Displaced Children: "Adverse Childhood Experiences Amongst Refugees from the Horn of Africa: Influences on Development, Attachment, and Risk/Resilience"
by Segen Zeray
Winter 2024 Journeys in Global Health
The number one question we hear from emerging Global Health scholars is: "how should I apply my Global Health degree to life after college?" Some global health professionals work with national leaders to shape healthcare within developing nations, while others collaborate with government agencies, NGOs, or relief organizations to promote healthy practices worldwide. Whether you analyze data, influence health policy, or support regions of individuals to improve their wellbeing, there are endless opportunities to shape the field of global health.
Join us as our speaker panel of Global Health faculty delves into the diverse paths they have taken in their careers, sharing insights into the challenges and triumphs they've encountered while making a significant impact on tackling health disparities.
The UC San Diego Global Health Program and Students for Global Health held our twenty first event in Quarterly Conversations in Global Health on Wednesday, February 28th, 2024, at the Great Hall of I-House! This quarter’s panel spoke onJourneys in Global Health.
Quarterly Conversations provides a forum for the Global Health community to come together to discuss relevant issues in the field from an interdisciplinary perspective and increase community interaction at UC San Diego.
Thank you to the community tables who participated in the event’s networking session: Students for Global Health, Global Health Reps, UCSD Partners in Health Engage, UNICEF at UC San Diego, County of San Diego, and UCSD Alternative Breaks.
We would like to give our special appreciation to our event co-sponsors: UC San Diego Global Health Institute, UC San Diego Division of Social Sciences, UC San Diego Global Health Program, UC San Diego Center for Global Mental Health, UC San Diego Students for Global Health, and the UC San Diego International House.
Panel Recap
We were delighted to have Dr. Thomas Csordas, Director of UC San Diego’s Global Health Program, moderating the event as our Master of Ceremonies.
Radhika Bhavsar
MPH, Project Management Professional (PMP®), Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®)
Radhika Bhavsar is a 15-year subject matter expert in nonprofit innovation, driving transformative change across the U.S., India, and East/West Africa. She's a versatile program and product leader, holding degrees in social science and public health, along with certifications in Lean Six Sigma, Project Management, and Health Education. Radhika's impactful work includes working with the US Department of Defense to establish the U.S. Military Health Systems' inaugural population health program, spearheading COVID-19 solutions at Partners in Health, shaping product and innovation at the March of Dimes, and digitizing healthcare in Rwanda’s Northern Province during her Global Health Corps fellowship in 2016-2017.
Currently, Radhika serves as a Senior Technical Specialist in Innovation at Global Communities, supporting the intersection between global development and social innovation and entrepreneurship.
Nile El-Wardani
UC San Diego Global Health Program Faculty & Global Public Health Consultant
Nile Regina El Wardani received her Ph.D. and MPhil from the University of London, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM - established in 1899). Her research focused the policy process, governance, and civil society within health sector reform at a global level. She received her MPH at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
Nile has taught Global Health topics at CSUSM and the American University in Cairo, Egypt in the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. She has worked for over 30 years in Africa, the Middle East and USA as a program manager/project creator in the fields of public health and international development with many NGOs, ministries, and UN agencies. She specializes in public health education, human rights, health systems, reproductive health, and women’s empowerment.
She was awarded the Middle East Award for Social Science Research for her research on the Egyptian health sector reform. Nile has consulted for UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO, UN Women, and the Egyptian Ministries of Health, Education, and Information. She has worked with bilateral donors including USAID, Finnida, Danida, and Dutch Aid and many NGOS in the Middle East and Africa.
Elsa Villarino
UC San Diego Global Health Program Faculty & Medical Epidemiologist for the CA Dept of Public Health (CDPH)
Elsa Villarino is a physician with more than 30 years of professional experience in Clinical Trials for New Tuberculosis Medicines, Preventive Medicine, Public Health, Global Health, Healthcare Infection Control and Prevention, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Tuberculosis and Multi-Drug Resistant TB Treatment and Control, Outbreak Investigations & Control and Race and Health Equity.
Elsa has served as a clinical provider caring for patients with TB and MDR-TB in the Public Health TB Clinics of Dekalb County Georgia and Santa Clara County California. From 2013 to 2019 she was the U.S. CDC Mexico Office and the Public Health Attaché for the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, ascribed to the U. S. Embassy in Mexico City. Since 2021, she has been a Medical Epidemiologist in the Health Care-Associated Infections, Outbreak Investigations Program of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
Elsa is a graduate of the Autonomous University of Baja California Medical School (UABC, MD), San Diego State University, School of Public Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program (SDSU, MPH), and the Preventive Medicine Residency Program of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, PMR).