Indira D'Souza (expected '25) Presents at APHA

November 22, 2024

Indira D’Souza (MCAH MPH ‘25) presenting on incarceration, climate, and maternal health at APHA

This October, I traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota to attend the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) Annual Meeting and Expo. At 12,000 attendees, this conference is a huge opportunity for collaborations across hundreds of professional caucuses, public health partners, students, and schools of public health from around the country. I presented my abstract, titled “Incarceration and climate change: Abolition to protect pregnant people and families in California” with the Socialist Caucus in the Advocating for Health Justice for Marginalized Groups session. The primary goal was to explore the intersections of climate change, incarceration, and MCAH, and propose some policy solutions to combat the unique vulnerability of incarcerated pregnant people. My abstract and presentation were modified versions of my Policy Brief assignment in the Environmental Health Breadth Course (PBHLTH 200K) from Spring 2024. This was only my second oral conference presentation, and I felt honored to be on the stage with fellow public health students and alumni, including a recent Berkeley Public Health DrPH grad! I was thrilled to uplift ongoing public health work in the incarceration space, including my primary source, a report from the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, as well as advocacy work by the California Coalition for Women Prisoners. Being in Minnesota was also meaningful for this presentation because Minnesota has been implementing a new program to remove new mothers from carceral settings for 12 months after birth – a hopeful step to promote maternal and infant health. 

Mariah Jiles (MCAH MPH ‘23) presenting at the Kaiser Permanente APHA Fellowship session

As a Kaiser-APHA Scholarship recipient, there were a few events I was required to attend, including a presentation session for Kaiser-APHA Fellows and a networking luncheon. Here, I was able to connect with MCAH program alumna Mariah Jiles and learn about her work after graduation, as well as other fellows who worked on health equity at sites including the CDC Foundation and Kaiser Community Health. Because I had also attended the APHA Annual Meeting in 2023, I saw some familiar faces and was able to learn more about the fellowship application process. Other interesting sessions at the conference included the MCH Section Networking meeting, where I learned about the priorities for the MCH section over the next year, participated in a small group discussion on health equity within MCH, and found a LEAP undergraduate student from UC Berkeley! The Berkeley Public Health reception and the Spirit of 1848 dinner event were wonderful opportunities to hear from established public health leaders like Nancy Krieger and Amy Hagopian while also meeting early career professionals with similar values to mine and learning more about their work.  

Indira and MCAH LEAP undergraduate trainee Christian (‘25)

Visiting Minneapolis in the fall was a delight because of the beautiful fall colors and diverse food options on “Eat Street” where I was staying! I enjoyed spending time at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and Sculpture Garden, as well as taking a walk around Lake of the Isles to enjoy the fall foliage. I’d like to thank Dr. Jay Graham and Dr. Cassie Marshall for their support throughout the process of moving from policy brief to abstract and finally developing an oral presentation. Special thanks to my cohort-mate Molly for restaurant recommendations in Minneapolis, and to my dog Lemmy for listening to me practice my presentation at least 3 times!

Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis