MPH Alumni

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MPH Degree Alumni

Nina Gregerson, MPH, MCHES, Class of 2016

Prior to entering the MPH Program, I received my BS in Community Health Education from UW-La Crosse and have served as a public health specialist with Public Health Madison & Dane County, working primarily on tobacco & nicotine prevention efforts, since 2013. While in the MPH program, I was fortunate to continue my employment with Public Health and share my experiences as a local public health professional with my peers.

The MPH program allowed me to hone my skills in policy development and implementation, as well as communicating public health information effectively. In my two years with the MPH program, I served as the co-president of the School of Medicine & Public Health Student Organization. I was also nominated and elected to UW–Madison’s Delta Omega chapter (an honorary society in public health) by MPH faculty and staff.

Since graduating with my MPH in 2016, I now serve as a health education coordinator at Public Health working on housing security, emergency preparedness planning and response efforts, and Public Health Madison & Dane County’s Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan processes. In addition to my work with the health department, I have been a UW–Madison instructor for PHS 370: Intro to Public Health undergraduate course for the past since 2017 and a mentor for students pursuing their master’s degree in public health at UW–Madison. I also maintain a Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES) certificate, a national credentialing program that ensures competency in the key Areas of Responsibilities for Health Education Specialists.

Not only did the MPH program refine my knowledge and skills in systems, policy, and environmental change strategies, community engagement, and evaluation, it allowed me to build wonderful connections and relationships with faculty and fellow students. I rely on those relationships in many aspects of my personal and professional life!

Laura Jacobson, MPH, Class of 2013

I earned an MPH and a certificate in Global Health from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and from there went on to earn a PhD in Health Systems & Policy from Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). Currently, I am an assistant professor of health systems, management & policy at the OHSU–Portland State University School of Public Health and hold an appointment with the OHSU Division of Complex Family Planning in Portland, Oregon.

Maria Morgen, MPH, Class of 2022

My non-linear career journey encompasses a blend of my passions, experiences, and goals. As a previous elementary school educator and Teach for America alum, I pursued my Master of Public Health (MPH) with the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health to explore the intersection of health and education.

The MPH and Prevention and Intervention Science Graduate Certificate programs offered unique opportunities to learn from collections of expertise, including from the network of professionals among my fellow students. My engagement as a graduate project assistant during my MPH program led me to my project manager and later assistant director roles post-graduation with the Early Childhood Health Consultation program (in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families and housed at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Human Ecology).

Since graduating from the MPH program in 2022 as a Delta Omega member, I can connect the skills sharpened during my graduate program experience to my view on the role of prevention in public health. Currently, I am working with the Sauk Prairie School District on supporting my local elementary school library. This direct engagement with children, educators and families reinforces the importance of de-siloing industries to support a holistic approach to well-being.

Connor Nikolay, MPH, MIPA, Class of 2022

After graduating from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 2019, I worked for the University of Wisconsin Department of Surgery as a program and policy specialist. In 2021,  I enrolled as a dual degree student in the Public Health program and La Follette School of Public Affairs, pursuing my Master of Public Health and Master of International Public Affairs in tandem. The MPH program enabled me to complete both degree programs within two years, while offering exemplary support from the MPH staff and faculty. While attending the program during COVID resulted  in a nontraditional experience, I was still able to bond with my cohort and make some lifelong friends. My experiences with the MPH program allowed me to grow as an individual and provided me with the tools I needed to advance public health.

After graduating from the MPH program, I took a position with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services as a program and policy analyst within the Division of Medicaid Services. Through the MPH program, I gained the knowledge required to develop equitable health policy, work with grants, use a systems thinking approach, and work collaboratively with team members from various different backgrounds.

It is an added bonus to be able to see so many MPH alumni in the halls at DHS and know I have relationships I created during the program to reach out to if I ever need advice or support.

Mariana Quinn, MPH, Class of 2021

My two years in the MPH program hold some of the best experiences of my life, even though I was going through the program during the COVID-19 pandemic. I loved being able to engage with students who shared similar passions but brought diverse perspectives to the table. The faculty were always available to talk about classwork and also made an effort to get to know me on a more personal level. The curriculum provided me with strong foundational skills that I feel confident in applying in the workforce.

