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 Emily
Anderson:
While pursuing a degree in clinical
laboratory science, I came across the global health certificate
program. I had the opportunity to take a couple of the classes during
my undergrad years. My interest in global health took me to Uganda on
the field experience immediately after graduation. This was my first
journey out of the country. While working in the field as a medical
technologist, I was able to complete the certificate, gaining an
incredible amount of insight and knowledge from the trans-disciplinary
nature of the program. Having the opportunity to be involved in the
certificate program has given me the background and understanding the
provision of health care globally.
Travelling to Uganda and now
having completed the certificate, I am interested in further
understanding the role of diagnostic/clinical laboratories in developing
countries. Ultimately, I would love to get involved with the
development and implementation of laboratory services in developing
countries.
 Michelle
Buelow:
I'm currently a third year medical student interested in
underserved populations- both in developing countries, and here in the
US. I hope to combine the two in my future practice. My field
experience included a 10 week trip to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where I
continued my work with Walking With Children, a foundation for children
living with and vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. I performed a needs-based
assessment of the HIV/AIDS community in order to justify future
funding. In addition, I worked on a public health campaign against
dengue fever and shadowed an infectious disease physician in both public
and private hospitals. Feel free to contact me if you're interested in
working in Honduras!
 Tara
Carolfi:
My interest in global issues led me to a B. A. in
International Studies and Political Sciences as well as several years of
working abroad in Senegal, France, and Italy. These experiences led me
to pursue and complete both a MPH and Global Health Certificate in one
year as an accelerated student, including my summer work with the WHO in
Italy. My public health interests include environmental health
especially food security, food safety, and nutrition, in addition to
advocacy work for pancreatic cancer research. After I complete my MPH
degree this August, I hope to continue working in Global Health or
nutrition for a non profit organization.
 Caitlin
Cotter:
I am a student in the UW School of Veterinary Medicine,
class of 2009. My interests include global health, animal use and
husbandry in community settings, the control of zoonotic diseases in
developing nations, cultural anthropology, outdoor activities, and
international travel. My participation in the UW Summer Field
School for the Study of Language, Culture, and Community Health in
Ecuador during the summer of 2007 inspired growth of my interests in
global health and international veterinary medicine. Field
activities provided opportunities for a better understanding of rural
communities and the animals living within them, traditional Andean
medicine, and the involvement of Western medicine in Ecuador. This
field course was also an opportunity to study the Spanish language in an
immersion setting. I am working with clinical global veterinary
medicine at the Fondouk (Arabic for ‘shelter’ or ‘stable’) veterinary
clinic in Fez, Morocco during the fall of 2008, and I look forward to
broadening my experiences, interests, and abilities in global health.
Constance Gundacker:
I am currently a second year medical student.
My interest in global health started on a humanitarian trip to Guatemala
in high school. A study abroad program in the Dominican Republic
focusing on Latin American Health and Nutrition issues led to a change
in my educational focus from elementary education to Spanish and
medicine. I taught fourth grade in Guatemala for a year before
beginning medical school. For my field experience I traveled to
Tepatitlan, Mexico this past summer to explore factors affecting
childhood injuries in agricultural settings. I plan on doing a rotation
abroad during fourth year and hope to practice in an underserved area in
the states or abroad when I graduate.
 Nathan Gundacker:
Received his
BS in Social Work from the University of WI-Madison. He then went on to
live in Guatemala for 1 year teaching middle school math and science.
