartum. Additionally, Jade interned with Title V and the Texas State University, which focused on opioid use disorder in pregnant and postpartum women.

During her fellowship, Jade was placed at the Office of Population Health at UW Health working with the Dane County Health Council. As a fellow, Jade enhanced the ConnectRx Wisconsin Playbook, ensuring UW Health and the Dane County Health Council remained updated with recent changes. She developed tools for tracking deliverables for outreach and health education presentations, supported the implementation of the 2022-2025 Community Health Implementation Strategy Plan, and created an evaluation plan for Board-approved strategies. Additionally, Jade applied standard project management tools and principles to define and manage project scope, monitor timelines and deliverables, and identify and resolve risks and barriers. Jade is now a Population Health Coordinator with UW Health to get Project Management experience. Jade is deeply committed to advancing maternal health and reducing maternal mortality, particularly among Black women. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching television, and nurturing her plants. 

Mariam was placed with Public Health Madison Dane County (PHMDC).

Mariam Sylla is originally from the Republic of Guinea. She has a B.S. in Health Service Management, a B.A. in French with two minors (Health Education and Wellness Coaching), and a Master of Public Health from Indiana University (IUPUI). At IUPUI, Mariam devoted her time to working to improve campus and community life through educational programs. She worked as the program assistant for the Office of Health and Wellness Promotion, a graduate advisor in the Multicultural Center Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and she worked with the Social Justice Education Program to provide students with the awareness, training, and skills to develop leadership through a social justice lens. 

As a fellow, Mariam was placed at Public Health Madison Dane County (PHMDC) working in maternal and child health. Mariam supported the Fetal Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) team through facilitating FIMR meetings, developing a lactation policy for the health department, and her work as a core collaborator on the development of their birth parent interview protocol. 

Grant was placed with the Eau Claire City County Health Department.

Grant received his BS in Genetics and Cellular biology from the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities. He spent a year in New Orleans as an AmeriCorps City Year before returning to the University of Minnesota where he attained his Master's in Public Health in Community Health Promotion, with a minor in health equity. While in graduate school, he became interested in community based participatory methods and using public health as a power building practice. He was able to work with UMN Extension on a participatory evaluation project using a "data party" framework to connect people across the state of Minnesota who were a part of the project. Grant is also interested in exploring interaction between people and place to create healthy living. During an internship with HealthPartners, he worked on evaluation of a school based health and nutrition program to see how people, place, and program all work together to create healthy lives.

As a fellow, Grant was placed at the Eau Claire City County Health Department. He was involved in a variety of projects including draft emergency weather plans, starting a health equity newsletter, partnering with UWEC for a food justice class, mapping community partners, and implementing an evaluation of a proactive housing program. His time at the Eau Claire City-County Health Department was transformative in his understanding of neoliberalism, austerity, and racial capitalism as they work in local government. He became involved in the running community in Eau Claire and is an avid patron of many local businesses.