Shaping the future of public health: A conversation with emerging leaders

Summary

This engaging conversation at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health highlights the inspiring work and insights of emerging public health leaders. Dr. Bryan Buckley moderates a discussion with experts like psychiatrist Tiffani Bell Washington, hospital executive Sarah Tsay, and neurodiagnostic advocate Teguo Djoyum. The panel delves into the challenges of public health, such as politicization and communication, and the importance of partnerships and innovation in addressing global health needs. This vibrant exchange encourages reflection on the broader implications of public health across sectors.

Highlights

• Dr. Bryan Buckley emphasizes the importance of rethinking public health communication strategies 🌐
• Tiffani Bell Washington discusses erasing mental health stigma in African-American communities 🧠
• Sarah Tsay shares insights on emergency management and the need for intersectoral partnerships 🤝
• Teguo Djoyum's work on epilepsy in the Global South highlights the role of education and awareness 🌍
• Panelists agree on the necessity of humility and collaboration in public health leadership 🌿

Key Takeaways

• Public health needs better communication to counter politicization and become more visible outside crises 🌐
• Emerging leaders are driving change by focusing on equity, communication, and innovation 🌟
• Collaborations across sectors are crucial for effective and sustainable public health interventions 🤝
• Understanding diverse cultural contexts is essential for global health initiatives 🌍
• Mental health is a crucial aspect of public health that requires destigmatization and comprehensive care 🧠

Overview

In this inspiring session hosted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, we hear from dynamic leaders reshaping the future of public health. Dr. Bryan Buckley leads the dialogue with notable figures like psychiatrist Tiffani Bell Washington, hospital executive Sarah Tsay, and neurodiagnostic advocate Teguo Djoyum. They explore themes of communication, innovation, and collaboration, emphasizing the need for improved public health discourse and action.

The event highlights crucial work in various public health domains - from mental health advocacy to emergency management and global health awareness. Each speaker shares their passion and strategies for tackling these challenges, stressing the importance of cross-disciplinary partnerships and culturally sensitive approaches to health care.

Participants engage in a provocative discussion about the skills essential for public health success, from negotiation and collaboration to scientific communication and leadership. The conversation leaves the audience with thoughtful perspectives on the global and local needs in health care, encouraging more inclusive and innovative public health responses.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Welcome Dr. Bryan O. Buckley welcomes the audience to the Harvard Chan Studio, marking the first in-person event since March 2020. He expresses excitement to be present with both the in-person audience and the global online viewers. Dr. Buckley introduces himself as a Harvard Chan doctorate in public health graduate from the class of 2020.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Introduction of Panelists The chapter introduces the panelists involved in a public health event. The Director of Health Equity Initiatives for the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) speaks about their role. The NCQA is a not-for-profit organization focused on developing evidence-based standards to improve healthcare quality. Additionally, the speaker is an assistant professor at Georgetown School of Medicine and serves on the executive board of the American Public Health Association. They will moderate the event, which is part of a series named 'Public Health on the Brink,' aimed at exploring challenges in the field.
• 01:00 - 05:00: Focus of the Panelists' Work This chapter focuses on the work and roles of panelists within the public health sector. The key highlight is on the upcoming leaders in this field. Among the panelists is Teguo Djoyum, who is notable for founding a not-for-profit organization that delivers neurodiagnostic training globally, particularly to the Global South. Teguo is also pursuing a doctoral degree at the Harvard Chan, expected to graduate in 2024 from the DRPH program.
• 05:00 - 10:00: Challenges Facing Public Health The chapter 'Challenges Facing Public Health' discusses various individuals who are making significant strides in addressing public health issues through different approaches. It highlights Sarah Tsay, a hospital executive, who is working on emergency preparedness with an emphasis on equity, and Tiffani Bell Washington, a psychiatrist dedicated to eliminating the stigma around mental health within the Black community. Both individuals are affiliated with the Harvard Chan School, bringing their education and personal convictions to the forefront in tackling these public health challenges, especially in the context of the pandemic.
• 10:00 - 15:00: Video on Climate Change This chapter, titled 'Video on Climate Change,' explores the theme of forging a more equitable future with health, dignity, and justice for all. The chapter starts with a panel discussion where participants share the challenges and joys encountered in their pursuit of such work. The moderator asks participants, starting with Tiffani, to summarize the core focus of their work and share their passion behind it. This sets the stage for a deeper dive into each participant's contributions and perspectives on climate change and equity.
• 15:00 - 20:00: Changing the Narrative in Public Health In this chapter titled 'Changing the Narrative in Public Health,' Tiffani Bell Washington discusses her extensive medical background as a quadruple-board-certified physician. Her areas of specialty include psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, obesity medicine, and lifestyle medicine. Washington emphasizes the importance of treating the whole person rather than just focusing on specific issues. She also explains her motivation for earning a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, which was to influence health policies and drive systemic changes beyond individual patient interactions.
• 20:00 - 25:00: Emergency Preparedness and Challenges The chapter 'Emergency Preparedness and Challenges' focuses on the importance of improving the lives of underserved communities and ensuring they live full and healthy lives. Key themes include personal experiences with loss due to chronic illnesses that could have been prevented, and a push towards a joyful and healthy living. The narrative includes a brief acknowledgment between Bryan O. Buckley, Tiffani Bell Washington, and Sarah Tsay, highlighting the intersection of public health, healthcare, and emergency management in tackling these challenges.
• 25:00 - 35:00: Partnerships and Funding in Global Health This chapter focuses on personal experiences and perspectives in the field of global health, particularly addressing partnerships and funding. It begins with the speaker's background, detailing their work in emergency management during the initial wave of COVID-19 in New York City, which reinforced their commitment to public health. This experience underscored the significance of preparedness and effective response strategies. Now, as the Director of Emergency Preparedness at Mass General Brigham, the speaker discusses their role in supporting Brigham and Women's Hospital, emphasizing the importance of leadership in public health and the opportunities to explore these goals within their current program."
• 35:00 - 40:00: Skills Needed for Public Health The chapter 'Skills Needed for Public Health' discusses the essential skills required to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies in healthcare settings. It highlights the role of health professionals in safeguarding hospitals and ensuring health access amid the growing prevalence of disasters, exacerbated by climate change. The focus is on training health systems to manage these challenges effectively.
• 40:00 - 45:00: Misconceptions about Public Health The chapter 'Misconceptions about Public Health' discusses the challenges faced by individuals with chronic and complex conditions in accessing hospital care during vulnerable times. It highlights the passion of healthcare professionals to improve patient access and care. Dr. Bryan O. Buckley acknowledges the work of Sarah and Teguo, who discusses the role of neurodiagnostics in diagnosing neurodevelopmental diseases such as epilepsy, emphasizing their efforts to reach different places to provide these services.
• 45:00 - 55:00: Laboratory Sciences and Public Health The chapter focuses on public health challenges, specifically addressing epilepsy, a condition affecting 50 million people globally, with a significant burden (80%) in low- and middle-income countries, amounting to around 40 million individuals. The efforts highlighted involve traveling to these countries to raise awareness, reduce stigma, provide knowledge, and improve diagnostics and care for epilepsy patients.
