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Nancy Andrade, the recipient of the school’s 2025 Doctor of Public Health Achievement Award, says the DrPH program has enriched her knowledge and skills across key areas, including epidemiology, research methods and more.
Name: Nancy Andrade
Hometown: Seekonk, Mass.
Undergraduate and master’s degrees and institutions:
I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies and Spanish from Providence College and my Master of Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.
Tell us about your current position and role in public health:
I am currently a Health Scientist for a national public health agency. I work in the field of cardiovascular health and oversee applied research and translation projects. In other words, I translate what the research says into resources and tools to help practitioners implement evidence-based initiatives.
What led you to choose the Georgia State School of Public Health’s DrPH program?
My previous degrees were not public health focused, so I wanted a strong academic foundation in public health leadership. I spoke with current students when I was considering programs, and they shared positive feedback about the coursework, the program’s community feel and the commitment program leadership had to grow and improve the program. I also spoke with Dr. Harry Heiman and was encouraged to hear about the program’s commitment to training in health equity and support of students who are working professionals and want to explore growing interests. Additionally, though I had built a life and community in Atlanta, I have never worked at the local level, so I was also interested in learning more about public health needs and efforts in Atlanta and in Georgia more broadly. This all led me to choose Georgia State’s DrPH program, and I am confident I made the right choice for me.
Tell us about some of your most valuable experiences in the DrPH program.
My most valuable experiences facilitated my learning and skill-building in real-world settings. In my “Leadership and Practice” course, my final course project team and I developed a strategic plan that helped a state public health agency collect health equity data. I participated in the School of Public Health’s study abroad program in Salvador, Brazil in which I was able to learn about the Brazilian paradigm of collective health and how it can inform public health efforts in the United States. Through working with a non-profit agency dedicated to environmental concerns in northeast Oklahoma for my “Community-Based Participatory Action Research” course, I contributed to a successful proposal to obtain funding to collect environmental health data. Finally, I’ve learned skills through my courses that I’ve been able to apply to my day job, for example, policy analysis and conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses. I’ve also learned immensely from the expertise and experiences of my fellow classmates.
How is the DrPH program at Georgia State helping prepare you for leadership roles in public health?
The program has provided me with some foundational knowledge and skills in public health that I previously lacked in the areas of epidemiology, research methods, public health ethics and finance. Course projects and my dissertation have allowed me to build my expertise in responding to the health effects of extreme weather, which I hope to apply to a leadership role in the future. Furthermore, the program has taught me how to weigh the many factors that contribute to effective public health decision-making. Finally, the program has built my resilience and grit, which I think are two essential traits for an effective leader. During my time in this doctoral program, I experienced the tail end of a pandemic, became a new parent and managed the intense challenges facing the field of public health in 2025...all while working full-time. It’s been no small feat!