Students of Color for Public Health.
Mission/Vision Statement
The BUSPH Students of Color for Public Health (SCPH) is a student organization that exists to engage, support, and amplify the experiences of current BUSPH students of color, as well as individuals and communities of color in the Boston area. SCPH works to collaborate with diverse groups, especially those with an interest in health disparities and inequities, in order to promote an inclusive and justice-oriented learning community that explores social determinants of health on an individual, interpersonal, community and institutional level.
Goals and Objectives
- Build community and network for students of color through…
- Monthly gatherings that are fun and build lasting friendships.
- Showcasing the work students of color are doing, both academic and in practice.
- Building a network of previous and current students, faculty, and professionals of color for mentorship and potential job opportunities.
- Serve Our City/Community by…
- Frequently hosting community service events with different organizations.
- Building relationships with local organizations through which students can then potentially work, fulfill their practicum requirements, or complete projects supported by Activist Lab Impact Grants.
- Collaborating with student organizations, faculty, staff, and community members to address public health issues affecting under-resourced populations.
- Be a resource for BUSPH by…
- Assisting in building a narrative of the growing students of color body at BUSPH for prospective students, in partnership with the admissions office.
- Being involved in the planning and development of school-wide diversity, inclusion and equity initiatives and events.
- Partnering with BUSPH on how to continue to make the university a person of color friendly environment.
Students of Color for Public Health Fall 2022 Executive Board:
Tomeka Frieson (she/her), President
Tomeka, President
Certificate(s):Community Assessment, Program Design, Implementation, and Evaluation (CAPDIE); Maternal and Child Health
Pronouns: She/her
Tomeka is an MPH student studying CAPDIE and Maternal and Child Health. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Tomeka loves spending time learning more about her Black history. In the realm of maternal and child health, Tomeka has worked on initiatives ranging from supporting Black Breastfeeding Week in New Haven, CT, to working in Boston Medical Center’s Pediatric Emergency Department as a Health Promotion Advocate. She is excited to be able to learn more about the field of maternal and child health while at BUSPH. As President, Tomeka is looking forward to supporting fun events, conversations, and community activities where students of color can thrive, relax, and learn more about themselves and each other. In her free time, you can find Tomeka singing, dancing, exploring Boston, or searching for some way to be in nature.
Natasha Sohni (she/her), Vice President
Natasha, Vice President
Certificate(s):Health Policy and Law; Human Rights and Social Justice
Pronouns: She/her
Natasha is a first year MPH student who plans on concentrating in Health Policy & Law and Human Rights & Social Justice. She is Indian American, grew up in Rochester, MN, and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. Natasha loves music, writing (you can follow her blog at natashasohni.com), and traveling. She is very outgoing, and loves deep & existential conversations. Natasha hopes to use her public health degree to work with children who face adverse childhood experiences and provide resources for those in marginalized communities!
Nidhi Bandrapalli (she/her), Secretary
Nidhi, Secretary
Certificate(s): Healthcare Management
Pronouns: She/her
Nidhi is a first-year MPH candidate pursuing Healthcare Management. She is originally from San Francisco, CA, and received her B.S. in Public Health Science from Santa Clara University in 2019. Prior to starting graduate school, Nidhi worked for Forward Health, a San Francisco based Preventative Healthcare Tech Startup. Throughout her time, she assisted with the company’s physician recruiting initiatives while developing their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Nidhi hopes to integrate a stronger DEI lens into the healthcare system, increase the operational efficiency of hospitals, and reduce the cost of care especially for our most vulnerable populations. In her free time, you can catch her at the gym, hanging out with friends, modeling, and exploring Boston’s many coffee shops! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Nidhi at nbandra@bu.edu or on LinkedIn to connect!
Adaeze Okorie (she/her), Treasurer
Adaeze, Treasurer
Certificate(s): Community Assessment, Program Design, Implementation, and Evaluation (CAPDIE)
Pronouns: She/her
Adaeze is a first year MPH student concentrating in CAPDIE. She was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and grew up in NH after immigrating to the US with her parents. Her faith journey, as well as experiences working in advocacy, antiracist education, and community health has led her to pursue a career as a servant leader in the field of public health. She wants her career to focus on empowering and meeting the needs of historically underserved communities and systemically marginalized groups. Her goal is to promote health equity and social justice by bringing together antiracist practices/policies and public health community interventions. Some of her favorite things to talk about with others are: her faith journey, poetry, her latest YouTube binges, Jermaine… COLE, and the show A Different World. She loves connecting with people and is grateful to be part of the amazing community at BUSPH!