After graduation, I began a two-year fellowship with the Wisconsin Population Health Service Fellowship Program. I was working simultaneously with the Bureau of Aging and Disability Resources at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and with Centro Hispano of Dane County. I was able to work on a variety of projects ranging from contributing to manuscripts to completing evaluation activities and got a lot of practice facilitating meetings and discussions. Currently, I serve as the Evaluation Coordinator for the Region V Public Health Training Center, housed at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. In this role, I have led the administration of a multi-state survey focusing on the training needs of local health departments, contributed to routine reports, and helped with internal quality improvement activities.

Jeff Wu, MPH, Class of 2015

My career before and after my graduate degree at UW has been deeply immersed in health care technology.

Prior to pursuing my MPH degree, I worked at Epic and owned the implementation and product management of Epic’s surgical products. During that time, I fell in love with data and the insights that could be gained and then acted on from that data. UW’s MPH program immersed me in the multiple facets of what it actually means to track health-related data and then meaningfully use it to benefit both communities and individuals. My coursework and my graduate research within UW Health allowed me to work on a variety of initiatives, from blood utilization, to hospital-acquired infections, to cost-effectiveness analysis of our population health programs.

After graduation, I continued my career in health care technology across multiple health care start-ups, including several with successful exits and deep partnerships with organizations like Google, Samsung, Microsoft, and Walgreens.

I currently lead the platform technology team at Mayo Clinic, where I focus on the development and deployment of large-scale Generative AI, including computer vision for early-disease detection and AI-enabled digital therapeutics for personalized disease treatment.

I loved the MPH program at UW, and it has prepared me for success in health care technology in a multitude of unexpected ways.

Dual Degree Alumni

JD-MPH Alumni

Claire Dennis, JD, MPH, Class of 2018

I decided to pursue the dual JD-MPH during my second year of law school after discussing the importance of having a well-rounded academic background with my mentors, several of whom were (or still are) involved in the MPH program. To me, it was important to fully understand the epidemiology and biostatistics underlying public health initiatives in order to provide helpful and constructive legal counsel. Prior to entering the program, my background was primarily in bioethics and public health law, so adding quantitative knowledge has helped me understand issues more deeply and communicate legal concepts more clearly with stakeholders at every level.

After graduating from UW–Madison, I spent nearly six years as an associate chief counsel at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Washington, D.C. The start of my career coincided with COVID-19, and I had the privilege to be an integral member of the COVID-19 pandemic response and advised the agency and HHS on emergency use authorizations, enforcement, legislation and questions concerning the Clinical Laboratory Improvements Act of 1988 (CLIA), the PREP Act, and the Defense Production Act. In addition, I counseled the FDA on draft and final guidance, proposed and final rulemaking, and worked on several priority topics, including in vitro diagnostics, clinical trial diversity and emerging technologies. Working to improve public health as an FDA employee was an incredible experience and one that I bring to my day-to-day work now as a senior associate at Arnold & Porter in the life sciences and health care regulatory practice.

The knowledge and experience afforded by the JD-MPH program keeps me centered in my daily work and I encourage anyone going into public health law or a health/life sciences-related legal field to seek cross-disciplinary opportunities.

MD-MPH Alumni

Mala Mathur, MD, MPH, FAAP, Class of 2006

I really enjoyed my experiences in the MPH program and would highly recommend the program to all physicians who desire a deeper understanding of our health care system and population health while gaining the tools and expertise needed to work collaboratively towards a healthier society. As an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, I am a practicing primary care pediatrician, teach medical students and residents, and work on a variety of academic initiatives within the division of general pediatric and adolescent medicine.

Since graduating in 2006 from the inaugural class of the Master of Public Health program at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, I have collaborated with the Wisconsin Department of Public Health on pediatric health initiatives, including promoting routine development and autism screening in the medical home and promoting care coordination for children and youth with special health care needs.

I am grateful to have served as president of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (WIAAP) from 2017–2019. I serve on the executive committee for the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Community Pediatrics where I help write and edit AAP policy statements to improve the care we provide nationally to children and adolescents. I also serve on the executive committee for the Academic Pediatric Association’s Health Policy Scholars Program, an educational initiative to support the scholarly work of advocacy and policy for academic pediatricians.

I am passionate about using quality improvement methodology, innovative clinical practices, and advocacy to better the lives of children, adolescents and young adults.