He is currently in the MD program at the University of WI School of
Medicine and Public Health and is also completing his Certificate in
Global Health
Jaime Kapur:
I am currently a
PGY-3 resident in the General Surgery residency progam at UW. In
our program, we are given the option of doing a 2 year research
fellowship and can take a break from most of our clinical duties. Over
that time, I was able to get linked up with Dr. Michael Fleming, a
physician in the Dept of Family Medicine, and get funded under his T-32
training grant to do some research work in Ethiopia. I worked closely
with one of our surgical faculty, Dr Girma Tefera, to collaborate with
two teaching hospitals in Addis Ababa and attempt to set up a simplified
trauma registry at each place. Over the last two years I traveled to
Ethiopia four times to do this work. In between travel, I took classes
to complete a Global Health Certificate and worked on an additional
clinical project. I am now back in clinical residency with three years
left in my training. Prior to residency, I had the opportunity to work
in Togo, West Africa, for two months on a fourth year medical student
elective and thoroughly enjoyed my time there as well. In the future, I
would like to dedicate time, whether on a short term or possibly long
term basis, working in the developing world as a general surgeon.
 Stephanie
Kays:
I am a speech language pathologist with an interest in
geriatrics and swallowing disorders. I completed my field
experience for the Certificate in Global Health this spring, when I
spent 3 months in Kampala, Uganda. During this time, I worked with
Linda Baumann to develop culturally appropriate diabetes education
materials including a foot care poster. I also spent six weeks
conducting a needs assessment of grandparent caregivers for the
organization Grandmothers Beyond Borders, and organizing art workshops
for the aged. I recently moved to Seattle, Washington.
Raisa Kolton:
 I
am currently in my second year of the MPH program and just completed my
field experience on the coast of Ecuador where I worked on an
environmental health assessment of two rural villages. The assessment
consisted of household level surveys, water quality testing and spatial
analysis.
I have a strong interest in infectious diseases and
epidemiology. Specifically, I am interested in learning more about
communicable disease risk in intravenous drug users and the availability
of needle-exchange programs. I have noticed that this is a large and
growing concern in some Eastern European countries, specifically in
Russia. I am currently looking for post-graduate opportunities in this
area, locally or internationally.
Diana Lardy:
I have been interested in global health since traveling
in Asia in my early twenties. I subsequently attended medical school and
since then have worked in subsaharan Africa with a few short stints in
Central America intermittently for about seven years. I am planning to
return to Africa in the next year.
 Amber
Leavitt:
My name is Amber Leavitt and I am currently pursuing a
PharmD, Certificate of Global Health, and most recently a Masters of
Public Health. This past summer I participated in the Ecuador Field
Experience; through this program I assisted in providing first aid kits
and basic first aid training to two indigenous communities. This
project helped me realize how much time and energy goes into even minor
interventions. I am interested in learning what role pharmacy plays on
a global scale. I also hope to help expand the role of pharmacists in
the US and abroad.
 Christi
Liesch:
I am currently a 3rd year pharmacy
student looking forward to graduating in May of 2010. I have interest
in public health and global health work. I will be applying for a
pharmacy residency and am considering infectious disease as my
specialty. I traveled to Ecuador and Peru during the summer of 2008
that opened my eyes and heart to global health.
Fran Moore:
Dr.
Moore is a graduate of the University of Georgia College of Veterinary
Medicine. She was
in small and large animal practice before completing a postdoctoral
fellowship in comparative
pathology at Harvard Medical School. She was an assistant
professor in pathology at Harvard
Medical School and at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine,
and was formerly the
director of the clinical pathology laboratory at Angell Memorial Animal
Hospital in Boston. She is
a diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists in both
anatomic and clinical
pathology. Her professional interests are in infectious and zoonotic
disease public health and food safety. She is currently collaborating
with faculty from the Universidad de Guadalajara to develop laboratory
capacity for human and veterinary diagnostics and food safety. Dr.
Moore has been the director of Marshfield Clinic Labs, Veterinary
Division since 1991.
