Q&A with Madhura Bhat (SPH ’04), Co-Founder of Health for America.

What does your organization do?
Health for America (HfA) is an audacious attempt to use America’s greatest strength – entrepreneurship – to combat its greatest challenge – health. The first program of its kind, HfA mobilizes recent college graduates and connects them with physicians, community leaders, and private sector organizations to create and rapidly iterate upon innovative, community-­‐based solutions for chronic disease.

What are your top three goals for the year?
I am really excited about our summer program around childhood asthma, which we launched recently. Our top three goals are to make sure our fellows have a fantastic educational experience, that their work translates into tangible benefits for children with asthma and that we can use this program as a proof of concept to fundraise for a year long program next year.

What is the toughest business decision you have made?
Deciding to launch the summer program. Health for America was founded in June 2012, and despite generating a lot of interest, we did not have firm commitments for enough seed funding to launch summer program until April 2013. This late in the year, we were not sure if we would attract enough applicants. On the one hand, we wanted to build on the momentum but risked having low-caliber fellows who would not take advantage of the program. With the support of our incredible partners, we decided to forge ahead and are delighted to have attracted three bright young leaders who are doing a phenomenal job.

What is your overall impression of Boston University School of Public Health, and how did it help with your career path?
I fondly remember my time in Boston as one of the best in my life. I made some incredible connections with my classmates and learned a great deal from the faculty. The training was invaluable in preparing me for a career in public health which started with a job in Zambia through BUSPH, and then took me to leading organizations including Family Health International (now FHI360), Johns Hopkins Center for Communications Program (JHUCCP), Population Services International (PSI), and the United Nations Foundation. I was one of twenty Americans selected for the prestigious Robert Bosch Fellowship and spent a year in Germany building trans-Atlantic relations in the high-level work-study program. In all of these experiences, I drew upon the lessons learned at BU and am grateful for the outstanding education.

How do you give back to the community?
As a new American, I have had incredible opportunities and owe a deep debt of gratitude to the nation. I find it unacceptable that our health system, the most expensive in the world, is unable to deliver care to vulnerable communities. Through my career, I have been inspired by the potential of technology to make a difference in health, even in the most difficult circumstances. To pursue this passion, Health for America was formed. By creating a framework to accelerate health innovation, I hope to give back to my country and create a model to combat chronic disease that can eventually be used to empower communities around the world.

And some quick questions:

The last book I read was…
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

No one has influenced me more than…
My mother

The moment I knew I didn’t know it all…
The first time I tried to ride a motorbike

I wish when I was at BUSPH that I…
Had taken more pictures to capture the memories

My last meal would be…
Brunch

The best part of my job is…
Seeing Health for America come to life

If a film were made of my life, I’d be played by…
Mindy Kaling from The Mindy Project

Most people don’t know that…
I have a certificate in sailing

Everyday I make the time to…
Write

Running a successful organization takes…
Resilience

My guilty pleasure is…
Playing Nintendo

If I could change one thing about the world, it would be…
Illiteracy

I’m happiest when…
I’m by the ocean