Tomas Schlenker, MD, MPH, Class of 2023

Stepping away from medical school to obtain my MPH was perhaps the best decision I made during my many years of schooling. It afforded me the opportunity to think about health and health care holistically and to build my career on a foundational understanding of policy, systems and population trends. As I move forward, I feel confident navigating these dynamics because of the tools given to me by the excellent and passionate faculty and staff at the UW Master of Public Health program. I will always remember my time with them and with my fellow students fondly.

Jasmine Zapata, MD, MPH, Class of 2017

I am an author, physician scientist and community leader known both locally and internationally. My focus is on ways to get outside the clinic walls to impact health outcomes for children and families on a community-based level. My research and community work focuses on racial disparities in infant mortality, upstream determinants of health, youth resilience, public health approaches to violence prevention, diversity in medicine, and innovative methods of community engagement and health promotion.

At the School of Medicine and Public Health, I serve as co-director of the Ladder Program, which is a mentorship program for youth from diverse backgrounds interested in a career in medicine. I am also the founder of the Beyond Beautiful International Girl’s Empowerment Movement, as well as co-founder of the Madison Inspirational Youth Choir, among other roles. I am a four-time author and my advocacy and community work have been featured on live national television outlets, such as the Today Show. My ultimate mission is to use my infectious energy, gifts, and passions to “heal, uplift and inspire”. I truly enjoy combining my love for pediatrics with the field of preventive medicine and public health!

I am an alumnus of the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health’s Preventive Medicine Residency Program and am on the board of directors for the Madison Boy’s and Girl’s Club.

MPA-MPH Alumni

Naiya Patel, MPA, MPH, Class of 2019

I graduated UW–Madison in 2015 with an undergraduate degree in Nutritional Sciences and certificates in Global Health and Leadership. After graduation, I decided to serve in AmeriCorps to understand the needs of the community I lived in. I developed a passion for policy development and improving programs to better fit the community it was serving, so I returned to campus to pursue a Master of Public Affairs degree at the La Follette School of Public Affairs in 2016. My focus was health policy, but I realized many of the competencies I wanted to focus on fell under the Master of Public Health program, so I decided to enroll in the dual degree program.

I enrolled in the MPH program because of its interdisciplinary nature and the one-on-one support provided by faculty and staff. My field of interest was very unique, and I was able to find courses and projects that aligned with the skills I wanted to develop. Faculty members worked closely with students to create client-based projects that were specific to our specialties. This helped me gain important and applicable experience in my field, as well as learn about different fields my colleagues were focusing on. The MPH program also offered many opportunities to network with other diverse individuals in the public health and policy fields.

After graduation, I joined the Wisconsin Department of Health Services as a program and policy analyst on their FoodShare team for a year and a half. Since then, I have joined the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps team as an evidence analyst on the Evidence and Policy Analysis team. I use the skills from graduate school every day and have the opportunity to collaborate with many individuals I connected with through my MPH work.

Lily Schultze, MPA, MPH, Class of 2019

After graduating from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 2012, I worked at the Minnesota State Legislature for several years as well as at a Bay Area-based nonprofit. I returned to Wisconsin to pursue a Master of Public Affairs degree at the La Follette School of Public Affairs in 2012. After beginning the program, I decided to apply for the MPA-MPH dual degree program, as I was interested in gaining increased competencies and knowledge in the field of public health.

Through the MPH program, I was exposed to public health frameworks, systems thinking for public health and an increased understanding of ways in which health can be quantified and measured. These competencies have helped me become a stronger health policy professional. For my capstone project, I developed a narrative timeline of reproductive health policies between 2010 and the present in Wisconsin, incorporating key informant interviews. This project served as an opportunity to synthesize skills and knowledge gained from both degree programs.

I am currently a senior analyst on the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s Health Care Team. I have been with the agency since graduating with my MPA-MPH degree in 2019. Since then, I have worked on reports encompassing a variety of topics, including Medicaid long-term services and supports, COVID-19 diagnostic testing and consumer access to Medicare ownership information.

PharmD-MPH Alumni

Tristan O’Driscoll, PharmD, MPH, BCIDP, Class of 2013

Growing up in an under-served area of inner-city Milwaukee, my goal has been to improve the health of my community and give back. After I obtained my B.S. in Pharmacology and Toxicology at the UW, I knew I wanted to take my training further and reach my goal. I found the best way to do this was participating in the PharmD-MPH dual degree program. This program offered solid, multilayered education that spanned across healthcare disciplines. I was fortunate to be involved in a field experience with the World Health Organization in Australia that led to a publication and counted for credit within both the PharmD and MPH programs. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity where I was also able to dive the Great Barrier Reef in my free time. After I graduated, I was able to take my knowledge and skills to Chicago, where I participated in two years of residency programs, a general residency and a specialty residency in infectious diseases. I then worked for a year at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte as a stewardship pharmacist before coming back to Wisconsin to build and lead a stewardship program.

Currently I am the leader of the system antimicrobial stewardship program at Aspirus Health, where we have 17 hospitals in northern Wisconsin and Michigan, 75 clinics. Quality improvement is a major focus of my position, and the dual degree program set me up for success. Evidence-based medicine is a key principle, and we have to take a public health approach to global antibiotic resistance in order to drive major improvements. Collaboration across many disciplines is key to getting work done and driving change. We have so many areas we need to focus on to continue to spur change, and I want to see more practitioners from all disciplines that are hungry for this new approach.

The PharmD-MPH dual degree program enhances pharmacist’s care for patients both at a one-to-on level and for the community from a population perspective. With this training, you are uniquely positioned to influence both policy and practice within your community and beyond. Teamwork and gaining diverse perspectives was a major focus of the program and now reaps dividends in the multidisciplinary groups I work with to drive improvements in healthcare in Wisconsin and beyond. I credit the PharmD-MPH dual degree program with allowing me to reach my goal of improving health in my community.

Jing Wu, PharmD, MPH, Class of 2017

With my background as a Wisconsin-licensed pharmacist, well-versed in public health, patient advocacy, association management, and geographic information systems (GIS), I consult and teach in my various areas of expertise, including with the World Health Organization, Pfizer Inc., health associations, and a number of universities across the United States. Most recently I enjoyed leading training and capacity development with the WHO GIS Centre for Health, which inspired the launch and founding of the Maps for Health Collaborative, a consortium for health geography.

I also believe volunteering is an important part of civic engagement and societal advancement. I currently serve as an editorial board member on the Elsevier Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning Journal and as a Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Caucus (APIC) of the American Public Health Association (APHA). I volunteered with Alexandria’s Domestic Violence Program in Virginia before relocating to Monterey, CA in June of 2025.

I am fresh to Monterey and appreciate the vibrancy and health of this county that was awarded the prestigious Blue Zones Community certification in August 2025. A healthy habit I have gained is walking regularly, consuming produce from local farmers and co-ops, and engaging more often with nature, especially appreciating ocean conservation and overall environmental sustainability. A unique health angle I am enjoying here is through the lens of fashion: working part-time as a sales associate for an upscale boutique, Hudson James, as part of a women-owned businesses collaborative. My current mantra is “connection can be healing with magnitudes of powerful positivity if we are intentional about self and communal health.”

Amanda Yang, PharmD, MPH, Class of 2021

When I was applying to pharmacy schools, I was looking at programs that had dual PharmD-MPH degree options. As a future healthcare provider, I wanted to have a better understanding of public health to build a foundation on addressing health disparities and inequities. UW–Madison’s PharmD-MPH program gave me the opportunity to learn from an interdisciplinary team of faculty, staff, and students.

I was part of the first cohort going through the new MPH curriculum and felt the courses and Applied Practice Experience (APEX) have prepared me to achieve competency in the MPH program competencies. The people I’ve met along the way have been inspiring. Working with an interdisciplinary group of students offered different perspectives on improving our communities. I enjoyed my time in the program and feel that it will be an asset to my pharmacy career. I hope to apply the skills I learned in improving pharmacy policy, contributing to preventive health, and advocating for the people.

Following graduation, I will be working as a pharmacist at a community pharmacy in the Madison area.

MPAS-MPH Alumni

Mikaela (Pierson) Daniels, MPAS, MPH, Class of 2019

I entered the MPH program on a path to graduate as a practicing physician assistant with a strong public health background. The MPAS-MPH Program set me up well for a career working in family medicine in medically underserved areas.

