Where does your public health work take you?
I work out of the Richmond Downtown office right next to the fabulous Comms team. It’s really easy to catch a bus to almost any corner of Richmond since the office is so close to the GRTC downtown transfer station. It’s almost like it was planned that way!
Where did you work before public health?
I worked in sustainability and land conservation. I was a community engagement manager, planning strategic communications, fundraising, and events like guided hikes and climate-focused educational webinars. I also did a lot of mapping and GIS.
Where do you see public health needs in our communities?
When it comes to public health and the environment, it’s all connected. In neighborhoods that don’t have street trees to keep them cool, sidewalks, bike lanes, and bus service to get people to jobs or doctors’ appointments, and no place to connect with neighbors and friends, people’s health is going to suffer. Communities need these things to stay healthy.
Where do you find rest or rejuvenation?
One of the most beautiful places in Richmond is the Carillon Woods at Byrd Park. It’s one of the only patches of old-growth forest (over 100-year-old trees) left in Richmond. The forested paths there are a great place to connect with nature and recharge.
Random Round!
Hot breakfast, cold breakfast, or no breakfast? Meal-prepping a hot breakfast is a game-changer.
What are you reading, watching, or listening to right now? I’m reading the Monk and Robot Series by Becky Chambers. I just finished the first one A Psalm for the Wild-Built and loved it. A queer tea monk leaves their seemingly utopian life on a quest for lost nature. Perfect for the environmentally minded folks out there.
Would you rather be a ghost or a dog? Hmmm…Dog.