142: Equity Matters: This is Not An Academic Exercise w/ Meenakshi Verma-Agrawal, MPH

Interview with Meenakshi Verma-Agrawal, MPH

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Highlights from this episode:

1. Importance of being historical, structural, and explicit
2. Race, ethnicity, identity and how it intersects with public health
3. Importance of narratives and shaping narratives in our history and how that materialized in our public health work
4. Public Health perspective changing from behavioral to focus on structural issues

Episode 142 of Public Health Careers

Meenakshi Verma-Agrawal, MPH is the associate professor of practice at Simmons University and racial equity justice center. She has promotes and practices explicit, structural analysis of the impact of racism on health, education, housing, and other systemic outcomes.

Meenakshi got her Bachelors of Science in Biology at University of Massachusetts Amherst then a Master of Public Health at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She then became a Fellow at America India Foundation before transitioning into a Program Director of JP Asthma Environmental Initiative.

She then became Program Director AVSAR in Mumbai, India. Then worked as an Analyst at Division of Healthcare & Finance Policy, then a Program Officer at Deshpande Foundation, then as a Part Time Development Director at Healthworks Community Fitness, and then a Trainer at Community Health Education Center

She worked in the consultant capacity for Metrowest Health Foundation and The Social Innovation Forum. Then she became a Program Coordinator at Nonprofit Consultant Network.

Meenakshi is now a Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Community Health Leadership at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation as well as the Associate Professor & Assistant Program Director for MPH in Health Equity at Simmons University and Racial Justice Center.