Prior to entering the program, I had been living and working in St. Paul, MN. Since graduation, I have returned to the Minneapolis area, and have worked in family medicine at both a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and a community-based clinic. I completed a service term with the National Health Service Corps while working at the FQHC. My MPH education has helped me to better collaborate with my patients, work more effectively within my community as a family medicine provider and navigate the healthcare system with more understanding. The MPAS-MPH dual degree program at UW-Madison gave me the opportunity to pursue my own goals and interests while providing an educational framework with the skills I needed to be most beneficial to my community. Go Badgers!

DVM-MPH Alumni

Nailah Smith, DVM, MPH, Class of 2016

Adding a master’s of public health to my veterinary degree allowed me to achieve my goal of working at the animal-human interface. During the MPH program, I was able to gain a much better understanding of the social determinants of health, community health and health policy, all of which contribute to human population health. This understanding, along with infectious disease EPI electives and a capstone focused on advanced epidemiologic analysis, gave me a great footing to start my career.

After completing the program in 2016, I worked as an epidemiologist at the Tennessee Department of Health’s Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance program.

In 2018, I was accepted into Center for Disease Control’s Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) and worked for two years as an epidemiologist in the Center for Global Health’s Division of Global Health Protection. I was able to work on applied epidemiology projects that took me to Kenya, Liberia, Guatemala and the Democratic Republic of Congo. I was also able to work as a COVID-19 epidemiologist in the CDC Emergency Operations Center assigned to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, where I focused on the epidemiology of COVID-19 in educational settings.

After EIS, I returned to the Healthcare Associated Infections world as an epidemiologist in the state of Washington.

I am currently a veterinary medical officer with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, working specifically on coordination with the agency’s “One Health” approach. My current work really feels like the culmination of all the experiences I’ve had thanks to my dual degree.

Nursing-MPH Alumni

Faleasha Gallagher, RN, MPH, Class of 2021

I’m a 2021 graduate of the MPH program. In my second year of the program, I had the honor to serve as the social chair and mentor coordinator for the MPH student organization (MPHSO). Additionally, I completed my APEX at Rock County Public Health Department doing an evaluation for their Community Health Improvement Plan. It was such a memorable experience and I got to meet so many rockstar public health professionals.

During the MPH program, I worked (and still work) part-time at Saint Mary’s Hospital as a registered nurse in critical care. Since graduating with my MPH, I have taken on the role of grant coordinator for the Wisconsin Nurse’s Association. Fortunately for me, the grant is focusing on Rock County, where I did my field work, making it easy to transition into this position.

Olivia Gonzalez, BSN, MPH, Class of 2022

I graduated from the University of Wisconsin School of Nursing in 2020 and continued my studies through the dual degree Masters of Public Health program. As a new grad trauma nurse, I cared for a disproportionate number of gun violence victims in Milwaukee, prompting me to support community action.

For my APEX, I sought out 414 Life, a community based organization that takes a public health approach to preventing gun violence. Throughout my experience, I worked with a professionally diverse team to promote violence prevention and advocacy efforts in the City of Milwaukee. After graduating with my master’s degree, I returned to one of my passions, sexual and reproductive health, and began supporting HIV & STD prevention and treatment in Charlotte, North Carolina. I soon found myself interning with the USAID Office of HIV/AIDS, where I currently support HIV prevention, care, and treatment programming and policy for children and adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.

After my internship concludes, I hope to continue supporting international sexual and reproductive healthcare.

James Kollross, RN, MPH, Class of 2020

As a student in the UW School of Nursing, I realized how uniquely positioned nurses are as connectors and advocates to improve the health of not only individuals, but also populations as a whole. This understanding helped me to decide to pursue the BSN to MPH Advanced Degree Option that is available to UW nursing students. This valuable opportunity allowed me to complement my nursing training with further public health training. The education I received at the UW School of Nursing and the UW School of Medicine and Public Health in the MPH program were high-quality, transformative, and valuable to me as a nurse.

In the MPH program, I especially enjoyed learning so much from peers who had various work or volunteer experiences prior to beginning the program, or who came from other programs across campus. The connections and friends made in the program are fantastic! I feel I was prepared to enter the public health workforce (even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic) because of the great public health foundation I received through the BSN and MPH programs. I have since worked as a public health nurse with the Bayfield County and Wood County Health Departments, and I continue to use my training daily to improve the health of my community. I especially enjoy protecting my community from infectious diseases and working to reduce rural health disparities.