Current Editors
Estefanía Henríquez Luthje (she/her) is a first-year Maternal and Child Health MPH student at the University of Minnesota and a Fulbright Scholar from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She obtained her medical degree from Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo in 2020 and received a certificate in clinical research at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. For two years, Estefanía worked as a research analyst in the Department of Nutrition of the Ministry of Public Health of the Dominican Republic. In addition to her role as co-editor for MCH Leads, Estefanía serves as Executive Board Member for UMN’s Maternal and Child Health Interest Group. Her areas of interest include maternal and child nutrition, particularly lactation, and maternal and child mortality reduction in the Dominican Republic. Check out Estefanía’s Students of SPH feature and LinkedIn page!
Mel Ray (she/her) is a first year MPH student at the University at Albany School of Public Health concentrating in Health Policy and Management and pursing a Graduate Certificate in Global Health. Mel earned her BS in Public Health and BA in Theatre and Dance at Keene State College in 2022. She then completed a year of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA at Schenectady Community Ministries. While serving she witnessed firsthand the health disparities that parents and children face, especially regarding period equity and food insecurity. This experience ignited her interest in maternal and child health, in addition to her other interests in food systems and health, and environmental health. She is excited to have joined the team at the UAlbany Maternal and Child Health Program to continue working in support of maternal and child health as a Research Project Assistant and co-editor to the MCH Leads Blog. You can connect with Mel on her LinkedIn.
Past Editors
In the fall of 2020, the Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health at the University of Minnesota partnered with the Maternal and Child Health Catalyst Program at the University at Albany to run and collaborate on this blog. Meet 2020-2023 co-editors from UMN and UAlbany, as well as the past inaugural student editors who created, organized, and promoted the content of MCH Leads.
2022-2023
Maha Mehmood (she/her) was co-editor of MCH Leads for the 2022-2023 period. She is a second year MPH student at the University at Albany, concentrating in Epidemiology as well as pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Maternal and Child Health. She graduated in Spring 2022 from UAlbany with a Bachelor’s in Biology. Maha is the current Graduate Assistant for the UAlbany MCH Catalyst Program! Her hobbies include research, studying, shopping and volunteer work. Maha is planning to apply to medical school this upcoming cycle with hopes of specializing in Obstetrics and Gynecology, specifically focusing on Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
2020-2022
Alexis Chavez (she/her) served as one of the co-editors of the MCH blog for the 2020-2022 period. She graduated in May 2020 from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health with an emphasis on Health Promotion and a minor in Health and Human Values. In May 2022, she graduated with a master’s degree in public health with a focus on maternal and child health at the University of Minnesota. Check out Alexis’ University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Students of SPH feature & Center for Leadership Education in Maternal & Child Public Health Student Spotlight.
Alyssa Pochkar (she/her) served as one of the co-editors of the MCH blog for the 2020-2022 period. She graduated in May 2020 from SUNY Albany with a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Biology and a minor in Public Health. In 2022, she graduated with an MPH in Epidemiology with certificates in Maternal and Child Health and Global Health Studies. Alyssa’s passion for public health began during her work in Haiti, where she realized the overlapping barriers individuals face while trying to live healthy lives. Alyssa hopes to combat disparities in Maternal and Child Health internationally.
Fall 2020
Rachel Craig served as one of the co-editors of the MCH blog for the fall 2020 semester. She graduated in 2021 with an MPH from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany School of Public Health with a graduate certificate in Maternal and Child Health.
2019-2020
Abhi Ramesh was the inaugural blog editor. She helped to conceptualize the blog, developed the site and worked on the early crafting processes. She graduated in May 2020 with an MPH in Maternal and Child Health.
Gray Taylor served as one of the blog’s first editors and worked to launch the blog. In addition, she helped to further develop the blog by creating a communication plan and promoting blog efforts. She graduated in May 2021 with an MPH from the University of Washington.