Student Profiles

Laurel Browne

“I chose the HC4SC program because it focuses on creating sustainable change.”

After graduating from Alabama A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Laurel Browne moved to Harlem in 2020 and enrolled in her first master’s degree from Columbia University Teachers College in Clinical Psychology. As the COVID pandemic was unfolding, she studied its impact on marginalized communities through the lens of the history of psychology, race and ethnicity.

One book in particular influenced her thinking: Even the Rat Was White by Robert Guthrie.

“It made me think about how research can improve mental health through cultural humility, community literacy, and better access to resources.”

Laurel (pronounced like “L’Oréal) saw firsthand how communication can build trust and improve health outcomes. After Teachers College, she worked on research studies, helping recruit underrepresented communities—particularly Black and Hispanic participants—for sleep and Alzheimer’s disease research.

“Effective communication was essential” to diversifying research participation. “From marketing materials to community outreach, you had to show people you cared and explain the research in ways people could understand.”

As she gained experience, “I realized I wanted to help people on a broader scale. Clinical psychology was no longer the direction I wanted. I knew I wanted to stay in New York City, and CUNY SPH felt like the right place.”

Laurel has worked while completing the program and applied what she learned directly to her professional work.

“I really enjoyed learning about public health and how communication shapes health outcomes. The social marketing courses were especially valuable. I learned how to design materials for different audiences, use plain language, tell stories effectively, and use emotion to support behavior change.”

“What I appreciate most is how invested the faculty are in students’ success. Because of CUNY SPH, I’ve been able to present my work at conferences, and connect with professionals across the field. My advisors have helped me navigate the public health world and clarify my career goals.”

“I wouldn’t choose any other institution to begin my public health career.”

Ganesh Asaithambi

“What can we do to empower communities in supporting meaningful behavior change?”

Ganesh Asaithambi holds MD and MBA degrees, along wih his MS in Health Communication for Social Change from CUNY SPH. A vascular stroke neurologist based in Minnesota, his goal is to help patients and communities receive the most comprehensive and accessible care possible, and understand all the health risks and options for that care.

“CUNY’s emphasis on public health attracted me to the program,” he says. “I also appreciated how accessible the faculty were. Each course and interaction with staff and students reinforced the school’s mission and pushed me to think outside the box.”

The program’s online format fit his schedule, and he completed his coursework while continuing to practice medicine. He values the connections he built with fellow students, even if he never met any of them in real life.

“It’s been great going on this journey with many of the same classmates and seeing how everyone has grown in their work.”

Before the program, he says, “I didn’t fully appreciate the influence of social media on health. I’m now well aware about powerful these forces can be for sharing knowledge, recognizing symptoms, and knowing how to respond to emergencies.

Dr. Asaithambi now uses social media and other communication tools to educate children and families about stroke awareness.

“The program gave me essential public health skills. It’s a real opportunity to learn from experts and develop tools that can help you change the world.”

Caroline Dos Santos Soares

“My interest in the intersection of science and health communication led to my work exploring how effective communication can influence people’s lives.”

Born and raised in from Brazil’s Amazon region, Caroline Soares comes to CUNY SPH with a background in science communication. Her work has taken her from the Brazilian National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) to public health organizations in New York City, where she has helped translate research findings into clear, accessible language.

When Caroline began her HC4SC coursework in 2024, she was pleased to be enrolled in a program that matched her career goals.

“I wanted to learn more about theoretical foundations in public health to help build upon my practical experience. I was looking for something diverse, focused on social change, and affordable.”

Caroline values the program’s online format and the wide range of her classmates’ professional backgrounds.

“The current roles I have came from networking within the program.”

Through class discussions and the program’s career platform, she has also connected with faculty on collaborative projects. At CUNY SPH, Caroline has served as Social Media Editor for the Journal of Communication, Special Project Assistant for the Career Skills Academy, and Communications Coordinator for the Advancing Research in Immunization Services (ARISE) research network.

After her 2026 graduation, Caroline plans to work with researchers seeking to improve communication across the scientific process, including research design, social marketing, and dissemination of results. Her advice to prospective students is be proactive:

“The more you invest in connecting, collaborating, and learning, the more rewarding your experience will be.”

Charlene Kaloki

When the pandemic hit in March 2020, millions of people’s job descriptions changed overnight as the world turned their focus on fighting the COVID-19 virus. Charlene Kaloki was one of those people.

At the time, Charlene was working in community relations at a community health clinic in midtown Manhattan. Then, she turned her focus on COVID-19; first testing, and, later, vaccines. She jumped into action, working with communities and colleagues to push for new ways to connect patients to services.

Charlene’s career path indicates an interest in health systems and the individuals receiving care within them. After majoring in public health in college, Charlene became a medical scribe. Interested in more systemic changes for the patients she met in the hospital, she moved on to community health.

During and before the pandemic, she recognized effective communication as a critical gap. “There has to be a better way of doing these things,” she thought, as she began searching for graduate programs. She was excited when she came across the CUNY HC4SC program because it fit her needs perfectly.