• 55:00 - 85:00: Audience Questions on Public Health The chapter opens with an introduction by Bryan O. Buckley, highlighting key challenges in the field of public health.
• 85:00 - 90:00: Lightning Round on Public Health This chapter titled 'Lightning Round on Public Health' focuses on the importance of communication in public health, especially highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. It underscores the unseen work done behind the scenes that is crucial for disease prevention and promoting well-being. The chapter emphasizes the need for better communication strategies, including challenging existing narratives, to effectively convey public health efforts and outcomes. Panelists are encouraged to share their views on these communication challenges and strategies.
• 90:00 - 100:00: Advice on Applying to Public Health Programs The chapter titled 'Advice on Applying to Public Health Programs' begins with a focus on preparing for applications to public health programs, particularly emphasizing the importance of understanding current global health challenges such as climate change. It includes insights from Barrak Alahmad, a recent PhD graduate specializing in Environmental Health. Barrak shares his expertise on climate change challenges, particularly in the Middle East, highlighting the importance of narrative shift in addressing these issues. This sets the stage for advice on how students can navigate public health education with a focus on pressing global challenges.
• 100:00 - 110:00: Intersection of Private and Public Sectors The chapter titled 'Intersection of Private and Public Sectors' discusses the impact of dust storms in Kuwait and other desert countries. The analysis reveals that dust storms affect different populations in distinct ways, specifically Kuwaiti citizens and migrant workers. It emphasizes the importance of understanding these differences to uncover who is most vulnerable. Failing to consider the variability between these groups might lead to missing critical insights.
• 110:00 - 120:00: Maintaining Hope and Wellness in Public Health The chapter discusses the importance of understanding the vulnerabilities of certain populations who are at extreme risk due to extended time spent outdoors and the lack of regulations and protections available to them. It highlights how these vulnerable groups are often the ones most adversely affected by climate change.
• 120:00 - 123:00: Conclusion and Thank You The final chapter titled 'Conclusion and Thank You' emphasizes the disparities in climate change impacts based on resource accessibility. It highlights the importance of considering an equity perspective when discussing the effects of climate change. While some people can avoid exposure due to available resources, others are more vulnerable due to a lack of such resources. The chapter calls for an inclusive approach that acknowledges and addresses these inequalities.

Shaping the future of public health: A conversation with emerging leaders Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: Good afternoon and welcome. This is the first live in-person event at the Harvard Chan Studio since March 2020, and we could not be more pleased to be with you in this room and with our global audience online. My name is Dr. Bryan Buckley. I received a doctorate in public health degree from Harvard Chan in 2020, and now
• 00:30 - 01:00 the Director of Health Equity Initiatives for the National Committee for Quality Assurance, NCQA, a not-for-profit that develops evidence-based standards for improving health care quality. I am also assistant professor at the Georgetown School of Medicine, and lastly, I have the pleasure and honor of being on the executive board of the American Public Health Association. I have the privilege of moderating this event today. It's part of a yearlong series, Public Health on the Brink, which is designed to explore the challenges facing
• 01:00 - 01:30 the field of public health, and more importantly, surface and potential solutions. Today, I'm joined here by really focusing on the next generation of public health leaders. So I'm joined here by some of my wonderful colleagues in public health. First, Teguo Djoyum, a not-for-profit founder who travels the world to bring neurodiagnostic training to the Global South. He's a doctoral student at the Harvard Chan, expecting to graduate within the DRPH program in 2024.
• 01:30 - 02:00 Sarah Tsay, a hospital executive who tackles emergency preparedness through the equity lens. She expects to finish her DRPH at Harvard Chan next year. And Tiffani Bell Washington, a psychiatrist who focuses on erasing the stigma of mental health in the Black community. She received her MPH from Harvard Chan last spring. The students and alumni emerging from the pandemic share powerful conviction that they can
• 02:00 - 02:30 forge a more equitable future with health, dignity, and justice for all. In this panel, we'll explore the challenges and joys of pursuing that work. So first off, I would love to get comfy here. Let's hear a little bit about each other's work. You all do so much, and it's hard to be brief. I know that. But in a minute or two, please tell us about the core focus of your work and why you're so passionate about it. So first off, with Tiffani.
• 02:30 - 03:00 TIFFANI BELL WASHINGTON: OK, well, thank you. I'm very happy to be here. I am a quadruple-board-certified physician, and I specialize in psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, obesity medicine, and lifestyle medicine. So it's a lot of things going in different directions, but it helps me to focus on the whole person and really treating the whole person. When I got my MPH, it was to really be able to do more health policies and change things on a higher level, so it's not me, one on one, with the patient, but possibly changing the whole system,
• 03:00 - 03:30 which is very important. And I want to focus on improving the lives of underserved. I lost a lot of people in my life, unfortunately, from chronic illnesses that should have probably never happened. And I just want people to live a full life, full of joy, in health, to their best ability. BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: Thank you. TIFFANI BELL WASHINGTON: Thank you. BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: Sarah. SARAH TSAY: Thanks. I'm so excited to be here, and thank you all for having me today. My work really sits at the intersection of public health, health care, and emergency management.
• 03:30 - 04:00 And prior to coming to Harvard, I was working at New York City Emergency Management, and I was on the front lines during wave one of COVID in New York City. So that just really cemented my passion for this field and understanding why it's so important. And I have the privilege of really being here in this program, and really exploring my public health leadership goals as a result. I work as the Director of Emergency Preparedness at Mass General Brigham, and we support Brigham and Women's Hospital, just down the street,
• 04:00 - 04:30 and Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital as well as associate ambulatory care sites to prepare for, respond to, and recover from any emergencies. And there's increasing disasters-- prevalence of disasters-- with increasing impacts from climate change every year, every day. And it's really my job to make sure that our health system is prepared for those, and protecting hospitals is protecting health access for populations
• 04:30 - 05:00 that really have chronic conditions and really complex conditions, that need to access hospitals during their most vulnerable times. And so I'm very passionate about this work and really excited to share it with you today. BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: Thank you, Sarah. Teguo. TEGUO DJOYUM: Yeah, so I know a lot of people are wondering about neurodiagnostics in neurodevelopmental disease. So basically, epilepsy is one of the diseases that neurodiagnostic helps diagnose. And our work has been to travel to different places.
• 05:00 - 05:30 We know there's 50 million people who suffer of epilepsy, and 80% of those people are in low- and middle-income countries. So that's about 40 million of them. So our work has been to travel in these countries, helping them just know about the disease, help to just take away the stigma around it, and help them look for diagnostics and a way to take care of those patients who have epilepsy. So we've done it by traveling to different places to provide that knowledge, awareness, and then
• 05:30 - 06:00 care for those patients. BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: Thank you all for that wonderful introduction. And I'm hit by so many little nuggets that you guys all said. One of the challenges facing public health today is that the work has become highly politicized. Another challenge is that people see the field when there's only a crisis. And I see that more, like, when public health is going well, no one's necessarily talking about it. So public health has been on the face of COVID
• 06:00 - 06:30 for the past three years, for better or for worse. But the public health doesn't see all the work that we do behind the scenes, when we are not in the middle of a global pandemic-- work that is vital to prevent disease and promote well-being. So we need to do a much better job in communicating. I think one of the key things that came out of the COVID pandemic is that communication is key. In some cases, that requires challenging the narrative, and you all kind of mentioned that in the work that you all are doing. I'd like to hear from the panel on this topic.