 Scott
Nash:
I
spent a few weeks during the summer of 2007 working with an
epidemiological study in central Tanzania as part of my field experience
for the Global Health Certificate program. Our research project was a
household survey to assess the environmental components of trachoma
transmission. Trachoma is the leading cause of preventable blindness
worldwide. I had previously been in Tanzania as a Peace Corps volunteer
from 2001-2003. Currently, I am a PhD student in the Department of
Population Health Sciences with a focus in epidemiology
 Melissa
Natzke:
I am originally from Tigerton, WI which is a very small
town in central Wisconsin. I had the opportunity to do my field
experience in Uganda as part of a three-week study abroad course. The
highlight of my trip was by far working in a small rural clinic in the
town of Ndejje. We had the chance to meet a lot of health care
providers and work with patients from the surrounding area. We also had
the opportunity to talk with middle and high school students in the
local school about everything from what America is like to safe sex and
how to prevent HIV. I am currently duel enrolled in the Doctor of
Pharmacy program and the Master of Public Health program. I hope to be
able to go back to Uganda in the near future.
Amy Rakestraw:
I’m a pediatric physical therapist who has specialized in
maternal-child health, issues related to prematurity, and infectious
diseases that cause neurological deficits. I’m finishing a Master’s in
Public Health this spring, after conducting research on public health
issues facing the Maasai in southern Kenya in summer 2008. I will be
traveling to Uganda immediately after graduation to investigate the
possibility of arranging an international clinical rotation for UW’s
physical therapy students.
Joanna Rueth:
I graduated from the University of Wisconsin- Madison in
2005 with a degree in Medical Microbiology and Immunology. I have
worked at the Wisconsin State Laboratory in the Bacteriology department
since graduating. I completed my field work with the field course
in Thailand in the summer of 2008. I am currently a first year
medical student at Penn State University.
Will Sander:
Since high school, I have been interested in wildlife and
zoo medicine preferring to treat animals before people especially those
animals whose populations are in need. I graduated from Colby College
in 2004 and spent a year at the National Institutes of Health using
primate models to work on various blood disorders. Being exposed to
human health through animals, I found the field of public health to be
fascinating. As I started veterinary school, I talked with many of the
zoo and exotics clinicians who all had a focus in conservation medicine
and public health. It made me realize how integrally tied wildlife
medicine and human medicine are.
I have always had an interest in international work
and I knew that if my interests carried me to public health, I would
want to work with the most in need populations. I had previously spent
time in Ecuador and Guatemala working on service projects before
veterinary school and the interests came together during the Global
Health Certificate. I was part of a program in the summer of 2007 called
Envirovet. The focus of the program was on the wildlife medicine: human
interface, legislation, global changes, diseases and solutions in both
terrestrial and aquatic settings. The summer program culminated with a
trip to South Africa for 3 weeks to work with one of the world’s leading
wildlife veterinarians. Although a good portion of the time was spent
immobilizing and translocating megafauna, we also spent time in
communities helping to provide rabies vaccinations to dogs, deworming
and testing cattle for Brucella, Foot and Mouth Disease, and bovine
tuberculosis. We also talked about the viewpoints and laws of South
Africa and the racial divide that still exists. The entire experienced
provided a great cap to a certificate that has broadened my perspective
and will help steer me in the future in my career.
 Alison
Sanders: Through my work with Engineers Without
Borders at UW-Madison (http://www.ewbuw.org/node/20?project_id=5)
I spent two years fostering a collaboration with the Red Cliff Band of
Lake Superior Chippewa while earning a Masters Degree in Environmental
Engineering. With its unique geographical location, the Red Cliff
community continues to suffer from annual flooding due to strong storms
and snowmelt. The project aims to provide groundwater drainage and storm
water management infrastructure in a new cemetery on the Red Cliff
reservation and is on-going. EWB UW-Madison remains in close contact
with health care personnel in Red Cliff to identify collaborations that
address health issues affecting the Tribe in the coming years. It is
important to me that public health efforts reach deserving communities
within the U.S. and continue to provide unique experiences for UW
students. I am honored to and have truly enjoyed my experience working
with Red Cliff Tribal members and I am hopeful for the future of this
collaboration with students at UW-Madison.
My other interests include water quality in
developing countries, environmental justice and policy.
