What do you do?
I'm the Pesticides Program manager in the Office of Environmental Public Health Sciences.
Describe your educational path. What was your area of study?
I was the first in my family to even want to attempt to go to college, and because of that I needed to figure out a way to pay for college and make sure my decisions were not creating an undue financial burden on my family.
I enlisted in the Army National Guard when I was 17 and after completing one tour of duty in Iraq and my six years of service, I was able to attend Central Washington University where I majored in public health with a specialization in community health education.
From there I spent five years working in asthma education with the Yakima Valley Farmworkers Clinic (YVFWC). My time there made me realize I had a passion for clinic management, and I decided to attend the University of Washington for a master's in health administration.
How did you enter your career into public health?
I started my career in public health while at undergraduate school. I wanted to give back to the community that had raised me and really resonated with the work public health was doing. I felt strongly about education being power, but that also means providing the appropriate education in the appropriate venues. Public health teaches you to think about the audience and understand the importance of culturally appropriate public health education.
Where do you sit within the Washington State Department of Health? Tell us about your team.
I am in the Environmental Public Health Division in the Office of Environmental Public Health Sciences. I oversee the Acute Pesticide Illness and Surveillance program in the Health Homes and Communities section.
The Pesticide Illness Surveillance and Prevention program helps prevent pesticide-related illness and injury in the workplace, community, and at home by investigating suspected pesticide poisonings reported to us as required under WAC 246-101-101. I also staff the Pesticide Application Safety Committee (PASCO). The purpose of this committee is to evaluate and recommend policy options to improve pesticide application safety in the state of Washington.
What is a typical day in your job?
I mainly work from my home office in Yelm. My days can vary especially during the changing seasons. Winter tends to be slower in acute pesticide illness investigations but higher in presentations and outreach as this is the usual farmworker training season.
In spring and summer, we are very busy with case investigations. Coordinating with PASCO and the advisory work group is a year-round effort. On a daily basis I am connecting with my team of investigators and partners like the state Department of Agriculture and the state Department of Labor & Industries regarding our shared work around pesticide safety. There are a lot of emails and mini meetings.
What previous experiences most helped you with this role?
Lived experience for sure. I had no formal education in pesticides but as the daughter of farmworkers I grew up around agriculture my whole life.
Managing community health centers taught me a lot about resource management and supervising staff at all levels as well as change management. I still pull on my experience at YVFWC as health educator when it comes to messaging around pesticide safety and trainings we provide for farmworkers.
What advice would you give a student pursuing career opportunities in public health? What is something you wish you knew earlier in your career?
Public health provides great opportunities for lots of different and exciting careers. I wish I was more confident with applying to "the" job. What I mean by this is that we tend to be our own harshest citric and hold ourselves back by not applying to a job because we don't check every box.
What achievements are you most proud of in your work in public health? Or is there anything you find most rewarding about your work?
I am proud of all the work I have done and will continue to do so. As the daughter of Mexican immigrants and the first in my family to go to college I have always found it challenging to explain to my parents and family what I do or help them understand my education. But now as the manager of the pesticide program my family knows exactly what I do, and I have even had the opportunity to present to my own family members at farmworker trainings.
What do you enjoy about living and working in Washington state?
I grew up in the Yakima Valley. My family is still all there, and I go back to visit multiple times a year. I am a fan of the rainy weather and have loved living in western Washington for the past six years.