Eight of our MPH students attended the 2019 CityMatCH Maternal and Child Health Leadership Conference, held September 23-25, in Providence, Rhode Island. What follows is a post from one of these attendees.
By Ayzsa Tannis, BA
This year I was given the opportunity to go to Providence, Rhode Island and attend the City MatCH 2019 Conference. This year’s conference approached maternal and child health through the lens of health equity, a concept I was particularly excited for. Presentations incorporated equity and justice, discussed systematic racism, connected historical events to present day health outcomes, addressed the root causes of health inequity – all to express the overall theme of Make waves: intentional disruption to advance health equity. The speakers were thoughtful, informative, and passionate. The content impactful, emotional, and intentional. It was encouraging to see so many changemakers in one place, all from different backgrounds and on different public health paths, yet all intent on creating these disruptions.
Choosing a favorite experience from CityMatCH is honestly hard to say. The keynote speaker, addressing the truth behind US and Native American tribal relations, gave the conference such an inspiring start that I was worried the rest of the content would not live up to it. I was thankfully surprised. Notable breakout sessions I attended were Our Babies, Our Fathers, Our Communities and Male Mental Health: Violence and the Public Health Response. My approach to CityMatCH this year was to focus on filling in gaps in my education, so I chose sessions discussing fatherhood, partners, and male mental health. For the record, literally every single session was amazing. People are doing great work in field and I’m even more excited to graduate and join them. Additionally, these presentations finally exposed me to a third component of maternal and child health: fathers. While maternal and child health rightly focuses on mothers and children, I find that fathers are often left out of the conversation. I highly recommend attending sessions on things you have yet to learn about. It will enhance your knowledge and understanding, increase your network, and allow you to become a more well-rounded public health professional.
Another aspect I found rewarding with CityMatCH was that it created an atmosphere for pretty natural, informal networking. I accidentally connected with THREE directors of different state/county maternal and child health family departments across California on the way to get donuts. Donuts! I wasn’t even intending to network; I was literally thinking about donuts, I cannot stress that enough. Earlier in the conference, I didn’t even think twice about going up to speak to this one woman (who happens to be yet another director of an MCH program in California) just because I kept seeing her everywhere and felt like she was doing important work (I was right). Perhaps it’s the size of the conference, or the fact that I’m more confident and comfortable in networking situations, or both. Regardless, this is a form of networking I can get behind, so I encourage all to attend.
City MatCH reminded me of why I got into public health in the first place: to create change. Not only that, but it also confirmed that my current and future colleagues are as impassioned for change as I am. I am grateful for this opportunity and will absolutely continue to make intentional disruptions – within my university, my community, my career. Health equity is possible, and CityMatCH reminded me that we can indeed get there.
Ayzsa Tannis, BA, is a second year MPH student, concentrating in Maternal and Child Health with a certificate in Epidemiology. Her interests include sexual and reproductive health, infant mental health and early childhood development, and infectious diseases. She is an advocate for reducing racial and ethnic health disparities, health equity, and reproductive justice. She plans to graduate in May 2020.
