169: Advocacy, Policy, Research for Micronesian Islander Community with Jackie Leung PhDc, JD, MS

Interview with Jackie Leung, PhDc, JD, MS

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Highlights from this episode:

1. Community engagement work with invisible communities of sex workers and farmworkers
2. How working with immigrant farmworkers led her down the path to immigration law
3. Becoming a citycouncilperson and bringing her community engaged public health perspective
4. Growing the Micronesian Islander Community in her role as Executive Director

Episode 169 of Public Health Careers

Jackie Leung, PhDc, JD, MS is the Executive Director of the Micronesian Islander Community as well as being a PhD candidate in Public Health at Oregon State University. She has an interest in global health and public health, particularly healthcare access, utilization, and policy research. She has a background in human rights and immigration law and nonprofit leadership.

She conferred a Bachelor English at California State University, Los Angeles. Jackie then got her Masters in Community and Behavioral health at University of Iowa. During her time here she worked with migrant farmworkers and sex workers around community education and health education.

Jackie then pursued her JD (Juris Doctor), Law at Willamette University College of Law. However, she did not complete the bar which she talks about transparently on the show. During her time here, she was an Extern at Oregon Commission on Black Affairs/Governor’s Office/Oregon Department of Education, an Extern & Volunteer at Marion County Legal Counsel, and an Extern & Operations and Policy Analyst 1 at Oregon Department of Health.

She then had two fellowships. One as a Summer Research Fellow at Oregon Climate, and a Hatfield Resident Fellow – Oregon Department of Transportation, Transportation Safety Division. She also was a Writer in Resident at Ms. JD where she spoke about her journey and experiences during law school as a mom.

She then became a Project Manager at Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon. She also became a City Councilman at City of Salem.

Jackie is the Executive Director at Micronesian Islander Community, works as Assistant Professor at Linfield University, and is a PhD candidate in Public Health at Oregon State University.