Alumni Profile: Kaitlin Christenson, MPH '05


January 6, 2015

What degree did you receive from GW? What was your concentration?

Master of Public Health, Global Health Promotion

Please tell us about your current position. Can you describe a typical day?

PATH is an international nonprofit organization that seeks to save lives and improve health, especially among women and children, by accelerating innovation across five platforms: vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, devices, and system and service innovations.  For nearly 40 years, PATH has been a pioneer in translating bold ideas into breakthrough health solutions, with a focus on child survival, maternal and reproductive health, and infectious diseases. With headquarters in Seattle, Washington, PATH has 1,300 employees and offices in more than 20 countries.

In my current role as Strategy Advisor at PATH, I take on a number of initiatives that support the institution as a whole. I’ve only been in the position for three months, but so far there’s no such thing as a typical day! On any given day, you might find me working with programs and PATH’s executive leadership to develop solutions which make our work more efficient, recruiting and onboarding talent for our market dynamics practice, interacting with consultants who support our work in the United Kingdom, or engaging with donors to develop new projects. A lot of my work focuses on exploring the internal mechanics of PATH to ensure that we can ultimately maximize our health impact. I spend a good portion of my day in meetings brainstorming with other PATH staff and travel frequently to our headquarters office in Seattle, WA.

Please tell us about your path from the Milken Institute School of Public Health to where you are today. How did you get your first job in the field?

My first job in the field was as an intern in PATH’s Kenya country office. Through my network, I contacted someone who worked there and we co-developed a non-paid internship. It was a big risk but it paid off! Because I was relatively flexible and willing to help with many different projects, I ended up staying on in Kenya for a year and a half and transitioning into a full-time consultant. While there, I worked on a number of different projects: I wrote and edited project reports, publications, proposals and training curricula; I helped conduct reproductive health-related quantitative research with adolescents; I conducted research on malaria and immunization policies in several African countries; and I worked with the World Health Organization and Ministries of Health to help African countries begin planning for the potential to introduce a future malaria vaccine. I had an upfront view to the challenges and opportunities that governments face when making decisions about health systems and learned a great deal from health practitioners at all levels of the health system. It was an incredible experience.

I spent a few more years consulting for PATH (and a few other organizations) from Washington, DC, before joining full-time for a year-long position in Seattle, WA--where PATH is headquartered--to work on a UNAIDS-funded effort to reassess the response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic. After that, I came back to DC to lead the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), where I served as Coalition Director for five years. GHTC is a PATH-housed coalition that advocates for funding and policies with the US government and other public entities to ensure that vaccines, drugs, and other lifesaving technologies for the developing world are developed quickly and affordably. In that role I did a range of different things, from managing staff, to fundraising, to meeting with Congressional offices or other policymakers, to overseeing communications campaigns and policy analysis. From there, I moved into my current position.

What is the best career advice you have ever received?

Be open to every opportunity that comes your way – you never know where something might land you! When in school, I never thought I would do any policy-related work, but I’ve ended up spending most of my career on policy and advocacy efforts. During my time with PATH in Kenya, I said yes to nearly every project that came my way so that I could capitalize on my time there and gain a wide range of experience.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to work in your field?

I can’t overstate the importance of building and maintaining a strong network. One of the most important things I did while in school was network. Whether talking to professors, other students, or professionals I came across, I sought advice far and wide to learn about potential career tracks and to understand how people I respected had pursued their passions. At every turn of my career, any advancement has been through the network of advisors and colleagues I built.

What was the impetus for getting your degree at the Milken Institute SPH?

The location was a big selling point for me and Washington, DC turned out to be a great place to learn about global health. Guest lecturers were frequent in many of my classes so I had the opportunity to gain real insights from global health experts.

Interview conducted January 2015