Upama Aktaruzzaman (She/Hers) Email & Phone Number

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Connecting the public health workforce to training and opportunities for growth and relationship-building. Indigenous Public Health Leaders Program - 6-months leadership program for AI/AN Tribal members living and working within the United States.

Greater New Orleans Area

Certified Adult Mental Health First Aider. (https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/)Community Engagement Lead for implementation of the New Orleans Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (www.odmap.org)Lead in planning, implementing, and evaluating the patient and community-centered engagement strategy for REACHnet, and REACHnet affiliated projects. (https://reachnet.org/) Project lead for Health in Our Hands Network, a growing network that promotes patient-centered research across Louisiana by connecting people with researchers through online messaging and in-person opportunities to share their experiences. (www.hioh.org)Co-creator of the Research Cafe project, which brings together communities to discuss the impacts of research, provides space to share experiences, and provides community leaders with resources and tools to navigate research projects. (http://researchcafe.hioh.org/)

Greater New Orleans Area

New Orleans

Potsdam, New York

Led the Health Coach program at SUNY Potsdam and St. Lawrence University, which pairs chronically ill patients with university students to prevent hospital readmission incidences. Conducted 24 weeks of didactic and practical training per school year.Authored successful application for the Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Community and Member Health Improvement Initiative Grant to expand the Health Coach program and develop a Community Health Partner program ($105,000). Established a multi-disciplinary Child and Family Wellness Taskforce to address child obesity in St. Lawrence County, NY and partnered with local universities to found the Health Buddy program, matching Community Health students with families to address nutrition, physical activity, and self-esteem for children.Member of Bridge to Wellness Coalition.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Conducted research for a randomized control study testing the effectiveness of an online health intervention on pregnancy rates. Recruited 100+ participants by working with community organizations, attending community events, and using innovative ways to reach out to youth using social media.Connected participants with community resources for STI testing and reproductive health counseling.Data entry and tracking of participant information into Access database.

New Orleans, Louisiana

*Researching, planning, and implementing ways to effectively connect Louisiana moms and babies to resources through social media for the Partners for Healthy Babies project. *Conducted social media best practices literature analysis*Tracked user interactions on Facebook and Twitter using Google Analytics and Sprout Social software. *Created questionnaire and interviewed expecting mothers at New Orleans and Baton Rouge clinics to determine their internet and social media use. *Compiled findings and wrote recommendations for a social media strategy to communicate resources to Louisiana moms including: 1) engaging presentation of posts on Facebook and Twitter 2) presenting relevant and useful content 3) assessing which social media platform is best to reach target demographic.

St. Louis, Missouri

*Tutored first graders at an underserved elementary school to bring literacy skills to grade leve*Tailored lesson planning*Collected and tracked data on student performance*Planned lesson activities for after school programming*Participated in projects serving greater St. Louis community including: Fundraising for families affected by the Joplin tornado, cultivating crops at Gateway Greening, and building homes with Habitat for Humanity

Master Of Public Health (M.P.H.), Global Community Health And Behavioral Sciences - Maternal And Child Health

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), English And Political Sciences