Alumni Profiles

Ariela Freedman

Ariela Freedman says she developed great skills as an English, drama, and debate teacher in the Chicago public school system. Her development was further enhanced as a student in the Community Health Education program in the SPH.

“At the School of Public Health I got to build on those teaching skills,” says Freedman, who graduated with a master’s degree in 2006. “It gave me the tools to do community health outreach.”

As of June 2009, Freedman was the director of health for Parents in Community Action (PICA) Head Start. Minnesota families receive comprehensive health services through the agency. “We try to make sure the families have an ongoing source of care,” she says.

Coursework Gave Her New Perspective

Freedman says her coursework gave her a different perspective on public health—particularly the Immigrant Health Issues class. “I learned how to look at issues like how different groups view physical health and why,” she says.

For her master’s project, Freedman developed a nutrition intervention program at the Wellstone International High School, which focuses on new immigrants.

She took that experience, and the curriculum she developed for her master’s program, and was able to secure a $32,000 grant that would allow her program at Head Start to teach nutrition classes at a community location in Minneapolis.

Before enrolling in the SPH, Freedman says she didn’t realize how much public health connects with housing, education, employment, and literacy. “The connections are fascinating,” she says. “I absolutely loved my program in the School of Public Health.”

Huy Pham

Huy Pham is currently the director of International Operations at American Refugee Committee (ARC) International.  Prior to holding that post, Pham served as the Africa regional manager for ARC programs in Liberia, Guinea, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and South Sudan. 

Pham has worked on public health and social development issues since 1986. He is the former director of the Children’s Rights Program at Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights. Pham oversaw two projects on global child survival in Uganda, Mexico and the U.S., and a child labor project in Nepal. 

In Vietnam, Pham worked with the Save the Children Fund/UK as a technical consultant for the group's HIV/AIDS Management and Prevention Program. 
In the mid-1980s, Pham was a Peace Corps worker in Liberia, West Africa. He returned there in 1997 to serve as an International Elections Observer with the Friends of Liberia and International Foundation for Election Systems. 

Pham received his M.P.H. in Community Health Education at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.  He completed his undergraduate work in Chemistry and Zoology at the University of Wisconsin.  Pham is co-editor of the report, Global Child Survival:  A Human Rights Priority (MAHR, 1998).

Brigid Riley

Brigid Riley is a graduate of the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minn., where she majored in psychology and communications. Currently, she is the executive director of the Minnesota Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Prevention and Parenting (MOAPPP). MOAPPP is a non-profit organization, and its mission is to develop and strengthen policies and programs that promote adolescent sexual health, prevent adolescent pregnancy and support adolescent parents.

"I first heard about MOAPPP while a CHE student, in the Legislative Advocacy course," Riley says. "I knew it had a public health approach, and aimed its work at the systems that have a direct impact on young people. I kept MOAPPP's work on my radar as I moved into my first jobs post-graduate school, and when I started working on adolescent sexual health promotion, I partnered with MOAPPP on a number of projects. I was asked to join the Board of Directors in 2002, which gave me a deeper understanding of the scope of its work."

Before joining MOAPPP, Riley worked for both the Bloomington City and Hennepin County Public Health Departments. Her work was wide-ranging, but always focused on adolescent health promotion.

"I participated in and led projects in injury prevention, alcohol, tobacco and drug use prevention, physical activity and nutrition, adolescent sexual health, and parent involvement," she says. Riley was involved in program planning and implementation, event coordination, strategic planning, grant writing, proposal reviews, report writing, budgeting, presentations, and leading collaborative efforts.

"The CHE program introduced me to the full spectrum of places in which I could work," Riley says. "The academic program was rigorous, but balanced with practical, skill-building assignments. I met other students who brought a rich work history to the program, and learned as much from them as from my courses.

"There was an emphasis on collaborative, group projects that reflected the way real-world work gets done. The connections I made with faculty members have been long lasting, and have provided me with needed information and contacts throughout my career. The opportunity to focus a good portion of my coursework on advocacy-related topics has been extremely valuable."