Center for Law, Health & Society | News and Events | Center News | 2012 Archive | Introducing the Graduates Introducing the Graduates
We are pleased to introduce the Georgia State Law graduates who work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
Spanning over two decades of graduating classes from the GSU College of Law, these alumni work across CDC, and they reflect a breadth and depth of talent and expertise in the service of people's health around the world. Some engage in the traditional practice of law in the Office of the General Counsel, while others engage in many different kinds of law-related work, including policy analysis, research, and development.
These graduates were unanimous in their enthusiasm for their work, their respect for their CDC colleagues working in legal, scientific, and other interdisciplinary fields at CDC, and their dedication to helping promote CDC's mission to improve the public's health.
Donald Benken, JD '97, MPH
Senior Public Health Advisor, Public Health Law Program, Office for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support
"What I like most about what I do is the diversity of the topics that I address and the knowledge that every day my work has the potential to make a significant public health difference and save lives."
Erik Boemanns, JD '07
Contractor, Deloitte (technology consulting for CDC's OPHPR, OSTLTS, PHSPO, and other programs/offices)
"Because of my personal interest in health, medicine, and science, I enjoy helping my clients find solutions to their business and technical needs, which often involve important health issues."
Meredith Houston Carr, JD '10
ORISE Fellow, Public Health Law Attorney, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention
"The best part of public health law work is knowing that you are using your legal skills for the good of others."
Lisa Caucci, JD '10, MA
ORISE Fellow, Public Health Law Program, Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support
"I appreciate the collaborative nature of our work. The opportunity to interact with and learn from PHLP colleagues, staff from other CDC programs, and external stakeholders is one of the best parts of my job."
Lindsay Culp, JD '10, MPH
Public Health Analyst, Public Health Law Program, Office for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support
"I have had so many opportunities over the years to work with and learn from experts in various public health fields - the same people who are quoted in the newspaper or interviewed on TV."
Abigail Ferrell, JD '11, MPA
ORISE Fellow, Public Health Law Progam
"The health law program at Georgia State is an incredible asset to any student interested in pursuing a health law career, both for its great variety of courses and the professors' expertise, as well as for the wide health law community that fosters it."
Sudevi Navalkar Ghosh, JD '98, MPH
Senior Attorney, HHS Office of the General Counsel, CDC Branch
"I very much appreciate the level of dedication of the people who work in the programs at the CDC and the level of knowledge and expertise that they bring. It requires us to be on our toes!"
Siobhan Mary Gilchrist, JD '06, MPH, MS
Health Policy Analyst, Applied Research and Evaluation Branch, CDC's Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
"Public health law is a growing field, especially considering the array of public health issues like climate change, health care access, an aging population, international health, and human rights."
Samantha Harrykissoon, JD '07, MPH
Public Health Analyst (Policy), Policy Research, Analysis and Development Office, Office of the Associate Director of Policy
"I enjoy that my work is always changing, and I work on a wide variety of projects, including policy analysis and recommendations and analyzing legislation."
Gail A. Horlick, JD'90, MSW
Senior Legal Analyst, Office of Scientific Integrity
"I enjoy working with so many different types of professionals in addition to other attorneys. The collegial environment
and opportunities for learning and growth at CDC create an interesting, stimulating work environment."
Harriet Jett, JD '99, MPA
Policy, Legislative and Budget Team Lead, Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response
"I really enjoy finding solutions to agency challenges and consider myself lucky to work with such a top notch workforce. My best days happen when we take advantage of opportunities to use proactive strategies."
Sherry Everett Jones, JD '03, MS, PhD, MPH
Health Scientist, Division of Adolescent and School Health
"It is surprising that few public health practitioners have any legal training, and yet law clearly plays an important role in the public's health. We have learned that education alone isn't the answer to improving public health."
Mark Kashdan, JD '99, MPH
Senior Attorney, HHS Office of General Counsel, CDC Branch
"I enjoy contributing to CDC's mission, assisting employees with matters that are largely foreign to them, since CDC is largely not a regulatory or enforcement agency, and my significant interactions with the Department of Justice on high visibility matters."
Stacie Kershner, JD '08
ORISE Fellow, Public Health Law Program, Office for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support
"What I really enjoy about my work is being able to demonstrate on a broad scale that law is truly able to impact the health of a population. I have a statistical background and I like being able to 'do the math' in relation to law."
Salvatore Joseph Jude Lucido, JD '04, MPA
Acting Associate Director for Policy, Office of Program Planning and Evaluation, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
"We deal with a wide range of public policy issues at CDC, and the policy and legal challenges involved are usually very interesting and cutting-edge. It can be a very rewarding career and have a positive impact on our nation's health."
Rebecca Polinsky, JD '07
Research and Practice Fellow, Healthy Aging Program and Public Health Law Program
"I would encourage law students to consider public health law, especially if they are interested in interdisciplinary collaboration. Public health is a cross-cutting discipline, and there is no end to the places it can lead you to discover in the law and beyond."
Donald Prather, JD '11, PhD
Scientific Marketing Specialist, Technology Transfer Office
"I consider my job to be one-third law, one-third business, and one-third science. While it is not the classic 'public health law' side of CDC, it is definitely the practice of intellectual property law within the federal government."
Jenny Sewell, JD '11, MPA
Public Health Analyst, Office of Policy & Planning, Office of the Director, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention
"My law classes were very relevant to the work I do. I also use the non-legal skills I learned in getting my master's, such as strategic planning and organizational theory, and my knowledge of public health learned while at the CDC."
A. Dwight WIlliams, JD '11
Contractor, Chenega Government Consulting (Grants Specialist for CDC Procurement and Grants Office)
"Students should be encouraged to work in all aspects of the public sector, including public health. They should keep looking for the right opportunity."
Caroline Lagoy Sirhal, JD '11, MPH
Public Health Analyst, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Legislation, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
"Getting a JD degree has enabled me to consider multiple perspectives - science, policy, public health - all under the framework of the law. Being able to combine those areas has been invaluable and has made me a more effective advisor to the programs with which I work."
Photo unavailable.
Photos by: James Gathany - CDC