PHEC 449: Public Health Is Everywhere
Public Health Epidemiology Conversations
Release Date: 03/24/2026
PHEC 449: Public Health Is Everywhere
Public Health Epidemiology Conversations
Three public health professionals join Dr. Huntley for a conversation that starts with one of the questions we all get asked but don't always have a great answer for. When someone outside the field asks what public health actually is, what do you say? Alexandra Piotrowski, epidemiologist and founder of Piat Public Health, Dr. Sarah Hartzell, behavioral health researcher and advocate, and Michelle Alexander, public health advocate and quality compliance professional, each bring a distinct lens. Together they explore storytelling as a public health tool, the mental health workforce shortage,...
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PHEC 448: Defending Scientific Integrity, With Kristie Ellickson, PhD
Public Health Epidemiology Conversations
What happens when pollution, poverty, and health challenges collide in the same neighborhoods? Dr. Kristie Ellickson calls it cumulative impact, and it reveals which communities shoulder the heaviest environmental burdens. In this episode, Dr. Ellickson shares how her decades of work, combining rigorous science with lived community experience, has transformed environmental health research. From mapping pollution to co-creating tools that empower residents, she shows why community-led science is not just more accurate, but more actionable. She also tackles the current attacks on federal...
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PHEC 447: Plain Language As Resistance, With Catherine Troisi, PhD, MS
Public Health Epidemiology Conversations
After more than 600 media interviews in five years, Catherine Troisi learned a powerful truth: in public health, clarity beats credentials every time. In this compelling episode, Dr. Troisi returns to the podcast six years later to reflect on what it really means to communicate science in a politically charged world. From managing jail health programs and serving as Incident Commander during Hurricane Katrina and the H1N1 pandemic at the Houston Health Department, to navigating pandemic-era media scrutiny, she shares hard-earned lessons on translating complex epidemiology into language that...
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PHEC 446: South Carolina Is Public Health, With Keisha Long and Jessica Seel
Public Health Epidemiology Conversations
What if the people already doing public health just don’t know it yet? In this energizing conversation, Dr. Huntley sits down with Keisha Long and Jessica Seel of the South Carolina Public Health Association to explore why public health is far broader and more personal than most people think. From environmental health to behavioral health coalitions, their journeys reveal a powerful truth: if you brushed your teeth or flushed a toilet today, you’ve already experienced public health in action. At a time of politicization and workforce challenges, this episode is a timely reminder that plain...
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PHEC 445: When Communities Define Public Health
Public Health Epidemiology Conversations
“I don’t feel seen when I’m here.” When a Native Hawaiian elder says this during a diabetes appointment, it exposes what data alone can never capture. In this episode, Kandis Draw, Nina Lopez, and Dr. Augustina Mensa-Kwao challenge the textbook version of public health. From end-of-life planning in Chicago to community-led research in Hawai‘i and youth mental health in Baltimore, they show what happens when we stop leading with programs and start leading with listening. This conversation is about trust before interventions, dignity alongside outcomes, and recognizing that communities...
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PHEC 444: When Agriculture Meets Allergy Prevention, With Markita Lewis, MS, RD
Public Health Epidemiology Conversations
What if we’ve been getting peanut allergies wrong all along? For years, parents were told to avoid peanuts. Schools banned them. Fear shaped policy. What if one of the most common childhood allergies could actually be prevented, with the right timing? In this powerful episode, Markita Lewis, registered dietitian and leader at the National Peanut Board, reveals the surprising science behind early peanut introduction and why most families still haven’t heard the message. Despite strong evidence that introducing peanuts around four to six months can dramatically reduce allergy risk, the gap...
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PHEC 443: Grief As A Public Health Issue, With Laura Vargas, MSW
Public Health Epidemiology Conversations
What if grief isn’t just personal, but a public health crisis hiding in plain sight? In this episode, Laura Vargas makes a powerful case for treating grief as a core public health priority. Drawing from her work supporting thousands of people navigating loss, especially substance-related deaths, she reveals how unaddressed grief fuels chronic disease complications, substance use, isolation, and burnout among both communities and care providers. Rather than pathologizing loss, Laura highlights the transformative power of culturally grounded peer support and community-designed spaces that help...
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PHEC 442: Science as a Human Right, With Robin Taylor Wilson, PhD, MA
Public Health Epidemiology Conversations
In this powerful episode, cancer epidemiologist Dr. Robin Taylor Wilson unpacks the troubling rise of early-onset cancers and why ignoring symptoms can come at a devastating cost. The conversation goes far beyond individual risk, touching on the public’s right to access science, what years of PFAS research are revealing about everyday chemical exposures, and why cutting cancer surveillance funding now would be a dangerous mistake. From student activism and misinformation to surprising data on trust in scientists, this episode is a timely reminder of what’s at stake when science, policy,...
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PHEC 441: Making Public Health Plain, With Emily Edgar And Nicole Vick, EdD, MPH
Public Health Epidemiology Conversations
Why is it still so hard to answer the simple question: “What is public health?” In this timely episode, Dr. Huntley is joined by two voices from different generations of the field to unpack why public health remains misunderstood and why that confusion has real consequences as budgets shrink and systems are dismantled. Emily Edgar, an MPH student in epidemiology, and Dr. Nicole D. Vick, a seasoned public health strategist and workforce advocate, offer grounded, human-centered explanations of public health rooted in collaboration, community, and equity. From One Health examples connecting...
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PHEC 440: Building Trust After Broken Promises, With Josie Williams
Public Health Epidemiology Conversations
When everything fell apart in just 30 days, Josie Williams didn’t just survive, she began questioning the systems that were supposed to help. In this powerful episode, Josie shares how her lived experience with homelessness exposed the structural barriers baked into public health and social service systems, and how that experience now shapes her work helping organizations move from good intentions to real, equitable action. From rebuilding trust to rethinking community engagement and grant timelines, this conversation challenges what health equity actually requires. If you care about systems...
info_outlineThree public health professionals join Dr. Huntley for a conversation that starts with one of the questions we all get asked but don't always have a great answer for. When someone outside the field asks what public health actually is, what do you say? Alexandra Piotrowski, epidemiologist and founder of Piat Public Health, Dr. Sarah Hartzell, behavioral health researcher and advocate, and Michelle Alexander, public health advocate and quality compliance professional, each bring a distinct lens. Together they explore storytelling as a public health tool, the mental health workforce shortage, senior loneliness, and why arming people with the right language creates ripples far beyond the conversation.
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