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.

“There is no typical day for me. I might be managing people or spending time with our customers, who are mainly biotech and pharma companies. But my primary responsibility is setting the direction for our organization and making sure that direction is pulled through,” said Stein, who graduated from the Drexel University School of Public Health’s Executive MPH program.

In October 2012, she was one of three new members appointed to the Dean's Advisory Council at the School.

Public health was not something Stein planned to study. “Interestingly enough, public health wasn’t something I set out to do. It sort of found me along the way,” she said.

Stein began her career in 1990 in medical marketing communications as a project manager, armed with a business degree. “Along the way, I fell in love with healthcare,” she explained. “I was interested in the science and how communications actually affect people.”

Wanting to advance patient care and offer a new class of healthcare communications and education, she founded Connexion Healthcare in 1999.

Since then, Connexion Healthcare has expanded to three business units or Centers of Excellence that are laser-focused in oncology, rare disease and neuroscience. Connexion delivers strategic and scientific support in the areas of medical education, medical affairs, publication planning and sales and MSL training. Stein leads efforts to support clients with actionable medical communications to educate healthcare providers, support clinical decision making and improve patient outcomes.

“Our role is to gather, digest and disseminate clear information for healthcare providers so that they have the information they need to make informed decisions that impact patient management,” she said.

Stein believes that enrolling in the Executive MPH program allowed her to gain a public health perspective on her work. “Drexel was a tremendous opportunity. It allowed me to view things through a different lens. Now, I look at different things that are more public-health oriented, for example, survivorship treatment for patients with cancer. What happens to populations living longer lives with cancer or cancer in remission? How do we manage these patients? How do we talk to patients about palliative care?” she said.

And on a broader level, Stein thinks this public health perspective can help save lives and money. Public health programs, policies and research help improve the health of communities, while money spent on preventive services can improve health outcomes.

This ability to view the larger picture also applies to Stein’s career and work philosophy. “I encourage everyone I work with to sit back and remember what their contribution is to the end game and how what they are doing affects people long term. It’s always helpful to remember that you can infuse meaning into what you do every day,”she said.