Jasmine Drake at the CUNY SPH 2018 commencement ceremony, with Dean Ayman El-Mohandes.
Jasmine Drake, the 2018 recipient of the Dean’s Award for Commitment, has dedicated her career and studies to solving the public health disparities in her community and beyond. Growing up in the South Bronx, she witnessed first-hand the pressing health challenges her neighbors faced, such as lack of access to nutritious food or facilities and opportunities for physical activity.
During her undergraduate studies at the University of Virginia, Drake traveled to the Dominican Republic with Alternative Spring Break, a student run organization, where she volunteered instructing residents of San Juan de la Maguana, a poor town near the border with Haiti, in practicing proper dental hygiene. The experience awakened her passion for public health and shaped her career trajectory for years to come.
After completing her undergraduate studies in 2013, she spent two years working for AmeriCorps, at a health clinic back home in the Bronx and later with the New York City Parks Department. The work applying public health strategies on the ground in an urban setting helped prepare her for her MPH studies.
During her graduate studies at CUNY SPH, Drake worked as a Community Health Organizer for Montefiore Medical Center, helping to shape how New York City public high school students receive health education in the classroom. She coordinated reproductive health classes, cooking classes, and fitness classes for students and parents. She says the MPH program helped her really understand the public health needs of the population she was working with, particularly when she took an Adolescent Health course with Professor Lynn Roberts.
“I learned that adolescents are agents of their own health and can make healthy decisions,” she says.
Reducing childhood obesity and ensuring that children have access to proper nutrition and physical activity opportunities is one of her passions. During her last year at CUNY SPH, Drake served as Program Coordinator for the Fund for Public Health NYC, a nonprofit that works in conjunction with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to improve the health of individuals, families, and communities across the city. In that role, she helped public and charter schools create wellness policies that target nutrition and physical activity.
She also worked with CUNY SPH Professor Terry Huang on the PARCS study, an exciting collaboration with the New York City Parks Department focused on exploring the relationship between neighborhood environment and community health.
Upon graduation, Drake relocated to Maryland for a job at the Howard County Health Department. As the Program Manager, she runs the tobacco enforcement initiative, educating middle and high school students on tobacco use prevention and the harmful effects of tobacco products including e-cigarettes. She works with retired police officers conducting compliance checks at retailers to ensure they are not selling tobacco products to minors. She also serves as the Project Engagement Coordinator for the CAREAPP project, which aims to improve access to social support services and resources for clients through a web-based tool.
“Health disparities can be eradicated independently of income,” she says. “We all want to be healthy and live prosperous lives, no matter where we come from.”
Within the next year or so, Drake plans to apply for DPH programs to continue her studies in the public health field, preferably on the east coast. “I am enjoying living in the DC area but I do miss NYC,” she added.
