finished their assignments in Kazakhstan. Then when Brad received orders to take his next assignment in Paris, France, Maureen learned the CDC didn't have an open position for her there. “I decided to resign from CDC and to be an unemployed newlywed in Paris,” Maureen recalled. “I have to say that I enjoyed that very much.” Eventually, though, that honeymoon period had to end, and Maureen accepted a job as the American relations coordinator at the American Hospital of Paris, where she helped Americans who ended up in the hospital during their travels. She later worked for a French non-governmental organization (NGO), L’Agence de Medicine Preventive, where she had the opportunity to visit West Africa for the first time. Eventually, life led the Bartees – now a family of three, including Brad and Maureen’s firstborn son – back to the States, specifically Washington, DC, where her husband completed his 25-year military career. Maureen worked for an American NGO, the International Medical Corps, for a year and then ended upreturning to the CDC again, this time as its liaison to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense at the Pentagon. While she was in that job, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa occurred, and Maureen was responsible for ensuring close coordination between CDC and the military as the U.S. helped with the international response. Later, she moved back to Atlanta and was asked to lead CDC’s new program to increase global health security to help countries around the world prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease threats. After leading CDC’s efforts to increase global health security for more than six years, Maureen was asked to work at the National Security Council when the Biden Administration began. She spent 15 months assigned to the Global Health Security and Biodefense Directorate within the National Security Council at the White House, working on the global COVID-19 response and coordinating policy related to the World Health Organization. She is currently on assignment at the US Department of State working on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). At the beginning of the pandemic, Maureen deployed to South Dakota to work with the Oglala Sioux Tribe as they prepared for COVID-19. She spent a month there working with the incredible Oglala Sioux Tribe team. “We worked on increasing infection prevention and control within their emergency response and school systems and strengthening data systems,” Maureen explained. “In 2021, I started my assignment at the National Security Council and focused on the global COVID-19 response. It was amazing to help the US government make important decisions about how to help with the global response to the pandemic. It required incredibly long hours, but it gave me the opportunity to work with extremely dedicated people committed to making our country as safe and secure as possible.”
Maureen was one of six members to receive the Ursa Major award for the 2020-2022 biennium. This award was first presented at the 1974 convention and honors alumnae members who have achieved success in their chosen field, whether professional or volunteer, on a local, state, provincial or regional level. Throughout the last two years, Maureen has endured a personal health battle of her own – stage 3 lobular breast cancer. She has recently recovered from a mastectomy, competed chemotherapy and radiation treatments and is, in her own words, “feeling pretty good.” A year into her treatments, she made her diagnosis public and found comfort in the support from her Alpha Phi sisters, some of whom breast cancers survivors or undergoing similar treatments as Maureen. Ductal and lobular breast cancers are two different types of invasive breast cancer that start in different parts of the breast. Ductal breast cancer forms in the ducts that carry breast milk from the lobules to the nipple and is typically spherical or pea shaped. This is the more common type of breast cancer that is more easily detected with self-exams and mammograms. Lobular breast cancer, however, is more insidious and less common. It forms in the lobules where breast milk is produced and forms in single-file lines, like long strands or strings, that eventually clump together to form an irregularly shaped mass. However, this usually takes some time, so by the time this mass is detected, most patients are already in stage 3, like Maureen. Did you know that according to the National Beast Cancer Foundation one in eight women in the US will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime? In 2023, an estimated 297,790 women and 2,800 men would have been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. But there is hope. Breast cancer is not the death sentence it once was for past generations. When caught in its earliest, localized stages, the 5-year relative survival rate is 99%. This is why it’s imperative that women conduct self-exams at home, advocate for themselves in their doctor’s offices and receive regular checkups and mammograms to remain as diligent as possible. Advances in early detection and treatment methods have significantly increased breast cancer survival rates in recent years, and there are currently more than 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the US. Learn more about invasive breast cancer, early detection and more at www. nationalbreastcancer.org. “During these last couple of years, as I’ve navigated my own diagnosis, I’ve learned that it’s important to open up about a journey like this, if you’re ready to talk about it, so that other women know they’re not alone,” Maureen implored. “Alpha Phi has been a tremendous support through these challenging times.”
Keep up with Maureen on LinkedIn at bit.ly/ MaureenBarteeLI.
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