Natalie Bullis MPH'23, left, and Conor Burke MPH'23, right.
Master in Public Health (MPH) alum Meghan Adams MPH’19 is using the skills and knowledge gained during her graduate studies to support the mission of Wayside Recovery Center “to break the cycle of addiction and trauma for women, children, and families.” Adams is Wayside’s first internal lead evaluator responsible for developing and implementing an evaluation plan that measures the efficiency of their services. Her work includes managing evaluation protocols, database integration, collection methods, and analysis, as well as working with staff in data collection, entry, and reporting.
Adams states, when asked what drew her to Wayside, that after working as an external evaluating consultant on various government, foundation, and tribal projects, she realized that she wanted to be part of creating meaningful and sustainable change from within. Her work at Wayside allows her to be part of long-term, supportive care for women, children, and families recovering from addiction and trauma.
Through this experience, Adams has created opportunities for two current MPH students to complete their 200-hour practicum supporting her work and gain real-world public health experience. Natalie Bullis MPH’23 and Conor Burk MPH’23 have spent their summer supporting Adams’ work through extensive data analysis that will inform Wayside’s annual report.
Bullis shares that she has enjoyed working with a St. Kate’s MPH alum and that contributing to Wayside’s future programming has been a meaningful and rewarding experience.
“It’s been fun to see the concepts we learn in classes like Biostatistics and Monitoring & Evaluation come to life in a real-world setting,” adds Burk.