Interview with Kierra Sarfo-Kantanka, MPH
Listen Here:
Highlights from this episode:
- How the arts gave Kierra a voice, while public health gave her the systems-thinking lens to understand and address health inequities.
- Why Kierra transitioned from a pre-med path to public health and ultimately built a career combining research, creativity, and health equity.
- How Data & Narrative Co bridges public health data with storytelling and lived experience to create more meaningful community impact.
- How her debut documentary, Women with the Issue of Blood, uses women’s stories to spotlight gaps in gynecological and reproductive healthcare.
- Why listening to patients and communities can reveal realities that health statistics alone may miss.
- How film and digital media can make public health information more accessible, build empathy, and help combat misinformation.
Episode 265 of Public Health Careers
Kierra is the Founder and Executive Director of Data & Narrative Co. and the Creative Director behind Public Health Kie.
She is a public health researcher, health equity advocate, and creative storyteller who is passionate about making public health more accessible and impactful. Through her work she uses data, storytelling, and digital media to amplify conversations around health equity and community well-being.
She earned her Bachelor of Science in Community Health and Preventive Medicine at George Mason University. After graduating she worked as an Applied Behavior Analyst at Little Leaves, a Care Coordinator at Unity Healthcare, and as a Clinical Research Coordinator at Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center.
Kierra earned her Master of Public Health in the concentration of epidemiology from Florida International University.
She worked as a Program Manager at Uniformed Services University Consortium for Health & Military Performance (Warrior Heat & Exertion-Related Events Collaborative), followed by as a Clinical Instructor at Uniformed Services University.
Links from show
Women with The Issue of Blood (Website, Instagram)
Women with The Issue of Blood Trailer
Testing the CRAAP out of your resources
Connect with Guest
Kierra Sarfo-Kantanka, MPH on LinkedIn
Public Health Kie Instagram
Public Health Kie YouTube
Email: Publichealthkie@gmail.com