A Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) student, Merwyn Foster Lyte Rogers, at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) was awarded one of the highest British orders for contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organizations, and public service outside the civil service.
Her Royal Highness (HRH) Princess Anne, Princess Royal, invested Merwyn Foster Lyte Rogers, Milken Institute SPH 2022 DrPH Cohort, on Tuesday October 3, 2023, at Windsor Castle, England as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE). He was appointed by HM Queen Elizabeth II in her 2022 New Year’s Honours List.
Rogers received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of South Carolina, Aiken and his Master of Public Health from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica, West Indies. His OBE was awarded for “Public Service and services to Public Health and Healthcare in Anguilla.” Rogers has played a significant role in his home country’s (Anguilla, British West Indies) national development for over two decades. As a public health professional, he has dedicated the majority of his career to ensuring that Anguilla’s healthcare system meets the need of an ever-growing population. Most recently, as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, he led and championed the public health response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He has also been Permanent Secretary in the Premier’s Office; Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism; and Ministry of Home Affairs, Labour, Immigration and Physical Planning.
Rogers is a second year DrPH student at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, whose interests lie in the Commercial Determinants of Health, and health policy and management. The British monarch awards the OBE to individuals for having a major local role in any activity, including people whose work has made them known nationally in their chosen area.