The Public Health Workforce is Not OK

When the Door Slams Anyway: A tale of frustration from an early-career public health professional who has done all the right things - Voices…

An early-career public health professional asks what happens when a generation trained for public health finds the doors shut.

Nov 10 • 

Dr. Katie Schenk

 and 

Annika Peterson

16

10

5

When Equity Is Aspirational, Not Operational: Rebuilding identity when the system that once needed you lets you go - Voices #20

A public health strategist draws on her lived experience to examine how systemic inequities and workforce instability undermine the public health…

Nov 3 • 

Dr. Katie Schenk

6

1

2

October 2025

From an HR Manager’s Desk: A Love Letter to the Public Health Workforce - Love Letter #10

A public health HR manager writes a heartfelt love letter to her workforce, honoring their resilience and calling for a workplace where well-being…

Oct 27 • 

Dr. Katie Schenk

2

1

🍂 Seasons of Change 🍂: A Love Letter to Public Health in Transition - Love Letter #9

A public health professional reflects on how a changing and uncertain landscape has reshaped her path, reminding us that even amid instability, our…

Oct 20 • 

Dr. Katie Schenk

5

1

Will This Path Still Exist?: A public health student’s elegy for a fragile sector - Love Letter #8

In this poignant addition to our Love Letters to Public Health series, a public health student turns to poetry to process the uncertainty facing our…

Oct 13 • 

Dr. Katie Schenk

9

1

Pride and Pressure: A Journey Through the Highs and Lows of Public Health - Love Letter #7

A public health leader reflects upon a career that began with pride and purpose, but now carries the weight of exhaustion, disillusionment, and the…

Oct 6 • 

Dr. Katie Schenk

2

2

September 2025

A Lifeline in Uncertain Times: A Love Letter to Public Health - Love Letter #6

A health educator from a county health department reflects upon how public health and the science behind it has been a lifeline through challenging…

Sep 29 • 

Dr. Katie Schenk

 and 

Meagan Rico

7

2

Public Health and Science Meet Personal Crisis: Navigating Job Loss and Fertility at an Uncertain Time - Voices #19

An epidemiologist lays bare the vulnerabilities of navigating unemployment while also undergoing fertility treatment, during a time when science is…

Sep 22 • 

Dr. Katie Schenk

 and 

Beth Linas

8

2

Dispatches from the Roach Motel: A New Yorker’s Tale of Public Health - Voices #18

A New York City–based public health professional recounts her long battle with a cockroach infestation, revealing systemic failures in housing…

Sep 15 • 

Dr. Katie Schenk

 and 

Maya Nussenzweig

4

1

Gaslit by Corporations, Ignited by Community: Reclaiming Public Health - Voices #17

A public health consultant argues that confronting corporate power and investing in community organizing are the missing ingredients for turning public…

Sep 8 • 

Dr. Katie Schenk

 and 

Vinu Ilakkuvan

2

2

Living Through Retribution: Reflections on fear, backlash, and the future of the public health workforce - Voices #16

A public health professional at CDC reflects on how political retribution, pandemic backlash, and systemic fragility are leaving society deeply…

Sep 1 • 

Dr. Katie Schenk

8

5

3

August 2025

The Value of a Promise: A Spoken Word Poem - Love Letter #5

An emotionally resonant poem captures the spirit of global public health with clarity and grace, offering a reflection on the values and commitments…

Aug 25 • 

Dr. Katie Schenk

4

1