Inspiring Monica Ponder Ph.D., MS, MSPH: Community activist and assistant professor of health communication and culture at Howard University
M onica Ponder worked at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention for fifteen years. “I've always paired what I did professionally with community work.” During the pandemic, she made a career change and is now an assistant professor of Health Communication and Culture at Howard University. “It's a much more rewarding place to be in terms of my individual level of agency and power. It also gives me a direct connection to like-minded individuals, colleagues, and students who have a social justice lens on day one.” She is also a public
When asked what her day is like, she laughs, “I get paid to think, speak, write, and teach!” She adds, “I'm very in touch with current events and local events.” Twice a week, she teaches Ph.D. students who are training to be scholar-activists and talks about community issues, schooling them in public health communications and crisis communication. “A lot of what we talk about has to do with racism, justification, houselessness, and mental health, and so it's usually more of a critical cultural approach. I am really
intent on teaching them not just how to be in the academy but to
health activist focusing on housing and healthcare
access, and mental health; “I would say I focus on the forest and not the trees. In my current projects, I work closely with East Point. . . What I do is connect and refer. I look at patterns of how communities and individuals cope and make sense of their ongoing crises, and that does include maladaptive behaviors like addiction and alcohol abuse.”
be activists. . . They're bridge makers and connectors, and so while I love high-touch meeting people in the community. . . I think probably my biggest superpower at this moment is just teaching and giving them the tools . . . to go out and actually do good.”
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