Entering her final semester, Charlene has spent her time at CUNY SPH diving into topics that interest and inspire her. Her focus in the Multimedia Production class has been social marketing strategies to improve environmental health and promote sustainable practices around textile waste. She is also making plans for what’s next in her career. Using skills she’s gained in the program, Charlene is interested in creating programs that actively and continuously integrate data and community input.

Annie King

What does health communication have to do with pharmacy? Ask Annie King! After 7 years of community retail pharmacy, Annie joined our Health Communication for Social Change program to expand her public health impact.

Annie says, “Community retail pharmacy develops a lot of skills that are relevant to health communications, and I was interested to apply these skills in a different setting – still to help patients stay healthy, but with the potential to be on a grander scale.”

Community pharmacists like Annie play a huge role in making sure patients have the health information they need to use medications properly and live healthy lives. So, as Annie says, “translating health information is inherent to the role of a community pharmacist.”

HC4SC students dive into courses on social marketing, multisector engagement, and health literacy, all of which are crucial in pharmacy. Over her time in the program, Annie has further developed her skills in these areas both by taking classes and completing a communication internship with the NYC Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit, which she found through CUNY SPH.

Now in her final semester, Annie’s capstone project focuses on improving medication literacy among parents of young children.

“So much more can be done to improve plain language and design for drug products and labels to reduce medication errors in children,” Annie says. “I’ve been really enjoying the process of tying in my work experiences with what I’ve learned in this program.”

Saif Choudhury

Saif Choudhury’s passions and experience sit at the intersection of comedy and mental health. Saif has seen firsthand, in his family, himself, and at work as a counselor, the ways in which mental illness can disrupt people’s lives. He’s also seen how comedy can disrupt tragedy … and bring people joy.

Through the Health Communication for Social Change program, he’s building his skills in communication to become the “best salesperson for hope.” His goal is to both explain the intricacies of mental health that are often glossed over and to empower people with the information and hope they deserve to take control over their lives.

He’s finishing up his final semester in the MS4SC program, working on a capstone focused on building awareness around specific facets of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and “Pure O,” and how people with OCD can get the help they need.

Saif has held many hats during his professional career, as a mental health counselor, SAT and ACT tutor, comedy tutor, and sketch comedy comic. He says, “No matter how many times I might fail – which happens a lot in comedy as I’ve come to find out – my true goal in life will always be to use the power of comedy to help people feel better.”

Check Saif out onstage at Bragging Rights, a live sketch comedy competition, during its Spring 2022 run at the Asylum Theater NYC!

Dunstanette Macauley-Dukuly

“I want people to live a wonderful life.”  That’s how Dunstanette Macauley-Dukuly describes the motivation for both her work as a career counselor and her public health aspirations. For the last few years, Dunstanette has mentored students in STEM and connected them to career opportunities, through her position in higher education career services,

Dunstanette grew up around activism and faith-rooted organizing in Newark, New Jersey. She’s known since she was young that there are systemic roadblocks that impede many people from being well. In undergrad, she studied public health, digging deeper into the history of global systems that obstruct health equity, particularly for Black and low-income people.

She came back to public health education last year by enrolling in the Health Communication for Social Change program and, now, she’s gaining communication skills to amplify the voices of marginalized people in hopes of creating more equitable systems. “One of the things I’ve really appreciated about my public health education is that it’s so practical,” she says.

Dunstanette has applied her public health skills professionally in social marketing, advocacy, event planning, and career services. And now, she’s optimistic about how combining theory and practice in communication can make changemaking more accurate, efficient, and effective.

“I’m excited for the type of professional I’ll be after I graduate.”

Nina Agrawal

Nina Agrawal, MD is board-certified in child abuse pediatrics and has spent much of her career providing care to children experiencing various forms of maltreatment. When the pandemic hit and school went remote, Nina knew first-hand that there would be ripple effects on kids, many of whom were already at risk. She published an op-ed in the NYTimes about it to reach as many people as possible about the critical public health issue.

After publishing this piece and building connections with staff at CUNY SPH, Nina enrolled in the Health Communication for Social Change program. The Times piece was followed by other opinion articles, including one in the NY Daily News where she shared her unique insights on addressing child sex trafficking.

“Being able to meet face to face – or by voice in this digital world – is important to me – personally and professionally.” She’s now getting to know others involved in the program and is excited by the prospect of building bridges between more pediatricians and public health professionals.

In addition to her clinical work, Nina is expanding her focus, through writing and grassroots organizing, to “effect broad systems change” for young people who have historically been marginalized. Through the program, she’s entering a broader “public health framework.”

Nina takes courses part-time, which, she says, “gives me the time to devote to my clinical work and advocacy work for various child health issues. It also allows me to apply the skills I’m gaining through the program in real time.”

Magdalen Harris

A New Yorker by way of Aotearoa New Zealand, Magdalen Harris only considered studying at CUNY, “I wanted to study public health in a public institution.” Her experience in community organizing and housing justice propelled her into the MS HC4SC program. With years under her belt as a statistical analyst and marketing strategy consultant, Magdalen felt prepared for her courses, but was still excited to gain new practical knowledge. “Our class assignments build skills that can directly be applied to work in the field,” she says.

