From DC Department of Health to UNAIDS: A Conversation with Shannon Hader on Her Career in Global Public Health
On Tuesday, January 27, Shannon Hader, M.D., joined students in Conversations in Health: Global to Local for a discussion that truly epitomized the class’s title. Dr. Hader, who most recently served as the dean of the School of International Service at American University, shared insights from her career that spanned work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the DC Department of Health, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and more.
Dr. Hader’s public health work stemmed from her undergraduate studies in the field of medicine. A key point in her career was becoming a doctor during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Dr. Hader remarked that as someone who was interested in medicine, social justice, and serving marginalized communities, it was only natural that she become an “AIDS doc.” Notably, Dr. Hader’s medical experience eventually transformed into her serving as a senior scientific advisor for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), where she worked with various global health funding stakeholders including the Global Fund and World Health Organization on the 2007 HIV/AIDS Implementers’ Meeting.
As Dr. Hader moved through her career, a common throughline was her dedication to working to improve the health and lives of vulnerable populations. A memorable point of the discussion occurred when Dr. Hader recounted how she came to her position as the senior deputy director of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Administration at the DC Department of Health: she emailed the commissioner of health at the time, sent in her resume and got the job! As senior deputy director, Dr. Hader produced current HIV/AIDS data, implemented DC’s first needle exchange program, and reduced AIDS mortality by 30% in DC.
Dr. Hader’s willingness to step outside her comfort zone became even more apparent later in the dialogue, as she spoke about her decision to run for Congress in her hometown in Washington State.
Dr. Hader recounted that although she considers herself to be an introverted person, she actually quite enjoyed the experience of getting to speak with people on the campaign trail. As she explained to our class in the context of a question about the current landscape of politics and public health, Dr. Hader answered that public health is and should be political, but not partisan. Dr. Hader pushed back on the idea that public health should not be political, arguing that politics is the “public” in public health.
Dr. Hader’s talk left a lasting impression due to her ability to bridge public health policy, medicine, the private sector, local communities, and academia. She noted that she enjoys exploring jobs in those varied fields to better understand their unique perspectives on global public health.
At the end of the discussion, Dr. Hader encouraged us to lean in with curiosity, look for strange bedfellows in the name of public health policy, and explore people you do not know. As we move forward in this current landscape of global public health, I think that is excellent advice to follow.
Mikayla Friedman (H’27) is an undergraduate student majoring in global health at Georgetown University.