About Us -
Past Editors
Editors of Volume 5
Kajal Patel, MPH - Managing Editor
Kajal was a second year full time student at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. In May 2011, she graduated with a MPH in Public Health Communication and
Marketing, with a certificate in Environmental Science and Policy. She is currently the Graduate Student
Assistant for the Communication and Marketing track. Previously, she worked as an intern in the Center
for Health Communication at the Academy for Educational Development, working on the Influenza
Immunization Partnership Campaign in two capacities: building relationships with existing and new
partners, and analyzing data from focus groups to contribute to the Flu Focus Group Research Report.
She has co-authored a research article in the Reproductive Health journal.
Kajal graduated from The George Washington University in 2005 with a B.B.A. in International Business and Marketing, with a minor in Psychology. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a career in health communications and social marketing, with a focus on environmental health. Kajal is originally from Cape May, New Jersey.
Meenakshi Ahuja, MPH - Managing Editor
Meenakshi is a recent graduate of The George Washington University's School of Public Health and Health Services with a Master of Public Health concentrating in Public Health Communication & Marketing Program. She is presently working as a research assistant in the Department of Prevention and Community Health at GWU on a project to promote smoking cessation. During her time at GW, she has interned at the Centers on AIDS and Community Health at the Academy for Educational Development, where she worked on CDC projects for HIV prevention like Capacity Building Assistance (CBA) and Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions (DEBI). She has co-authored a research article in the Journal of Physician Assistant Education and has also written for other journals including Journal of Health Communication.
Meenakshi is a physician from India, with a passion to contribute to the improvement of general health conditions of underprivileged populations in developing and developed economies.
Editors of Volume 4
Gerda Gallop-Goodman, MPH Candidate - Editor
Gerda is a third-year student at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. In May 2010, she will graduate with an MPH in Public Health Communication and Marketing. She is currently a research assistant at the University of Pennsylvania and a senior writer/editor at MEE Productions Inc., which develops social marketing and public awareness campaigns for urban populations.
Prior to pursuing her MPH, Gerda worked as an editor and writer at several publications, organizations and nonprofits and was an education and outreach coordinator at Living Beyond Breast Cancer. She also founded 3G Media Inc., a communications consulting firm.
Gerda graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Editorial Journalism. After graduation, she plans to work on health communication and social marketing projects that target underserved and minority populations and focus on eliminating health disparities. She is originally from Rochester, NY.
Megan Jacobs, MPH Candidate - Editor
Megan is a second year graduate student pursuing an MPH in Public Health Communication and Marketing at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. She currently works for the DC Department of Health's HIV/AIDS Administration in two capacities, producing social marketing materials and evaluating the service needs of District residents.
Megan graduated from University of Michigan in 2007 with a dual B.A. in English and French, where she worked as a Program Assistant in Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention at University Health Service's Health Promotion and Community Relations office. She has written and edited for The Michigan Daily and The Jerusalem Post, and hopes to always find ways to integrate creativity with risk reduction in future careers in health marketing. Megan is originally from Bloomfield Hills, MI.
Alexis Johnston, MPH Candidate - Editor
Alexis is a part-time student in the Public Health Communications and Marketing department at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. She currently works full time as a technical writer on a health communications contract for the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health.
Alexis graduated from American University in 2005 with a B.A. in Public Communications. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a career in health communications and social marketing. Alexis is originally from Long Island, New York.
Silje Lier, MPH Candidate - Editor in Chief
Silje is a second year graduate student at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. In May 2010, she will graduate with an MPH in Public Health Communications and Marketing. She is currently working in communications and public relations for the Pappas Group, a creative design agency which builds brands for clients. She has also worked at JVR Communications in Silver Spring, MD and served as a graduate student assistant in GWU's Department of Prevention and Community Health.
Silje graduated from the University of Delaware in 2008 with a B.A. in Communications and a minor in English. After completing her MPH, she hopes to pursue a career in social marketing, focused on the creative implementation of health marketing campaigns. She is originally from Newtown, Pennsylvania.
Editors of Volume 2
Alexandra Nelson, MPH - Editor in Chief;
Alex is a second-year student in The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. She is concentrating in Public Health Communication and Marketing and plans to graduate in May 2008. Alex has maintained a rigorous class schedule while working full-time at After The Fall, Inc., located in Virginia. She is currently completing her practicum at Spectrum Science Communications.
Alex graduated from George Mason University in 2005 with B.A. in Anthropology, and chose to pursue a MPH degree. After graduation (and her June wedding), Alex plans to continue working in health communications and marketing.
Lauren Sogor, MPH - Managing Editor;
Lauren is also a second-year student in the in Public Health Communication and Marketing at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. During her time at GW, Lauren has interned at Mental Health America and Hager Sharp Communications.
Lauren obtained her B.S. degree from the University of Michigan in 2006. Her experience as a sexual violence peer educator, combined with her passion for reproductive rights, led her to public health school. After graduating in May, Lauren hopes to continue working in the health communications field. She is originally from Cleveland, Ohio.
Guisou Zarbalian, MS, MPH - Managing Editor;
Guisou is also a second-year student at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. Guisou is completing her MPH in the Maternal and Child Health program. She currently works on the National Children's Study. Guisou has a Master's degree in Pharmacology from Georgetown University but chose to pursue a career in public health in order to better combine her science and language skills (she is learning her fourth language). After completing her MPH degree, Guisou plans to continue working on women's and children's health issues, eventually focusing her career on health issues in the Middle East. Guisou graduated from Tulane University in 2002 with a dual Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience and French. She is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Editors of Volume 1
Jenna Williams-Bader, MPH - Managing Editor;
Graduated from The George Washington University in May 2007 with a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Public Health Communication & Marketing Program. During her time at GW, Jenna managed a suicide prevention grant at the University Counseling Center. She completed her practicum at the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine.
Jenna first became interested in behavior change as a Psychology major at Duke University. Her love for public health grew from her extracurricular activities as a peer health educator. While she has many professional interests, Jenna would like to one day apply public health communication and marketing to the field of mental health.
Ellen Sowala, MPH - Editor in Chief;
Received her Master of Public Health with a concentration in Public Health Communication & Marketing Program from The George Washington University in May 2007. In addition to her coursework and responsibilities as an editor of Cases, over the course of the two-year graduate program, Ellen was a part-time program analyst in the Office of Business Transformation at the U. S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Prior to attending graduate school, Ellen worked in the Sales Operations Department of Pfizer from 2001 to 2005. At Pfizer, she was responsible for preparing and executing a comprehensive communication strategy to educate the national sales force about their sales bonus plan. She also developed and facilitated training sessions to sales representatives, district managers and regional managers on their sales bonus. Ellen earned her BA in Economics and Sociology from Tufts University in 2001. She is originally from New York City.
Jennifer Colburn, MPH - Managing Editor;
Is a recent graduate of The George Washington University's School of Public Health and Health Services with a Master of Public Health concentrating in Public Health Communication & Marketing Program. During her time at GW, she also worked at the Alexandria Department of Health on a mental health anti-stigma campaign targeting youth and at the Federal Occupational Health Training Center.
Jennifer, a Certified Athletic Trainer, earned her BS in Physical Education concentrating in athletic training at the University of South Carolina. As an athletic trainer, Jennifer has worked in rehabilitation settings and with the University of South Carolina Gamecock baseball and football teams. She is originally from Nashua, New Hampshire.