• 06:30 - 07:00 But first, before we get into that, let's watch a short video from another emerging leader who is trying to drive narrative shift around the issue of climate change. Let's [AUDIO OUT] up. BARRAK ALAHMAD: My name is Barrak. I just graduated from the PhD program in Population Health Sciences, with specialization in Environmental Health. And our main research has always been about climate change challenges in the Middle East.
• 07:00 - 07:30 Dust is a huge problem in Kuwait and in many desert countries around the world. So when we looked at the effects of dust storms, the first thing that we saw is that there are, kind of, two different effects on-- depending on which population you're looking at-- so if you look at the Kuwaiti citizens, or if you look at the migrant workers. So if you look at the general question without having to dig deep and try to find who's vulnerable, then you might miss some key differences, right?
• 07:30 - 08:00 But then, once you understand that there are certain people that are at extreme risk because of extended time that is being spent outdoors, lack of regulations, and lack of protections that are provided to them, then you start to identify certain populations that are vulnerable. It's always those who are vulnerable that are worst-hit by climate change. So if I have enough resources to stay
• 08:00 - 08:30 indoors with air conditioners, and avoiding the dust, and avoiding the heat, I would be in a very good position, right? So I'm not really exposed to these things. I could just look at it. But there are other people who do not have these resources, and that makes them more vulnerable. So when we talk about climate change and climate change effects, it's important to bring this equity lens to it, see who is getting more affected by these kind of exposures.
• 08:30 - 09:00 And then, there, you can change the narrative and say, we need to protect the most vulnerable in our society. This is a duty for public health professionals. It's also a duty for all policymakers. BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: It was so interesting hearing from Barrak, and especially his work around changing the narrative climate change-- and also one of the key things I always see and the different
• 09:00 - 09:30 perspectives that we need to look at a lot of these problems, public health problems and challenges that we see. So I'm going to go to Tiffani here. You have been doing a lot of work. In your introduction, you were talking about the change of stigma in mental health. Can you give me some examples of what you're trying to do when it comes to changing the narrative in public health? TIFFANI BELL WASHINGTON: Sure, it's an excellent question. And I just want to point out that the pandemic really
• 09:30 - 10:00 illuminated for me the fact that people have no clue what public health is, quite often. And even people who want to go into it sometimes don't know. But it almost is-- you're correct. If it's working well, then no one really knows that it's there. So I work with mental health issues, and I work with the African-American population. I'm a trustee with the Black Psychiatrists of America. And we often are trying to educate different populations on why they need to seek help and why that's very important.
• 10:00 - 10:30 There are so many negative spins in the news on people with mental health being blamed for various things like crimes, and all those things aren't true. But people are often afraid to even seek care, and that's important to me. Because it means that later on, they're coming in to the emergency rooms, they're coming in at a later stage of disease, when-- if they had come in when they first felt depressed or first heard voices whatever it is, we could really help them better.
• 10:30 - 11:00 So I wanted to share-- that's for the mental health part of it. But then, I wanted to share a quick story of what happened during the pandemic. I'm a mom of four kids-- very young, six, three. I have twins that are three, and a one-year-old. And I finally was very excited that I could get them their immunizations. They got their last COVID shots, so I was very happy. We had on our masks. We were coming home. I got a treadmill delivered-- and this is a very short story. My treadmill was delivered. We all had on our masks. I'd trained them to do that. And we had COVID tests, because they were free from the health
• 11:00 - 11:30 department. And the delivery driver looked at us. They did not have masks. And he said, is everything OK? And I said, yeah, it is. Because we were going in the house. I said, we're great. Thanks. And then, he kept looking puzzled. And it turns out he was afraid of us, because we had masks on. And he said, well, you wouldn't be wearing that mask if you didn't have COVID. And so-- and I said, no, no, we're wearing it because we want to stay safe. We don't want to get COVID. So essentially, I just realized that it's been a great miss, where people are either politicizing
• 11:30 - 12:00 it too much and they feel that you mean something else if you wear a mask, or they have no clue that you're actually trying to protect them. So that just let me know that we have a lot of work to do, and it's very important that we address it somehow, so I just wanted to share that brief story. BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: Thank you for that story. I think one of the themes I'm hearing right there is the importance of communication, going right back down to that communication theme, and how there is such a need for different types of partnerships and really bringing many different stakeholders
• 12:00 - 12:30 to the forefront as we talk about public health. And your answer on making sure that we're thinking about many different backgrounds, communications, media, so forth, as we try to think about those messages-- especially, I think, we saw that a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic. I can also imagine, when it comes to seeing different perspectives and partnerships, this comes up in your work, Sarah. I think you said earlier in your introduction-- the intersection of public health, health care, and emergency management. And so I would love to see if you could give me
• 12:30 - 13:00 some talks about some of the hurdles you see into creating these partnerships and solutions with multiple stakeholders. SARAH TSAY: Yeah. You're exactly right, Bryan. And emergency management is really just about bringing the right people to the table to address a common aim in emergency preparedness or response, whether it's continuity of operations during a natural disaster, or supporting the hospital to respond to a massive pandemic,
• 13:00 - 13:30 or a cybersecurity attack. It runs the board. And so really, my work is about relationship-building, and I think that entering these spaces with diverse stakeholders-- it's just the prime thing that I always think of-- is how to foster trust and collaboration. And I enter these spaces with genuine curiosity, and that means to understand what people do, what people care about, and what they know about, and to really come to the table with humility and the desire
• 13:30 - 14:00 to connect. And so I see myself-- rather than being a subject matter expert, I'm a connector of worlds-- and trying to explain to people who are very much experts in their field how what they do impacts the other across the board, across a large system. And you know, I think that the DRPH has been really helpful in evaluating how I've come to these spaces. And whether that being these massive meetings
• 14:00 - 14:30 and setting norms and expectations for how we're entering and working together collaboratively as a team, or just thinking about ways to foster psychological safety, so that everyone at the table feels compelled to and safe to speak their voice during these meetings. I think also, I'm an Asian-American woman. And so that self-authenticity in who I am in these spaces is important and paramount, because there aren't many of me here in the world of emergency management. So that is-- and by being my authentic self, that really
• 14:30 - 15:00 allows and empowers others to be their authentic selves as well. As just a quick example, one of the priorities that we're working on at Mass General Brigham is mass casualty planning. And my example is much more depressing than yours, Tiffani, but that's my world. So you know, a mass casualty is when there's a sudden event that really-- where the need for clinical services overwhelms the capacity to provide
• 15:00 - 15:30 those clinical services. And so this can happen any time, anywhere. And then, the ED, or Emergency Departments, could be flooded with patients in a matter of minutes. And so we need to have really thoughtful plans around this, around all emergency department stakeholders. But it's bigger than the emergency department, right? It's the whole community that's impacted. It's the whole hospital that needs to be supporting them. These patients will need to be stabilized in the ED, and then go to the ICU, or to other parts of the hospital. And are they prepared? And so while these plans have existed for forever,
• 15:30 - 16:00 long before I've been around, they haven't been re-evaluated under all of the pressures on health care now. So is it-- we're at 100% bed capacity every day. Is it realistic to say that these patients can be transferred where there's supply shortages that impact our health care system? There are so many other things going on. And so it's really about coming to people,
• 16:00 - 16:30 acknowledging their expertise, and communicating the risk, and then bringing stakeholders together to really engage on it. And last point about this, I think-- the how is important, but just as important is the who. Who is at the table for these meetings? Who is talking? Who is guiding all of this work? And then, who in the plans are we thinking of? Are we missing any vulnerable populations? Are we missing anyone in the community that should have a voice here? Are we missing any regional partners?