Neha Hanumanthiah (she/her), Communications Coordinator
Neha, Communications Coordinator
Certificate(s): Health Communication and Promotion
Pronouns: She/her
Neha is in her second semester of the MPH program. She graduated this past May from Saint Louis University where she studied Health Management and Policy, Public Health, and Spanish. Neha loves dance, poetry, writing, traveling, photography, and cooking delicious plant-based food! She hopes to use her public health degree to spread health science information and data in a way that effectively informs and empowers the public. She has special interests in health journalism, maternal and child health, food justice, and addressing the health disparities that exist within immigrant populations.
Alyssa Ton (she/her), Events Coordinator
Alyssa, Events Coordinator
Certificate(s): Health Policy & Law
Pronouns: She/her
Alyssa is a first year MPH student who plans on having a career in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry doing health economics and outcomes research, commercialization, and regulatory work to strive for equitable access to high quality- affordable medications. She is from northern Virginia and studied biochemistry at Virginia Tech. Alyssa enjoys exercising, especially trying new workout classes, cooking, going on walks, and thrifting! She is excited and grateful for an opportunity to collaborate with others, and grow a beautiful, diverse social network via BU SCPH!
Noor A. Safar (she/her), Newsletter Curator
Noor, Newsletter Curator
Certificate(s): Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Pronouns: She/her
Noor is a first-year MPH student who plans to concentrate in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Through this program, she hopes to better understand the role that epidemiological data plays in informing, shaping, and promoting public health. Noor is especially interested in learning more about ongoing health disparities and how current healthcare systems in place, both locally and globally, work to correct or contribute to these inequities. In her spare time, she loves to read, write (mostly draft) poetry, and spend quality time with her family and friends; she’s been making attempts to “love” going on walks too. As the incoming Newsletter Curator, Noor is excited to offer students of color at BUSPH resources that will help them connect and grow during their time here.
Tania López (she/her), First Year Representative
Tania, First Year Representative
Certificate(s): Community Assessment, Program Design, Implementation, and Evaluation (CAPDIE)
Pronouns: She/her
Tania is a CAPDIE certificate student in her first year of MPH. She grew up in Framingham, Massachusetts, after her family relocated from Mexico in order for her to receive a life-saving kidney transplant. Since then, she had numerous experiences negotiating the complexities of the health-care system as an immigrant. Tania set out the goal of advocating and educating the immigrant population about their rights. She gained practical expertise dealing with these communities through working for a variety of non-profit organizations. Those who make the fewest requests have the greatest need. In her spare time, she enjoys painting organs and using them to promote organ donation. She is delighted to be a part of SCPH and to connect the BUSPH community with interactive events and resources.
Yvette Cozier, Faculty Advisor
Yvette, Faculty Advisor
Dr. Cozier is currently an investigator on the Black Women’s Health Study (BWHS) and the BWHS Sarcoidosis Study at the Slone Epidemiology Center. Her research interests include social and genetic determinants of health in African-American women — specifically, the influence of factors such as racism, neighborhood socioeconomic status, and genetics in the development of cancer, cardiovascular risk, and pulmonary (sarcoidosis) disease. Additional research interests include oral health, and the role that the faith community, particularly the black church, plays in health promotion/disease prevention efforts associated with HIV/AIDS, hypertension, and obesity.
Associate Professor of Epidemiology
Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice
Diversity & Inclusion
Upcoming Events
Events Calendar Coming Soon!
Students of Color For Public Health Newsletters
Our Students of Color for Public Health (SCPH) student organization has created monthly newsletters in an effort to keep both staff and students on the same page for all opportunities, events, and activities for our SCPH and BUSPH community. We are excited to present you with the first and second edition of our monthly SCPH Newsletter!
In these newsletters, you will find upcoming SCPH events, previous months highlights, and everything you need to know for other important SCPH and community announcements. Each month, we will also feature a community highlight where we spotlight a local business, organization, or person doing great work in the community and that we hope you will support or find interesting! Feel free to check out our newsletters and give us feedback if you have suggestions for events, requests for announcements, or ideas for community spotlights for future editions!
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