My work with the Red Cliff Tribe and with the
Global Health Certficate led me to pursue a PhD at UNC's Gillings School
of Global Public Health where I my research currently focuses on arsenic
exposed populations within the U.S. <I hope to continue working with
environmental rights and water quality issues at UNC and in my future
career.>
Partners in this project include: the Red Cliff Tribal Council and
Community, EWB-UW Madison, EWB-USA, the Indian Health Service (IHS), the
UW-Madison College of Engineering, Department of Landscape Architecture,
School of Pharmacy, and Center for Global Health.
 Stephanie
Salyer: I am currently
enrolled in the dual DVM/MPH program along with the Global Health
Certificate Program. I am interested in pursuing an international career
involving zoonotic disease research and public education. I completed the UW Ecuador Summer Field School as my
global health certificate field experience during the summer of 2007, and since then have used
that opportunity as a launching point for further international work.
With my prior experience in the
biotech, pharmaceutical, and diagnostic fields, this summer I was able
to set up an externship to perform avian influenza research in Egypt.
This following summer I will be completing my MPH field work in Uganda,
looking at conservation issues and zoonotic disease transmission.
The course work and experience I have
gained though the global health program are invaluable and have inspired
me to continue on in this field after graduation.
 Sally
Schlehlein:
I am a registered nurse working on my MPH and Certificate
of Global Health at the University of Wisconsin. I plan on graduating
in December of 2008. This past summer I had the opportunity to have an
internship in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with the Abbott Fund, the
charitable arm of Abbott Laboratories. It was an interesting experience
and a fabulous way to spend the summer. I have had an interest in
global health and work for many years and worked in Ethiopia for three
and a half years before returning to school for my MPH. I hope to
continue in that vein post graduation. I have enjoyed the program and
the contacts that I have made and believe my decision to go back to
school has been both rewarding and entertaining.
 Yulia
Semeniuk:
I am a doctoral student at the School of Nursing,
University of Wisconsin-Madison, minoring in Prevention Science with
research focus on parent and child problem solving. For my Global
Health field work I conducted a pilot study at the World Health
Organization Country Office of Ukraine. The pilot study, which was
called "Demographic Data on Youth Ages 10-24 in Kiev, Ukraine" showed
what organizations/institutions were disaggregating data on youth by
age, sex, and other variables. In the future I would like to continue
to do research in prevention science, particularly, to see how various
family strengthening programs improve parent and child problem solving
and prevent health risk behaviors among young people. A very long term
career goal is to work for an international health organization in
HIV/AIDS prevention field.
 Megan
Sheahan:
As a student in the School of Pharmacy, it was an honor
for me to be a part of this Certificate program. Working with each of
the individuals enrolled in the program was both incredibly educational
and rewarding. For my field experience, I traveled to Geneva,
Switzerland to work with the Health Technology and Pharmaceuticals
Department and the HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Cluster for three
months. Working on health policy there shifted the entire focus of my
work in the health care field. Following graduation in May, I will be
applying to Law School in hopes of continuing on with this type of
work. I am currently in DC for an internship.
 Noelle
Simatic:
I’m currently a second-year graduate student and will be
receiving my MS in Population Health Sciences in May 2009. I am also
completing the Global Health Certificate, and have really enjoyed the
opportunity to enrich my education through this program. I was able to
travel to Uganda in May/June 2008 to participate in the faculty-led
field course. While the entire trip was a life changing experience, I
treasure the time I spent in Lyantonde, a tiny rural town without
electricity or running water. I was able to volunteer at the local
hospital, distributing medical supplies and shadowing hard-working
doctors and nurses. I hope to return to Uganda one day, and also to
continue my work in global health throughout my future career as a
physician. I will be entering medical school at the Medical College of
Wisconsin in August 2009.
 Nora
Stieglitz:
My name is Nora Stieglitz. I am a recent graduate of the
University of Wisconsin-School of Pharmacy and am currently completing
an ambulatory care pharmacy residency at the William S. Middleton VA
Hospital. I was able to be a part of the three man pharmacy team for
Medical Mission Ecuador, which took place in Ambato, Ecuador during
February, 2008. The team, which consisted of ~85 members, did a variety
of surgeries at the regional hospital and also held a clinic for acute
issues for patients. Following the completion of my residency program,
I hope to take a clinical position in a setting that serves
underprivileged, Spanish-speaking patients and focus on community
education, disease prevention, and medication adherence.