• 16:30 - 17:00 So all of that is what I think about when I enter these spaces. BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: Thank you for that, Sarah. That was powerful. And just some keywords I started hearing was "trust," "collaboration," "curiosity," and that psychological safety. So I might switch-- do a couple of switching around. Tiffani, I might go back to you. Because I know, earlier when we were talking before everything, we were talking about the need to bring in different stakeholders, especially-- we were talking about our own identities and bringing that into our fields.
• 17:00 - 17:30 How have you seen that work show up for you? TIFFANI BELL WASHINGTON: That's an excellent question. I agree much with Sarah that it's very important that you be genuine in your position as much as you can. Because when we are honest about who we are, we're sometimes able to reach people that, otherwise, we may not-- if we're speaking very eloquently, then we may miss someone who didn't understand the lingo. Especially as a physician, we have to remember that. We have to speak on the level of our patients.
• 17:30 - 18:00 And so I think it's important sometimes to be able to speak colloquially with your patients or with the people you're working with, and say, hey, you know, I know what you mean when you said this, and reach them there. So I would say we always should show up genuinely. I like to encourage people, so most of my stories are probably pretty positive. But it helps with kids, too. [LAUGHS] But you know, I do think that you have to be yourself when you come to these places and these positions,
• 18:00 - 18:30 because otherwise, your voice is missed. And it's not just about having a seat at the table. You want to sit there, but you then want to be safe enough to share your voice and say, well, actually, you missed this population. Or who didn't come to this meeting? And why didn't we think of them? So I think that's something important to consider. - I like that part. There's this one work-- I think it's four-P-- that one of my advisors, Kimberlyn Leary, had put together. But one of the parts of that piece was Process, and Privileging with Process. Even thinking about how we design meetings,
• 18:30 - 19:00 who are we excluding? Who are we including? And I love that part about making sure that we're seeing different perspectives. I know, during the pandemic, for me, at least, especially around communication, I remember one thing I did-- just my own little small story as moderator here-- is-- I remember going to barbershops, and just taking the moment to just sit there and listen. Listen to the conversations. What were people saying? How are they talking about it? Especially around the pandemic, what they liked, what they didn't like, what they didn't understand.
• 19:00 - 19:30 So just even making sure-- I remember, at the time when I was with the health system, I actually said we should bring a couple of folks from the barbershop in to hear what they're saying, so it can help really think about what's the message that we need to bring to this work. So really this aspect of partnerships. So I want to switch to you, Teguo, because we're talking about partnerships. And in my role, I have to work with so many folks across the health care continuum. Funding comes up quite often. [LAUGHTER]
• 19:30 - 20:00 I mean, we talk about money. How do we fund these partnerships? And I know you started your not-for-profit seven years ago, when you were just out of college. And you have grown it steadily to the point where, you, just last month, if I remember correctly here, hired a new executive director. So how have you been able to build relationships around the world to carry out your mission, and how have you secured that funding? TEGUO DJOYUM: Wow. Well, thanks, Bryan. That's a big question. And I would thank the DRPH program for the leadership
• 20:00 - 20:30 I've learned, to the point of deciding with our board to chose an executive director, Connie Kubiak, to take along this work that we did in awareness and education. So out of college, it was the first fund we had-- was passion. We were just passionate to solve a problem around stigma around epilepsy. That was our first seed fund. And we took that to run with, and family came
• 20:30 - 21:00 to support trips that we went. And we kept doing it-- going to different countries, set up a table, talk to people, engage with health care workers, engage with neurologists on site, and just talk to them about epilepsy and awareness around it. We did that steadily. It grew pretty well. And then, the Neurodiagnostic Society Asset, which has a lot of members, supported here and there. They would support with some money on the trip,
• 21:00 - 21:30 and very steadily, we were growing the work. And now, we actually had a little problem. Because after educating people about epilepsy, and awareness-- so the families now know, oh, epilepsy in some countries is stereotyped. The thing is-- you're cursed, or it's-- why do you have epilepsy? Now, they know it's a disease. There's diagnostic that you can do. You can do an EEG for them. So now, the families need the service.
• 21:30 - 22:00 And the people we train to take care of that need jobs. So we had to rethink, and I still thank the DRPH program and my professors, Dr. Atun Dr. Rick for just guiding us to think of, how do you make it scalable and somehow sustainable. So we coined a word that we call "fair profit." So basically, providing service to those who can afford. Because some of these countries-- we're talking 40 million people in low- and middle-income
• 22:00 - 22:30 countries-- can afford. Some of them can afford, some cannot. So we provide to those who can afford to be able to subsidize those who cannot afford, like a sliding scale. So we call it [INAUDIBLE] neurodiagnostic. That will channel our fair-profit action of providing care to those 40 million people. I mean, we can't do it all. We can maybe take care of 2% or 3% of those. And other stakeholders that we've worked with who are already doing this same work can add to it.
• 22:30 - 23:00 And in other noncommunicable diseases, the same model can be applied, and we can somehow help to bring care at an affordable way. Then, funding again-- I mean, it's never perfect. In everything we do, there's a moment where it would be nice to have people who care about maybe a specific disease. It could be mental health. It could be epilepsy. It could be cancer. It could be anything you think of that people are passionate about. They may not have the time to go on the field to do the work.
• 23:00 - 23:30 They can partner by sponsoring people who are doing the work on the field. And they can see the mission accomplished by those on the ground doing it. So there's a need for that collaboration, and we don't miss the part of collaborating with local people. Because when you come to a country and you're educating-- not really educating them-- learning with them. That's how we say it. We're learning from them, OK, how have you taken care of your patients who suffer from epilepsy? We learn from them, bringing our approach-- how can we
• 23:30 - 24:00 do together to scale the work? How can one neurologist who is only taking care of one patient in one clinic-- how can you now have 20 clinics? So we're training extension workers. That one neurologist can take care of patients in five clinics, where before, he could only take one patient in one city. And there's a shortage of these professionals, as Tiffani can tell. So we are trying to alleviate that to reach the people.
