Staff Spotlight: Alysha Noel.
Collaborative work is key to developing sustainable public health solutions and improving population health outcomes. This weekly series spotlights one SPH staff member who advances public health through collaborations within the field and across sectors.
Can you describe your main responsibilities and priorities as special projects coordinator in the Office of the Dean?
As the special projects coordinator, my role involves supporting the initiatives of the Dean’s Office. I help to coordinate the Signature Programming and community events for the school. Recurring events such as staff and faculty breakfasts, school assembly, and the annual All-School Retreat are just some of the programs I help to organize. For the past eight months I’ve been working behind-the-scenes on event operations for both in-person and online school convenings.
Can you share how collaboration is integral to your role, and what are one or two collaborations that are most meaningful to you?
Being a member of the Dean’s Office, I feel very central to the school. Collaboration is integral to the work that I do, so in a sense I am lucky to be in a position where I am often collaborating with students, faculty and staff. The one partnership that has been the most meaningful so far has been working on the programming for Diversity and Inclusion. This past February, SPH hosted a seminar featuring Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity physician who gave a lecture about the health consequences of racial profiling. I felt inspired by her words and how she used her personal experiences and bridged her expertise as a physician, to educate others about the hidden but detrimental effects of racial profiling. I felt a sense of pride that I played a role in planning that event. It also makes me proud that the school has an intentional focus on Diversity and Inclusion seminars. I look forward to organizing more of those meaningful conversations.
What do you enjoy most about your role, and what are you looking forward to in the 2020-2021 school year?
What I enjoy the most is being in a position that responds to the matters of the world with informative, research driven, and stimulating discussions. I’ve been able to share the Signature Programming events with my family and friends. I am looking forward to fulfilling the mission of the school with the dynamic members in the Dean’s Office. We are small but mighty in the way that we work together. As we look to this new school year, I am excited to see how we explore opportunities to not only expand our knowledge in public health but how we spread them as well.
“Alysha is thoughtful, funny, incredibly hard-working, and we are so lucky to have her on our team. Alysha joined SPH in the thick of our fall events season last year, and she made an immediate impact with her positive attitude and work ethic. She is instrumental in ensuring that our programs go off without a hitch, but aside from that she is just a joy to work with. It’s been a great experience to watch her grow in her role and work alongside her. Although I miss sitting in adjacent offices and being able to shout questions to each other all day or pop in for quick chats, our video check-ins are always a highlight of my day. For those of you that know Alysha, you know that nothing I write about her would capture how incredible she is!”
Meredith Brown, assistant director of strategic initiatives in the Office of the Dean
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