Welcome to the Spring/Summer 2013 edition of the School of Public Health's magazine, Interaction. Public health is all around us. Clean drinking water, safe food and workplace safety are just some of the examples. Public health safety and prevention efforts not only save lives, but also reduce medical costs and offer significant return on investment. In this edition, we mirror the theme of National Public Health Week this year by spotlighting the efforts of students and alumni working to save lives and earn a return on investment for their public health prevention efforts.

We hope you enjoy the Interaction.

FEATURE ARTICLES

An Enlisted Food Safety Soldier Turned Environmental Health Director
After more than 17 years at the City of Philadelphia's Department of Public Health, Palak Raval-Nelson, PhD MPH '02, has never been content to just sit at her desk

A Community Presence in Chinatown
Jennie Shaw is a second-year MPH student who works with Ray Lum, MPhil, MS, an associate professor at the SPH, to provide meaningful health services for members of Philadelphia's Chinatown community.

People, Planet, Profit: Public Health Meets Sustainability
There are a lot of synergies between public health and environmental sustainability, says Jennifer Anderson, MPH, SCSP '03.

Helping Families; Saving Money
As a new SPH student, Ruth Morgan MPH '08, heard Allison Karpyn, the director of research and evaluation at The Food Trust, speak in one of her classes.

Training HIV Care Providers
Zupenda Davis, MPH MCHES, a SPH doctoral candidate, did not know public health even existed as a career field when she was an undergraduate student. She became interested in public health because she saw how poverty and other social factors influenced disease and teen pregnancy.

A Radioactive Public Health Educator
John Donovan MPH '09, was drawn to pursuing an undergraduate biology degree and advancing society's scientific knowledge of health.

Looking at the Big Picture
As president and CEO of Connexion Healthcare—a full-service provider of medical and scientific communications that serves the world's leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies—each day is different for Susan Stein, MPH ‘10.

Taking Steps to Better Health
Ellen Lindner, MPH ’12, sees public health opportunities where others might not. Like many office employees, Lindner spends a lot of time sitting at her desk. Mindful of staying healthy, she began taking short breaks and walks at lunch.

A DECADE OF GROWTH AND ACHIEVEMENT, THE PROMISE OF TOMORROW

A School Without Walls
Emerging through ever-changing public health priorities and the evolving academic landscape of the region at its outset, the Drexel University School of Public Health has become a national authority in promoting the health of communities.