• 24:00 - 24:30 BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: Thank you so much, Teguo, for that. I like that term, "learning from people." And we often talk about that in health care. How are we doing things with the patient, not for them? And that with and for is so important in changing our paradigm shift as well. I might pull some of my panelists in here as well. Because you brought something up also about getting people all on the same page when it comes to collective impact
• 24:30 - 25:00 around funding. And Sarah, I might go to you as-- When you talk about emergency preparedness, very much like public health, when things are going well, people are like, well, why do I need to invest in this? Why do I need to put money towards this? Have-- any lessons learned from your work and in emergency preparedness, on thinking about funding streams for when something might happen? SARAH TSAY: Oh, that's a tough question. And there's never-- similar to public health, there's really-- there's really never enough.
• 25:00 - 25:30 I think that some of it is working-- specifically for my role-- working with other leaders to identify their risk perceptions and what they see as the biggest threats to the hospital. And so again, just sort of with the idea of facilitating and listening. We bring to the table-- so there's this thing that we do annually call the hazard vulnerability analysis. And we take the time to really facilitate
• 25:30 - 26:00 a long series of discussions around what people see as the biggest threats to the hospital. And from that, we can develop a list of our planning priorities over time. So I don't know if that completely speaks to the funding-- the funding piece of it, because we are so embedded in the hospital. But really, making sure that our priorities align across the board, and that everyone is on board for those priorities, really drives the engagement and the ability to get things done.
• 26:00 - 26:30 BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: Thank you for that. So you all have talked a lot about different skill sets, kind of, going through the work that you do. And so we're going to switch gears a little bit, because I love these kind of questions. We're going to do a lightning round of some different questions here. So just in a few words, tell me, what are the most important skills you need to succeed in public health? And so we'll start with you, Tiffani. TIFFANI BELL WASHINGTON: OK, so I'm on the spot. But I would say the most important skills
• 26:30 - 27:00 would be, you have to be passionate, compassionate for other people, and then have the ability to dream big. You have to be able to see outside of the paradigm that you're in right now, and think, if everything is perfect, what would I do? And when I had to do that initially, I thought, well, this sounds like I'm a dreamer. But the truth is, if we don't dream bigger, it will not happen. And so I think part of public health is thinking, how can I make the future different for someone other than me?
• 27:00 - 27:30 So I think that's important. BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: Well, thank you for that, Tiffani. Sarah. SARAH TSAY: Yeah, so I think we've talked a lot about, I think, the ability to work with people, so I won't belabor the point. But I think that, really, the ability to translate science and evidence into action is incredibly important for us as public health leaders, and it's a skill that I'm still evolving. So scientific evidence and the science is important, but how do we really put that in place
• 27:30 - 28:00 and put that into the work in our programs? TEGUO DJOYUM: Yeah, so to add to what they said, I would say, like, having the passion, translating the science, but now, communicating the science. That's a big piece. I think even with COVID, we saw, how could we actually communicate together for a common problem that we have? So I think communication is a big piece that-- And then, for young students, that's the subject that we all know-- bio statistics.
• 28:00 - 28:30 [LAUGHTER] You should be prepared. [LAUGHTER] TIFFANI BELL WASHINGTON: First, pass bio statistics. [LAUGHTER] BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: And I'll join all of you in answering this question as well. Just hearing all of you is making me reflect as well-- different skill sets, as so many students and colleagues come to me and say, what are the skill sets we need in public health. And two of them came to mind as you all were talking. One was this aspect of humility. I think, Sarah, you had mentioned it earlier. Knowing that we can't see everything,
• 28:30 - 29:00 and knowing that we do need to work in collaboration with other people for deep inquiry. But then, two, kind of going back to one of the things you said, is negotiation. I think one of my favorite classes that I got to take at Harvard Chan was around learning how to negotiate. And I think it speaks to some of the-- how do we get that value creation of understanding what are what's important to people, to ourselves, and to others-- those interests? What are some creative options?
• 29:00 - 29:30 How do we think outside the box of the traditional? And then, what are the standards, going to the biostatistics? What is the data-- what's the data telling us, and how are we all on the same page? And to the point of communication, relationship, and understanding what we want to commit to in the future. So that was really fun. I like to see-- you guys had fun with that, right? So let's try one more lightning round. In just one sentence, what is one of the biggest misconceptions the public has
• 29:30 - 30:00 about public health? And I'll try to start off first, to give you guys a moment to think about that. Because I've been wondering about that quite a lot as well. And so for me, I think one of the biggest misconceptions that the public has about public health is-- I think the definition sometimes throws people off. Often, when we think of public health, we think of very much governmental public health or, like, strict research. And every time someone asks me, like, well, how do I get into public health? I'm like, you are already doing public health already. Because public health is intertwined
• 30:00 - 30:30 into every little thing we do. I often think of the School of Public Health here at Harvard-- really intersects in every single school, because every school is doing a piece of our work, to some degree. And so I would say that we are all in public health, and that we all have a part to play-- and getting folks to realize their part to play within how would we improve the health and well-being of where people live, work, and play. So with that, I'll go to you, Teguo. TEGUO DJOYUM: Yeah. So I think just the word, "public health"--
• 30:30 - 31:00 people think it's for the public, it's for the other people, and forgetting that it's actually my health, the health of my family member, and my neighbors. So if we start in doing well for us, our neighbors, our family, it can translate to the population. So that's kind of how I see it, and the misconception that people have for public health. BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: Sarah. SARAH TSAY: I think mine is similar to yours, Bryan, where people think that public health really only happens at local, state, federal, global bodies
• 31:00 - 31:30 and governmental authorities in health. And you know, public health is everywhere, so it should be in all sectors, and there needs to be strong public health leadership in every business and in every domain. And with that, comes that-- only doctors or clinicians can be, really, public health leaders. And I think that is also a misconception. And we need subject-matter experts across the board to be public health champions. TIFFANI BELL WASHINGTON: I think I'm last here.
• 31:30 - 32:00 So I will say that for me, I think it is the concept that ill health is one particular person's fault-- like, fault, blame, bias, for the individual-- instead of looking at the bigger systems that led to these groups of people that have such bad health. Because one on one, I don't think people are making such horrible choices to explain these changes in chronic illness. And so I think we have to realize that public health means that we have to change systems, and not
• 32:00 - 32:30 so much finger-pointing and blame on the individual. BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: Thank you all for indulging me on these lightning rounds here. And I think it speaks so much, back to that misconception about public health-- just always being about research in this pop-- and it just is population-based. And the social sciences, rather than also understanding some other non-traditional that you don't really think of-- the laboratory sciences. In fact, both are critical components of public health. We saw that a lot during the past three years.