After three semesters in the program, Magdalen is about to become one of our program’s first alumni. Her capstone project explored the experiences of student veterans in accessing mental health care, and has resulted in an article soon to be submitted for academic publication.

According to Dr. Palmedo, “Maggie’s research has been extraordinary, and will contribute to a better understanding of how colleges can be more responsive to their student veteran needs.”

Magdalen says, “I realized my research could have a real impact on the efficacy of mental health communication, so I decided to analyze the data for publication. I have been supported by CUNY faculty each step along the way.”

Magdalen is now planning to pursue a PhD, something that was also inspired by her capstone research. “I enjoyed every single part of the process, from interviewing and coding the data to analyzing themes and drafting the results. I want to continue studying this field and set myself up for a career in research.”

Camilo Parra

Camilo Parra describes himself as “passionate about making healthcare more accessible to individuals, specifically LatinX and Hispanic-American communities.” He says that, “lack of access to healthcare exists in different forms, but one of the biggest factors is language. Through my degree, I hope to learn more about how to create access for these undeserved communities.”

Camilo enrolled in the program after graduating from NYU (pre-health) with a BA in Global Public Health & Anthropology. While he contemplates further graduate studies in public health or a possible future in medical school, he feels this program will help with the decision. In the future, he hopes to gain experience in hospital management, biotechnology, medical sciences, and community development.

Camilo currently works as a Covid contact tracer for NYC, where he says, “I’ve seen firsthand the disproportionate toll COVID-19 has had on LatinX and Black New Yorkers, and how it continues to further widen health disparities. I hope that through this degree, I will continue to learn how I can better serve my city.”

Konul Karimova

“In my work, I have realized how important it is to make communication evidence-based,” says Konul Karimova, who works as a Communication Associate in the Azerbaijan Country Office of UNICEF while earning her MS in Health Communication for Social Change.

“I am now learning to think strategically, and design programs to actually reach people … this knowledge has allowed me to be a more effective colleague at work.”

Born in Azerbaijan and raised in Turkey, Konul graduated from Bahcesehir University with a BA in Public Relations. At UNICEF she supports the Communication for Development program and general external communication for the Azerbaijani office. She has been involved in communication campaigns for early childhood education, inclusive education, and adolescent development.

“The birth of my daughter inspired me to continue my studies,” she says. “I am very excited to become a communication for social change professional to reach vulnerable groups around the world and contribute to change.”

Anne Marie Imbornone

Anne Marie’s been working as a personal trainer for over 20 years, and she’s witnessed her clients have great health outcomes as a result of their work together. Over time, she’s seen that her clients who have access to regular fitness and wellness measures don’t have many of the same health issues that others do in the U.S. This led her to the question: “why has wellness become a perk of the wealthy?”

Anne Marie says, “Wellness should be a basic human right and I chose the MS in Health Communication program because it is built on the pillars of that exact sentiment. It seems especially important to me that during my time in this program I will learn to advocate efficiently for what is essential to people’s wellbeing and that I will be able to communicate so that my message is heard. These are the skills you need to push through the tough roads ahead!”

The program has been enlightening thus far. The online and asynchronous aspects allow her to continue working, take care of her young son, and to conduct research at her own pace and according to her interests. “The fact that you can also take synchronous classes is great,” she says, “because it helps to provide an even deeper connection to the school.”

Something else that has come as a pleasant surprise for Anne Marie is learning about what an amazing institution CUNY is. She says, “They have so many wonderful initiatives and faculty members that it is easy to be inspired and motivated, and pushed toward things you may not have even known you were interested in. My experience so far has been invigorating!”

Shanaz Hosein

Shanaz Hosain loves working with communities and being a part of the work on the ground. She’s been working in public health for seven years: at the beginning of her career, she was involved in projects related to diet and acculturation of immigrant families, but the bulk of her work has been around communicable diseases and harm reduction in New York City.

She knew public health was the field for her very early on. She obtained a BS in public health from CUNY Brooklyn College and knew right away that she wanted to also pursue a master’s degree in public health. She began in the MPH in Community Health track but switched to the MS in Health Communication track because it better aligned with her career goals.

Thus far in her career, she’s learned the importance of communication, and appreciates that this degree reinforces these foundational skills. It also emphasizes the importance of collaboration, entrepreneurial ventures, passion, and advocacy needed to address public health issues. This degree is helping her build skills to effectively communicate, promote public health issues, develop new programs and initiatives, and engage in multi-sector partnerships.

Shanaz’s experience in the program so far has been personable, encouraging, and supportive. She shares that the perks of it being a new program is that she’s part of a small cohort. Professors Chris Palmedo and Scott Ratzan have always made themselves available, and are there to provide guidance not only on the MS program but also on career opportunities post-graduation.

She says, “After this challenging year, we cannot deny the importance of effective public health communication. If anyone was frustrated this year by the ineffective and confusing information that we the public endured, or have ever been frustrated in the past and want to be a part of the change, I highly recommend joining the MS program.”