Advocating for Public Health

Clara Harb '15 Travels the World to Assist Developing Countries Improve Healthcare

By Caitlin MacBride Berg ’10, Director of Alumnae Relations

Clara Harb ’15’s path to international public health began at Magnificat, where she was inspired by discussions of social justice and programs by Facing History and Ourselves. She credits the school with fostering her love for travel and exploration, with her first trip abroad—to France with her class—sparking a deep appreciation for French culture that ultimately shaped her career.

After graduating, Harb enrolled at Baldwin Wallace University, intending to attend medical school. However, with a push from a professor and inspiration from her high school French class, she added a French major to the biology major and chemistry minor required for her pre-medical studies. She went on to complete a study abroad program in Paris, during which she was exposed to the healthcare systems of France and Canada through a comparative lens with that of the United States.

“I realized I didn’t want to go into medicine after living in another part of the world and seeing firsthand how an emphasis on population health informed healthcare systems globally,” she said. “I saw the need for that at home and developed relationships and a passion for the ‘big picture’ of health through various experiences, spurned by my study abroad experience.”

Influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, she pursued a Master of Public Health and a Master of Art in Bioethics and Medical Humanities at Case Western Reserve University, setting the stage for a career focused on global health and development. During that time, she served part-time with AmeriCorps as a Summer Vista and later as a Community Health Empowerment Navigator with the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation. She attended a webinar on Francophone careers, during which she connected with someone who worked on global health projects and discovered that the field of international development might be her true calling.

Today, that mentor is a colleague at Chemonics International, a Washington DC-based international development firm whose main client is the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), where Harb has carved out a meaningful role in global health initiatives. Since 2021, she has served in various roles, starting as a Francophone Senior Associate and working her way up to Francophone Program Manager in the Global Health Division at

Chemonics. Her work has taken her to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where she helped coordinate bed net distribution to fight malaria through USAID’s End Malaria Project, and to Madagascar, where she manages a country buy-in for USAID’s Frontier Health Markets Engage Program, which seeks to strengthen the country’s healthcare system by encouraging collaboration between the public and private sectors.

Harb’s journey hasn’t been without challenges. As the daughter of Lebanese immigrants, she said she sometimes felt imposter syndrome working in international development, where many colleagues come from privileged backgrounds. This perspective is especially true considering her parents were beneficiaries of programs similar to those she manages.

“I had to learn that my perspective matters—especially as someone with a less Americanized view,” she said.

Age was another hurdle, as overseeing teams with older, more experienced colleagues required her to grow in her confidence as a leader. Despite these challenges, Harb has built a successful career. While cuts to USAID programs have impacted her work, she remains dedicated to public health and development and making a tangible difference in people’s lives.

Alumna Advice: Clara Harb ’15 “Magnificat taught me how to be myself and speak my mind, so don’t have a façade. Just be yourself.”