• 32:30 - 33:00 My background, actually-- my undergrad is in microbiology. So I know microbiology, virology, immunology, genetics, biophysics, and other bench sciences are so critical to the work of preventing disease and promoting health. So we have a brief clip here from a researcher in an immunology and infectious disease lab here at the school, Harvard Chan, working on targeted protein degradation with a public health perspective. Let's hear from him. HARIM WON: Hi, my name is Harim Won, and my work focuses on new ways to make antibiotics
• 33:00 - 33:30 for the bacterial infection, tuberculosis. There are 10 million new cases of TB every year. And in modern history, since the 1800s when it was discovered, there have been over a billion deaths attributed to TB. So we've made immense strides since the advent of antibiotics in the '50s and '60s, but the pandemic really made things worse. We kind of had a rebound-- for the first time in a very long time, cases increasing. The way we've approached antibiotic development in the past couple of years has really
• 33:30 - 34:00 been in one mode of thinking, where you have one specific target, and let's block that specific target from working. The thing that excites me about my work is that it's kind of a paradigm shift. It's like, well, what if we could make bacteria degrade themselves, and use that as an antibiotic? Ultimately, what we're all trying to do is make the world a better and healthier place. I think what we can do is each find the role that we can do that best in. For me, that's making-- hopefully, making new antibiotics. And for others, there's just really
• 34:00 - 34:30 a whole world of possibilities. BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: That was such a great video from Harim, which-- I know personally some of his work that he has done. But really, talks about-- I think, one thing I got from that is that we all have a role in public health. And how do we contribute to communities and populations? And so with that, I'm going to switch to some audience questions that are coming in via YouTube, as folks are viewing this globally.
• 34:30 - 35:00 So let's see. Let me make sure I got all my questions here. So the first, I think, here is from Wanda, which asks, how can we find ways to implement health equity solutions, find support for health equity work, and connect funders who can help create program sustainability? BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: So I am going to throw this to you-- to you, Teguo, first, and then we'll go down the line here.
• 35:00 - 35:30 TEGUO DJOYUM: Well, I think a lot of people really want to solve problems. And some may have the know-how, the skill set, and they're on the ground doing it. Some may have the funds to do it. But they're in different worlds or in different departments. But it would be nice to find a way where we can connect this to people, so they can all have the same vision.
• 35:30 - 36:00 Because one person can care about cancer or care about mental health, but he doesn't work in public health, and he can find someone who is a psychiatrist or someone who is doing work in a specific field, and they can connect and, together, solve that problem together. So that's one way I think could be a way to find how we connect funders with those who are doing the work on the ground. BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: Anything my other panelists
• 36:00 - 36:30 want to add to that answer? SARAH TSAY: Well, I'll just say, I think, for my work, I think of health access for patient populations during a disaster that cannot access care. And I think that one that requires people in my field and in health care to come from a diverse set of skills and backgrounds. And I think that means health care integrating with the communities that they serve--
• 36:30 - 37:00 and so finding ways, either through working with primary care practitioners or just connecting with other stakeholders that aren't typically working within emergency management to really think of ways to protect these kind of patients during disasters. BRYAN O. BUCKLEY: I'm going to hold off on it, because it seems like the questions are now starting to come in now. And so I hope you guys are ready here. And just, I'll finish off on that last question. I do agree, partnership in many ways,
• 37:00 - 37:30 and often health care, we say, go [INAUDIBLE] and making sure that we're collaborating with folks on the ground. So a couple of questions are starting to come in. Sorry that it took a little bit there. So Tiffani, I'll give you this first one. But it'll be fun here. What do you wish you knew before getting into public health? TIFFANI BELL WASHINGTON: So that is a great question. I would say I probably wish I knew how widespread public health was.
• 37:30 - 38:00 I was interested in public health before I went to medical school but I didn't have time. I went straight through, the pandemic happened. I said that now's the time to make a change. And so I went on and came to public health school. But I think that it would have been nice to early on how many sectors and how the public health touch-- like if you don't make it to be a doctor and that was a goal, let's say, you still can affect people's lives on a grand scale if you go into public health. And I think having known that earlier, I
• 38:00 - 38:30 may have done public health a little sooner in my career. So I think I sort of missed out on being able to reach larger populations earlier in my career. But I think that's the thing I would like to know early. BRYAN BUCKLEY: Yeah. And another question, which I think might speak for you, Sarah, because this is more of emergency preparedness one-- after emergency, the public often wants to help. But their help can be misguided. Do you have any advice for them?
• 38:30 - 39:00 SARAH TSAY: Yeah, I do. So I think that one thing that we come across in every disaster that I've responded to has been very well-intentioned volunteers and support and donations coming in. And it actually, when it doesn't come in a coordinated way or through the systems that exist in order to support the relief effort, then it adds actually onus.
• 39:00 - 39:30 So in my work in New York City, we had a whole other team that had to deal with donations that came in and managing those. And it was very well-intentioned. But ultimately, it led to a whole other path that we sort of had to coordinate and make sure was useful to the public. So I think just really getting informed and getting involved in knowing the right credible organizations that are on the ground and have really direct ties
• 39:30 - 40:00 with the communities that they're working with and have established connections there and donate to those in order to best serve the community. BRYAN BUCKLEY: Thank you for that, Sarah. I'm going to put this question to you, Teguo. Your best hope for public health and your deepest concern. TEGUO DJOYUM: Wow. BRYAN BUCKLEY: These people online, they're going real deep here. [INTERPOSING VOICES]
• 40:00 - 40:30 TEGUO DJOYUM: So my best hope is that with what happened with COVID, everyone will really care. Like everybody wants everyone to be healthy. Like you would want to be healthy for yourself and your families. We all want that to happen. But I think the deepest concern I have is, do we actually put public health at the forefront of everything we do, given it actually affect us a lot. Do we actually put it at the forefront,
• 40:30 - 41:00 which I think is something I hope we get there. BRYAN BUCKLEY: Thank you. That was on the spot. That was a really good answer. So Tiffani, this one is around mental health. And so I'm going to ask this question to you. Mental health requires particularly sensitive communication. What would you recommend for caregivers and families? TIFFANI BELL WASHINGTON: OK. So I would say that they are correct. Again, there's a lot of bias. There's a lot of stigma. Even when people do come to the psychiatrist,
• 41:00 - 41:30 they'll say, "Well, I'm not crazy. Don't think that." So it's a lot of education needed. But I would say if a family member were concerned, imagine that you also could be in this person's shoes. Try to treat them with as much compassion as you would hope if you were in a very scary situation. Because one thing we all want, sadly, to admit is control over ourselves. And we want to be able to kind of know where we're headed and where we're going. And so I think if someone were to have a mental health crisis, what we'd want to be able to do for them is to say,
• 41:30 - 42:00 "You are safe. You know, I understand. I'm not judging you." Because people care a lot about that. And then find them the help they need. And so I would say can go to different websites online. You can go to NAMI. There are different things out there, Black Psychiatrists of America, I'll put a plug. So you can go to these different resources. But ultimately, people want to feel safe, understood, and still loved despite whatever they're going through health-wise. BRYAN BUCKLEY: And this is a question
• 42:00 - 42:30 that I think we could probably all fit in to some degree. And I'll start with you, Sarah, on it. What is one thing that surprised you when you went into public health? SARAH TSAY: I don't want to belabor the point that public health is everywhere. But I think I went into public health with a very specific definition of public health. And then also kind of thinking that--
• 42:30 - 43:00 my career, I had to know exactly where I needed to end up-- whether it be global health or humanitarian assistance, whatever it may be. And that was just sort of the end journey that I was getting to rather than a public health career being an entire journey where I'm learning more about the world that I'm in. I'm learning about other fields and bringing all that into my perspective and sort of framing my public health career as a path where I'm learning every day. BRYAN BUCKLEY: Thank you.
