MPH alum, Meghan Adams, is using the skills and knowledge gained during her graduate studies to support the mission of Wayside Recovery Center “to break the cycle of addiction and trauma for women, children and families.” Adams, MPH 18’, is Wayside’s first internal lead evaluator responsible for developing and implementing an evaluation plan that measures the efficiency of their services. Her work includes managing evaluation protocols, database integration, collection methods, analysis, and reporting. Adams works in partnership with staff in collecting data, data entry, and reporting. When asked, “Why Wayside?,” Adams responded that after working as an external evaluating consultant on various government, foundation, and tribal projects, she realized that she really wanted to be part of creating meaningful and sustainable change from within. Her work at Wayside allows her to be part of long-term supportive care for women, children, and families recovering from addiction and trauma.
Through this experience, Adams has created opportunities for two current MPH students to complete their 200-hour practicum supporting her work and gaining real-world public health experience. Natalie Bullis and Conor Burk have spent their summer supporting Adam’s work through extensive data analysis that will inform Wayside’s annual report. Bullis shared that she has enjoyed working with a St. Kate’s MPH alum and that contributing to Wayside’s future programming has been a meaningful and rewarding experience. Burk added, “It’s been fun to see the concepts we learn in classes like Biostatistics and Monitoring & Evaluation come to life in a real-world setting.”