 Lalita
Subramanian:
I am an assistant scientist at the University of
Wisconsin, Madison. My research on the biological activity of a natural
product has helped in the development of a non-toxic anti-cancer drug
undergoing pre-clinical and clinical studies. After a Masters in Organic
Chemistry, I worked for a pharmaceutical company in India before
deciding to pursue advanced training in basic research. I came to the US
from India as a graduate student and obtained a Ph.D. from the
Department of Biomolecular Chemistry at UW-Madison in 2005. I have since
been carrying out my post-doctoral research in the department of
Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.
Inherent to most communities, there exist native
approaches to health and healing. I was interested in learning more
about herbal medicines to see whether communities that are presently
defined as under-privileged could be empowered to look for local,
viable, sustainable cures that might then be developed, shared with or
adapted for other such communities. With this in mind, I enrolled for
the Global Health Certificate.
As a part of the program, I took classes in
Epidemiology, International Health Systems, Medical Anthropology, and a
field course in infectious diseases and public health systems in
Thailand. In rural communities there appeared to be a warmth or
familiarity that the villagers associated with people of other Asian
origins. This reinforced my belief in the importance of interactions
within regional workgroups, to effectively address health issues that
might resonate or be relevant within similar cultural contexts. The
course work during the certificate program was extremely useful to
better appreciate the many aspects of International Health. It was a
valuable experience that will stay with me and will have a positive
influence in my future career decisions.
 Carrie Thom:
My interest in global health began with my experience in Mali, West Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 2003-2005. It was here that my eyes were opened to another part of the world and also where I realized that I could best serve people by working in healthcare as a nurse. Upon my return, I enrolled in the School of Nursing here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and graduated in the spring of 2009. The Global Health Certificate Program has provided me with a great knowledge base to continue my work in international health and development.
 Jennifer
Weitzel:
My name is Jennifer Weitzel and I am a public health
nurse for the Public Health Department of Madison & Dane County as well
as a part-time clinical instructor for Edgewood College. I am enrolled
in the Master’s program at the UW in nursing. My interest in global
health issues focuses on helping to build healthcare infrastructure in
Haiti. I am the founder and current chair of Health Ministries for
Haiti, Inc., a non-profit organization that partners with Haitian
healthcare providers to enhance services. Our organization provides
medications, short-term medical clinics, training of community health
workers and training on the construction and maintenance of water
filtration systems.
 Christina
Zins Grow:
I first became interested in
community health while earning a BA in Social Welfare and Women's
Studies at UW-Madison. After graduating in 1999, my work focused on
creating greater access to health care. As a health benefits advocate
at ABC for Health in Madison, I worked with families to secure health
care coverage and fight Medicaid and private insurance claim denials.
As a health center assistant at Planned Parenthood of the Rocky
Mountains in Colorado Springs, I provided education and information to
individuals seeking family planning services. Through these
experiences, I realized that I could have a greater impact on the health
of the community as a nurse and in 2006, I decided to return to UW to
earn a BS in nursing. The Center for Global Health allowed me to expand
my studies beyond the borders of a typical nursing degree. In the
summer of 2007, I took part in a three-week Community Health Practicum
in Guererro, Mexico along with 6 other nursing students. This practicum
offered a variety of experiences to help us gain an understanding of the
Mexican health care system, traditional medicine practices in the
southern region of Mexico and specific health issues that concern the
community of Taxco. Through this experience, I was able to further
develop cross-cultural skills, have a greater understanding of existing
health care disparities, share information and resources, and develop
nursing skills. My main focus during this practicum was related to
cervical cancer prevention. I am excited about being a nurse in our
diverse global community. Currently, I live in Colorado Springs and am
a nurse at Memorial Health Systems. I plan to eventually pursue a
career in public health.
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