• 43:00 - 43:30 I'm seeing some more questions here. So I'm going to try to give people a chance to think about some of these, too. And this one I think is for you, Teguo. Can we talk about global health coordination? How does that work with so many cultures and politics involved? TEGUO DJOYUM: Wow. So I will speak to our work in global health. The coordination we did was, first, a lot of humility.
• 43:30 - 44:00 We don't go into places as we are the expert coming to teach. So that's the first way to just set that good relationship with the people we're working with. And I think we have learned even with COVID that every part of the world can contribute in the way they did certain things. And it's an opportunity for the global, well, and public health
• 44:00 - 44:30 to understand that we can all collaborate for the same purpose. BRYAN BUCKLEY: That was great. And so going back, because we've talked a lot about skill sets as well. And we're going to do another lightning round just to give everyone this one. This easy one-word or type of-- and it seems like some folks have already put in. What's been one of the most important or favorite classes that you've had at Harvard Chan that
• 44:30 - 45:00 has helped you in your career-- I know for the alumni, but then also, currently, you see it can help you in your future career? So with that, I will start with Tiffani and then we'll go this way. TIFFANI BELL WASHINGTON: OK. So favorite classes I would say the first one was Professor McDonough, who taught health policy. Because I was specializing in health policy. And I wasn't quite sure exactly what it was. So he did a great job. He did a great job, really opening our eyes to all the things you can do with health policy. And then I learned that I'd been doing it
• 45:00 - 45:30 all along with some of my work from AMA, American Medical Association. And then my other favorite classes were Negotiation. Because I never felt really skilled at negotiation. And I sort of just went along just kind of do whatever was best for the group. But what I learned most importantly from negotiation is that there is a way that everyone can win. And if you go into it with a competitive spirit, or kind of like I have to win or you have to win, then obviously someone loses. But there is a way that you can find out
• 45:30 - 46:00 what matters the most to each person and then give them that. And you can still get what you want. And so that was a great way for me to be comfortable negotiating without feeling like I had to be confrontational. So I was able to just still squeeze it in. So I enjoyed learning that. BRYAN BUCKLEY: Sarah. SARAH TSAY: Yeah. I think Negotiations was a big one. I think another one was the DrPH courses-- Enabling Teams and Enabling Large-Scale Change. I started my current role about a year ago now.
• 46:00 - 46:30 And I used all of the things from Enabling Teams to come in and to really work with my whole team. And so and I think that's really just set the tone for respect and sort of distributive leadership model that we really protect in our group. BRYAN BUCKLEY: Thank you. TEGUO DJOYUM: So I think, one of the classes system, like enabling leadership by far, really help like us think that as the executive of a nonprofit,
• 46:30 - 47:00 it's not you saying, "We do this." But it's a team of people learning to take decisions with people and decide together. Negotiation was another very, very, very interesting class for me. And also the class of Global Health Innovation which was very, very important to think of how do we innovate in public health. So some of the three classes I really enjoyed. BRYAN BUCKLEY: Now to add in to this since I'm also alumnus as well here,
• 47:00 - 47:30 I would say one of favorite classes, I think, was one of our DrPH classes. It was Personal Mastery. Often, especially a lot of the work I do with health equity across the nation, I always tell folks like if we wanted to do really good health equity externally, we have to also make sure our own shop is also in order as well. And so I think that personal mastery of understanding yourself, understanding your biases, what you know don't know, I think is really important as you really are leading and making sure that you
• 47:30 - 48:00 are getting all the different viewpoints and leading. TIFFANI BELL WASHINGTON: So I wanted to add one thing. So listening to you all was very inspiring. And it sort of made me feel jealous like I need to go back and get my Doctor of Public Health. I was like the only one up here, right? And I had a leadership class with Mayor Steve Benjamin as well, which I think is associated with one of the teaching fellows. It was so many leadership opportunities where you really could learn how to truly be a leader and then feel comfortable in that role.
• 48:00 - 48:30 So that's been great. BRYAN BUCKLEY: And so this question I'm going to open up. So we'll do a popcorn on who wants to answer this. But it's a common question. I think many of us, as we talk about future leaders and emerging leaders, we often get a lot of students and folks coming to us saying, "How do I actually apply to a public health school or program? And what advice do you have? How do I get myself ready? What are some things I should be considering before I go into public health?" And so what is any advice that you would have for them?
• 48:30 - 49:00 So I'll just give a pause and you guys can popcorn as you see fit. TEGUO DJOYUM: I mean I know all the students have good grades. They work very hard. But you need to really pick a project or something you've done and show that you've passionately done it. That will help you a lot in your application-- that you've actually taken something on and done it for a long time. BRYAN BUCKLEY: The others? SARAH TSAY: With some bias, since I
• 49:00 - 49:30 worked for several years before doing my MPH. And then, again, I had work experience before entering the DrPH. I think really steeping your, similar to what Teguo said, about having a project that you're really passionate about and like really presenting in your application what you're passionate about and the knowledge and the experience that you do have is really important. TIFFANI BELL WASHINGTON: And also, I would say, just like you all, know your why. And be willing to really just express
• 49:30 - 50:00 what you see as the big picture. How you can help the world and what you'd be willing to do with your why. I think that's important. BRYAN BUCKLEY: Yeah going off of that, I think that's a common question I always have. And I usually frame it-- I really love the letter B. You know, Bryan Buckley and all. Usually, the be mantra that I have for myself of be hungry, be curious, and being humble. Being hungry, I think to the point of the why. The problem you want to solve in the world. And really articulating what that problem is.
• 50:00 - 50:30 And being curious of knowing that there are many different ways to solve that problem and really pitching your idea of how you think you can do that. And then being humbled to know that you need to do it in collaboration with others. And I think if you're a person that thinks you can go alone and just be like be the leader of public health, I think you've already failed the assignment. You need to know that this is a team sport. And it requires really building bridges across.
• 50:30 - 51:00 SARAH TSAY: So let me add something very quickly, Bryan. I got some really good advice once about navigating a career. and it was to think of three big questions which are-- what brings you joy? What are you good at? And what does the world need from you? And so that's really driven the way that I've approached my career. BRYAN BUCKLEY: That's a really good advice. Going to be some [INAUDIBLE] right here. [INTERPOSING VOICES] TIFFANI BELL WASHINGTON: [INAUDIBLE] I'm like, oh, man. BRYAN BUCKLEY: Anything to add to that question
• 51:00 - 51:30 before we go to our last main question from the audience? And I'll give one more lightning round. And so this question from one of the audience is "There are many stakeholders in public health. Can you talk about the intersection of the private and public sectors? Why should the private sector care about public health? I will start off and then I will kind of popcorn it down
• 51:30 - 52:00 because this is actually a question that I have answered quite a lot. Well one, I think there's a moral case to public health. I think we should always start with that, the moral ethical case of public health on really making sure that we are taking care of communities and people. But I also think it's very much a business case as well, especially within the health care side of things of making sure that we are actually targeting the care at the right time or the right place for people that do need it. And I think one of the earlier videos
• 52:00 - 52:30 that we saw just talked even about the narrative of climate change and like this idea of-- we can try to see it in this big aspect but we also need to be targeted as well. And it actually does help everyone in focusing our efforts. And so I think oftentimes, it's in both. Communities and country being sick doesn't help anybody out. And so I really look at public health as a rising tide lifts all ships approach to how we think about the work.
• 52:30 - 53:00 And with that, I'll go with Teguo first. TEGUO DJOYUM: Yeah, so I think just like ESG, each company's social responsibility. So I think if we just think of it that way, public companies should consider public health as a social responsibility that, normally, they should be doing. So I think it's just natural that it should be a no-brainer for. BRYAN BUCKLEY: Sarah? SARAH TSAY: I think from the disaster perspective
• 53:00 - 53:30 or the emergency preparedness perspective, you can't just have one piece of the puzzle if you are going to really make change. And so I think when you're doing this work, you need to go beyond just the public sector and think about private sector, non-profit, and all areas in order to really, really make lasting change. TIFFANI BELL WASHINGTON: So for me, I would say two things-- One, with mental health, there really is no health without your mental health.
• 53:30 - 54:00 And so we need to focus on providing equitable solutions of quality care for people to have good mental health. But then practically, I would just say that if we don't have good health for everyone, then really have no one to work your jobs either. And so you really should keep them healthy. I mean, in the pandemic, a lot of people passed away, unfortunately. People got sick. They had depression, new mental health concerns. And now we have lots of vacancies at jobs and no one to fill those positions.
• 54:00 - 54:30 And so I just think beyond doing it because it's morally right and we should care, you also have to keep your workload, the people, healthy. So they can come work with you. So send us funds and we'll help keep everybody healthy and safe. BRYAN BUCKLEY: I love that. And I think that actually speaks to one of my lightning round questions. So we'll do just one or two lightning round questions here. It's easy to get discouraged in this work of public health.
• 54:30 - 55:00 Sometimes it feels like you're ice skating uphill sometimes. And the state of the world and our jobs, I know there's a lot that needs fixing and we invest a lot of ourselves there. So to ask each of you, what are you doing to keep yourself hopeful? And Tiffani, I want to start with you. TIFFANI BELL WASHINGTON: OK so to keep myself hopeful, I have to just say it is. When I look in the faces of my kids-- sorry to bring them up-- but when
• 55:00 - 55:30 I look at young people who are innocent and are born into the world without having asked to be here, I just think that it is our duty to leave them something to live for and something to really work towards. And to provide them with education and health and all of those things. Not just for our own children but for those who we may never meet. So I feel hopeful that there are still possibilities that we can improve the world and that there is someone who can hopefully go into that place that we've made better.
• 55:30 - 56:00 BRYAN BUCKLEY: Well done. Sarah? SARAH TSAY: So I think just being able to be at Harvard at this time in public health, as well as at Mass General Brigham really keeps me hopeful. I'm just surrounded by brilliant, passionate, kind, and driven people. And I think the faculty, and the students, my colleagues and my cohort is just incredible. So really being able to surround myself with these really incredible people who
• 56:00 - 56:30 are really deep in the work just gives me a lot of hope for the radical changes, frankly, that need to be happening in health care in the future. TEGUO DJOYUM: I'll just give you a little story. We went in a village doing epilepsy care for this kid who was cast out of the family. When we did an EEG on him and the family saw it, and we said "He's not cursed, he has a disease. And we can give medication. He'll be better." Just the spark on the lights on the faces of people, every day,
• 56:30 - 57:00 when I think of those single stories, and there's for 40 million of them, there's so much work. And we need to get to it. And this is just one. There's so many other diseases in these cases that keep us every day working to solve them. BRYAN BUCKLEY: That's good. And I'll join you guys as well before our last lightning round question. I think what's giving me hope is, I think my public health peeps, as I would say, when I get to be in forums like this
• 57:00 - 57:30 and hear from you, it encourages me. It nurtures me in many ways of just seeing the great amazing work that you folks are doing. And every time I talk to new students or new people thinking about coming into public health, that gives me hope that the next generation is thinking about that work. And often, my grandfather would say this quote, he's like, "Bryan, we're in this world for two reasons-- one, to make the world a better place with whatever skill sets and passions that we have. And two, to mentor and coach the next generation
• 57:30 - 58:00 to building that new more just future." And so I think that gives me hope seeing those folks. So the last question, and this is on the same theme of wellness. And Tiffani, thank you for bringing up wellness and mental health because I think it's so important. And I want to end off in something a little bit more positive. Because oftentimes, when people are asking me, "Man, leadership in public health. Like you're always working." And they're like, "You don't sleep at all. This and that." I'm like, "I do sleep here."
• 58:00 - 58:30 But what is an activity that you do that also helps with your mental health-- when it comes to promoting positive mental health and your wellness, what energizes you? Because oftentimes, I think people look at leaders and they think that we just don't- make sure we make that dedicated time for ourselves. And so we'll go down-- I'll start off, and then we'll go down. And Tiffani will end us off. So for me, I go cycling. And that's been my new activity that I have done.
• 58:30 - 59:00 It's my way of just being out in nature clearing my head. But that's one of my wellness activities. And of course, getting lots of sleep. Believe it or not, I get a good seven to eight hours of sleep most nights. TEGUO DJOYUM: As for me, last year, I started walking and then I continued running. So I do it often. And when I do it, once in a while, I'll do a little video to share with my friends and remind them, "Consistency is the key." SARAH TSAY: I love it.
• 59:00 - 59:30 So I like to spend time with family. And my wonderful husband is in the audience. And just making sure that I have time to spend with family and friends is crucial to me. And we love to eat. So try new restaurants, cooking, all of those things. Food brings me immense joy. TIFFANI BELL WASHINGTON: So for me, I have a mindset that I intentionally choose joy even when the situation is not good because that often is the case. And so I have a little quote, "Always choose joy."
• 59:30 - 60:00 I have a lot of things that I'm juggling. And inevitably, I'm going to forget or drop something. And so I say, "If I'm juggling--" I try to keep the glass balls in the air. And then if the rubber balls drop, inevitably they will, I just kind of deal with it. I like to exercise. But every night before I go to bed, I meditate. It's like a meditation tape. And so it puts me to sleep every night. So anyway, if you need any help sleeping, that's my non-medical advice.
• 60:00 - 60:30 But I do that every day. And it helps to center me right before bed. And it just is very peaceful. So that's what I do to have some balance. BRYAN BUCKLEY: Thank you all. With that, I just want to thank our panelists so much for your authenticity into this work and just all your answers, our wonderful audience, and the Harvard Chan Studio for hosting this event. If you missed any part of it, it will be available on demand or on demand viewing at the school's YouTube channel.
• 60:30 - 61:00 Thank you all. And just really thank you all for all the work that you do and that you will do to contribute to public health in the future. With that, have a great afternoon. Thank you. [APPLAUSE]