About Us

Oluwatobi Alliyu

PHP Fellow

osalliyu@bu.edu

Oluwatobi (Tobi) Alliyu is an MBA-MPH candidate at Boston University where she is also pursuing a certificate in Global Health Monitoring and Evaluation. Drawing from her background in anthropology, she is focused on exploring the intersection of business and global health—particularly health systems strengthening, private-public partnerships, and building capacity for evidence-based decision-making in low- and middle-income countries. When she’s not writing, she can be found dancing to Afrobeats, exploring new cafés, or pretending to be an interior designer on HGTV.

Jori Fortson

PHP Fellow

jfortson@bu.edu

Jori Fortson is an MPH candidate at the Boston University School of Public Health completing certificates in Community Assessment, Program Design, Implementation, and Evaluation and Maternal and Child Health. She is broadly interested in racial and ethnic health inequities. Jori’s primary academic interests include sexual and reproductive health, mass incarceration, and adverse childhood experiences. She is drawn to conducting participatory action research, creating community-based interventions, and communicating with diverse audiences about public health matters through media and advocacy in order to influence policy. In her free moments she enjoys traveling and trying new foods.

Julia Garcia

PHP Fellow

garciaj@bu.edu

Julia Garcia is an MPH candidate at BUSPH focusing on Health Policy and Law. Previously, Julia worked at the DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority – the District of Columbia’s health insurance marketplace – assisting DC residents enrolling in both private and public health insurance. Julia also worked on an open enrollment campaign in Texas and for the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, a non-profit organization focused on advocating for quality cancer care for all people touched by cancer. Julia is a proud Texan and graduate of Texas A&M University where she studied English and sociology.

Greg Kantor

PHP Fellow

gkantor@bu.edu

Greg Kantor is an MPH candidate at the Boston University School of Public Health, pursuing a certificate in Health Communication and Promotion. Driven by undergraduate experiences at Muhlenberg College, his primary public health passions are tobacco control and the intersection of public health and journalism. Greg also works in communications for The Health Management Academy, an organization that provides educational and advisory services to executives of the largest US health systems. A native New Yorker, Greg is an avid fan of the state’s losing sports teams — the Mets, Jets, and Islanders.

Kathleen Mitchell

Editorial Assistant

kmm181@bu.edu

Kathleen Mitchell is an MPH candidate completing her certifications in Community Assessment, Program Design, Implementation, and Evaluation and Mental Health and Substance Use. With particular interests in art, mental health, and ethics, Kathleen is interested in studying the connection between creative arts and positive mental health outcomes. Prior to studying at Boston University, Kathleen completed her B.A. in English, and enjoys spending time analyzing the relationship between literature and medicine.

Marena Sullivan

Student Advisory Board

marenas@bu.edu

Marena Sullivan is an MPH candidate at BU School of Public Health and works at BU School of Social Work on research projects designed to engage and retain people living with HIV in healthcare. Her interests include the impact of food systems on community nutrition and the use of behavior modification principles in lifestyle interventions to treat non-communicable diseases.

Rachana Talekar

Editorial Assistant, Student Advisory Board

rachanat@bu.edu

Rachana is an MPH candidate at Boston University of Public Health completing her certificate in Community Assessment, Program Designing, Implementation, and Evaluation. Her focus is working on a global platform for mental health destigmatization and reducing gender-based violence. She completed her undergraduate studies in dental medicine from India where she conducted health promotion and education programs in both urban and rural settings. In her leisure time, she loves to paint her moods and explore the city of Boston.

Ella Vanderbilt-Fried

Social Media Assistant, Student Advisory Board

evfried@bu.edu

Ella Vanderbilt-Fried is an MPH candidate completing certificates in Health Communication and Promotion and Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She is passionate about making data and research more accessible and engaging in order to promote health equity. She is also interested in research involving reproductive health, nutrition, chronic and infectious disease, social determinants of health, and health policy. Ella is originally from New York and prior to attending Boston University completed her B.A. in Psychology at The Ohio State University. She enjoys traveling, listening to podcasts, and all things pop culture/ social media.

Alex Woodruff

Student Advisory Board

aewoodru@bu.edu

Alex Woodruff is a Masters of Public Health candidate at Boston University School of Public Health with a concentration in Health Law, Policy, and Management. His primary focus is on health care policies that address substance use disorders and the opioid epidemic.

Jennifer Beard

Associate Editor

jenbeard@bu.edu

Jennifer Beard, PhD, MA, MPH, is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Global Health. She was a co-principal investigator for the multi-study Ghana Operations Research for Key Populations project. The nine qualitative studies focused on the HIV prevention and other needs of young female sex workers and their intimate partners, prisoners, men who have sex with men, post-secondary female students, women who work in bars, people who inject drugs, and people living with HIV at risk of dropping out of antiretroviral therapy.

Melissa Davenport

Deputy Editor

davenpor@bu.edu

Melissa Davenport received a BFA in painting from Rhode Island School of Design, and is completing an MLA in Legal Studies at the Harvard Extension School. Prior to her position at PHP, she was program manager at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard and operations manager at Fort Point Arts Community. Melissa is from Maine, the way life should be, and makes short nonfiction films about labor, craft, and landscape.

Nicholas Diamond

Managing Editor

njd15@bu.edu

Nicholas Diamond holds a Bachelors degree in French and Cell and Molecular Biology from Albion College and a Masters in Public Health from the Boston University School of Public Health. He speaks French and Wolof and uses storytelling as an advocacy tool for community-led movements at the intersection of HIV and LGBT rights. Nicholas has filled global health communications, research, and program implementation roles at MPact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health & Rights and Massachusetts General Hospital. Within global health, he focuses on sex, sexuality, gender, and health and testified as an expert witness at the U.S. Department of Justice to secure asylum for the Senegalese LGBT community. Follow him @NickDiamondMPH.

Michael Stein

Executive Editor

Michael Stein is the chair of the Department of Health Law, Policy & Management at the Boston University School of Public Health. He is a physician and health services researcher who is an international authority on the intersection of primary care, mental health and substance use disorders. He is author of nine books—six novels, two works of non-fiction, and a medical textbook. Long ago, he was a science policy reporter for NATURE magazine.