Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
Sujani Sivanantharajah, the founder of PHSPOT.org sits down with public health heroes of our time to share career stories, inspiration, and guidance for building public health careers.
The message she hopes to share through these conversations is that building a career is not only about climbing up the ranks, but about crafting a life that you want, around your unique needs, and one that gives importance to your mental health, wellbeing, and building relationships and friendships: you can only do good in the world if you take care of yourself.
Through PH SPOTlight, you will connect with peers you have never met before, and build relationships in a deep and meaningful way.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 36 minutes
- Episodes
- 173
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
Figuring out what you like and don’t like: how being a personal trainer kickstarted a public health career, with Jeff Button
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Jeff Button, a public health emergency preparedness specialist. They discuss Jeff’s career journey fro…
What you need to build your public health career: a purpose driven path and belief in yourself, with Maudra Brown
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Maudra Brown, the founder and CEO of MRB Public Health Consulting. They discuss Maudra’s various work …
Taking the long road: from construction to public health, with Brock Turner
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Brock Turner, a health and human sciences educator at Purdue University. They talk about transitioning…
Building a clinical medicine and global health career, with pediatric infectious diseases specialist Sarah Labuda
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Sarah Labuda, a physician and medical epidemiologist focusing on global health. They discuss Sarah’s p…
Preparation meets opportunity: career strategies to land dream jobs and the importance of mentorship, with WHO Epidemiologist, Alice Simniceanu
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Alice Simniceanu, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the World Health Organization. They discuss …
Getting out of your comfort zone: teacher to public health researcher, with Stephanie L. Verna
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Stephanie Verna, a former physical education and health teacher and current public health professional…
The Power of Community: The Public Health Career Club Launches Soon [BONUS]
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Since the launch of PH SPOT in 2017, we've been working to answer this question: How do we support and guide you in building your dream publi…
Building a public health career across three continents and the importance of a strong support network, with Public Health Lecturer and Researcher, Ritika Tiwari
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Ritika Tiwari, a lecturer in Public Health at the University of Greenwich. They discuss Ritika’s educa…
Doing something not done before: a career built on a passion for teaching and One Health, with Veterinarian, Entrepreneur and Author, Deborah Thomson
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Deborah Thomson, the founder of One Health Lessons. They discuss the various titles Deborah has held, …
Quick Career Tip: Networking - To create opportunities for yourself, you need to create opportunities for others
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This is a QUICK CAREER TIPS episode: short podcast episodes spotlighting a career tip for public health professionals.
Today’s career tip is o…
Getting to know the director of Canada’s first Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program + personal reflections running the program, with Theodore (Ted) Witek Jr.
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Ted Witek Jr., the director of the DrPH program at Dalla Lana. They discuss Ted’s diverse career journ…
Career reflections after 43 years in the workforce, with Pegeen Walsh
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Pegeen Walsh, the former Executive Director for the Ontario Public Health Association. They discuss he…
Expressing myself through my public health work, with Medical Doctor, Entrepreneur, and Master of Public Health + Medical Law & Ethics Student Wubrest Bekele
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Wubrest Bekele, a physician, health media producer, medical law and public health student amongst othe…
Quick Career Tip: Here’s how to find jobs in the hidden job market
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This is a QUICK CAREER TIPS episode: short podcast episodes spotlighting a career tip for public health professionals.
Today’s career tip is o…
Don’t sell yourself short - you got this! A pep talk with Micaela, Tara, and Sujani
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In this episode, Sujani is joined by Tara and Micaela to give a pep talk for all those who might be experiencing a slump in their education o…
How to bring your public health passion to life - from teacher to public health student at Yale, with Neal Patel
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Neal Patel, a current MPH student and former teacher. Neal shares an inspiring story of what led him t…
Network widely to build your public health career, with Kimberly Jocelyn
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Kimberly Jocelyn, a Public Health Analyst at the CDC. They discuss Kimberly’s path into public health,…
Redefining Rest for Public Health Professionals, with Marissa McKool
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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Marissa McKool, the founder and creator of McKool Coaching and the Redefining Rest Podcast for Public …
Quick Career Tips - Here are the questions you need to ask at your next informational interview
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Today’s career tip is on informational interviews!
Knowing what kind of career you want to one day have can give you a strong sense of contr…
Using Twitter as an academic public health researcher, with Kira E. Riehm
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In this episode, Sujani is back again with Kira Riehm, a psychiatric epidemiologist and a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Epidemiolo…