Mary Kenny, MPH student from the University of Minnesota’s Center for Excellence in Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health, is the September feature of MCH Leads. In her blog entry, titled “The Power of MCH Teams,” Mary explains how three experiences during her first year of her MPH taught her about MCH Competency 10 (Interdisciplinary/Interprofessional Team Building). “Throughout my personal and professional life, MCH competency 10 (interdisciplinary and interprofessional team building) acts as a continuous reminder to collaborate, invigorate, encourage, support, and seek opportunity for professional collaboration and community building.”
Mary Kenny is a second year MPH student at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health concentrating in Maternal and Child Health. Mary earned her BA in Applied Psychology and Human Development from Boston College in 2022. After college, Mary spent two years working at the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, working as an Enrollment and Matching Specialist to create Big/Little matches. During her time there, Mary piloted the first ever group-mentoring program, designing and delivering a strengths-based, trauma-informed curriculum about emotional wellbeing in schools all across Boston. Mary has a passion for holistic best practices which promote intersectional approaches to education, physical health, mental health, and research. Since beginning her master’s program, Mary co-authored the MN Menstrual Products in Schools Toolkit and is a fierce advocate for menstrual health education for students. At UMN, Mary is the Communications Research Assistant for the Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health where she serves as the UMN co-editor for MCH Leads and executive board member for the Maternal and Child Health Student Interest Group (MCHSIG). You can connect with Mary on her LinkedIn.
Learn more about Mary’s contributions here!