MAUREEN SINCLAIR BARTEE (Beta Delta-UCLA) Senior Advisor for Health Systems and Health Security for the U.S. Department of State Not many women can say that they have dedicated their professional lives to global health security that included (but was not limited to) fighting the outbreak of infectious diseases like Ebola and COVID-19, travelled all over the world in this effort, raised a family of their own and fought breast cancer, but Maureen Bartee (Beta Delta-UCLA) can. Maureen was an accomplished college student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she majored in biological anthropology and pre-med. She was also involved in extracurricular activities, including rowing for the crew team her freshman year, serving as captain of the inaugural lacrosse team her junior and senior years and, of course, being an active member of the Beta Delta chapter of Alpha Phi where she held several positions, including chapter vice president her senior year. “When I started college, I didn’t think I would join a sorority,” Maureen recalled. “But I met one of my best friends in my dorm [during our] freshman year who pledged Alpha Phi. [Throughout] that year, I met a lot of her friends from Alpha Phi and realized what I could gain from joining. So, I decided to pledge my sophomore year, and it was one of the best decisions I made during my college years.” Maureen credits Alpha Phi with providing her with opportunities to develop her leadership skills at a young age, which proved to not only be useful during her time at UCLA but throughout her life and career. After graduating from UCLA, Maureen completed social science research with monkeys for two years before pursuing a master’s degree in public health at the University of California, Berkley. While working for the Center for Disease Control (CDC) early in her career, she spent one year in Atlanta and then another two years in Chicago where she connected HIV-positive detainees at the Cook County Jail with services once they were released. She also worked on a program to bring domestic violence prevention and victim support initiatives to residents of that jail. Maureen’s career with the CDC also took her to Bangladesh where she partnered with the World Health Organization for three months to assist with the polio eradication program. “That experience ignited my passion for global health, and I have pursued that [interest] ever since,” Maureen expressed. She went on to work as the deputy director of the CDC’s Central Asia Regional Office in Almaty, Kazakhstan, for three years, during which she met her husband, Brad, who was assigned to the U.S. Embassy as an Army officer.
They were married in Northern California before they
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