ABOUT THE BLOG

This journey actually started many years ago. Courageous young women on both sides of my family risked so much to get to the United States more than a century ago. They suffered work sewing in sweatshops, life in New York City tenements and Pennsylvania mining towns, lost husbands way too soon to preventable causes, and raised children who went to college, fought in World War II, and achieved "The American Dream." Whether it is eating lasagna for Christmas dinner or stuffed cabbage rolls at my childhood family reunions, my immigrant roots were an essential part of my identity as an American.

At first, I was interested in global health as a professional field. But while working with the Dominican immigrant community in Washington Heights, NYC, I recognized that both the community's strengths and challenges were similar to my family's experience, and I realized the value of supporting immigrants and women in particular as they establish their homes for future generations of Americans. 

This dissertation research project is the next step in my 15-year public health career dedicated to improving immigrant health in the US. Check in once in awhile to see where this part of the journey is taking me!