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mily Rosenfeld (’15) is early in her career, but is already experiencing how her dual J.D./Masters of Public Health degree can help promote social justice on a global scale. The combination of SLU programs helped Rosenfeld satisfy two passions. As a child, she dreamed of becoming a doctor, but midway through her time at Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut, she discovered it wasn’t going to be the right fit. During college as a volunteer at the New London Homeless Hospitality Center, she witnessed clients dealing not only with the daily challenge of homelessness, but also the heavy burdens of systemic challenges. This experience, among others, shaped her desire to help promote social justice by working to reform many of the policies that challenge society’s most vulnerable. An internship between her 3L and 4L year sent her to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) where she fell in love with the agency’s scientific focus on public policy, among other attributes, and applied for the ASPPH/Allan Rosenfield Global Health Fellowship. Since September 2015 she has worked as an ASPPH/CDC Global Health Fellow as part of the policy team in the Office of the Director for the Center for Global Health. Her particular team provides management, oversight and technical assistance on the Global Health Security Public Health Law Project. “We are in the process of mapping the presence or absence of laws in 25 countries either coping with the aftermath of Ebola, or those that are at a high-risk for future similarly destructive disease threats,” she said. The global aspect of her job gives the St. Louis native plenty of stamps in her passport. “It is a great opportunity to get to see how the practice of public health as well as public health law touches the lives of individuals all around the world.” In her first eight months in the position, she has traveled to Vietnam, Liberia and South Africa providing on-site assistance and training. The core on-the-ground team consists of Rosenfeld and two colleagues, with assistance from across various divisions in the Center for 14
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Global Health. The team returned in May from their second two-week visit to Liberia, where they were invited by the Liberian Ministry of Health and the CDC Liberia country office to provide technical assistance as the country seeks to revise its public health laws. “Our team provides tailored training on the use of law as a public health tool, country-specific analysis to answer questions surrounding the role of law in promoting public health, and identification of legal and policy barriers that exists for implementation of CDC programmatic activities.” They travel the country meeting with key stakeholders who will ultimately be responsible for devising various components of the revised laws. It is also an opportunity to experience public health interventions in action. While approaching a border between two counties, Rosenfeld and her team were stopped at an Ebola checkpoint. Before entering the next county, they had to exit the vehicle, wash their hands and have their temperatures checked. If someone is discovered to be sick or have a fever, they are not permitted to continue onward. Regardless of where she is globetrotting now or where she will head in the future, Rosenfeld often finds herself drawing on knowledge she gained from her SLU LAW health law courses. Lobbying for Medicaid expansion in Jefferson City through Professor Sidney Watson’s grassroots advocacy course taught her that “affecting change is not always pretty and persistence and perseverance is necessary,” she recalls. “Change rarely occurs overnight, but nevertheless it is important to continue making steps towards a goal.” Moreover, she utilizes the actionable public health law skills she learned in Professor Rob Gatter’s public health law course every day in her work at the CDC, routinely referring back to lessons learned when completing various projects. “Having both the J.D. and the MPH helps me navigate through two very different spheres, the scientific and the legal,” she said. “I often find myself wearing two hats, and having the dual degree has really helped me navigate both spheres successfully.”
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ince his arrival in St. Louis in 2001, Constantino “Tino” Ochoa Jr. (’10) has gone above and beyond to make a difference in his new home. When the Chicago
native first came to town with his wife, Zoila, he worked for the social services agency Family Resource Center which gives abused kids a chance for a better life by preventing and treating all forms of child abuse and neglect and by strengthening families through family-centered therapeutic, educational, and support services. When he decided to go back to school for his law degree, SLU LAW was a natural fit. “We knew we were going to stay in St. Louis for the long haul, and I knew that SLU LAW had a great reputation,” he said. “I also knew SLU overall was and is committed to the city. With both of those points, I chose to apply and be a part of the SLU LAW family and mission.” At SLU LAW Ochoa made lifelong friends and helped revive the Hispanic Law Student Association. He also was influenced by several professors, most notably Professor Pete Salsich, whose classes relating to urban development served as the insightful catalyst to his legal career. “He was very instrumental in developing my interest in community development and pushing the idea that all things development are not strictly legal, but interdisciplinary.” A two-time summer associate at Bryan Cave, Ochoa joined the firm after graduation where he has since developed skills as a real estate and finance attorney. The firm continues to support his efforts outside of work that tie into his practice area or into his previous life in social work. It is that past experience that made him a natural fit to assist, and now lead, Bryan Cave’s guardian ad litem (GAL) pro bono program with the Probate Division of the 22nd Judicial Circuit. “My favorite part is knowing that whatever we do as part of the GAL program, we still have an impact on the lives of these children and families, even if we are involved for only a moment of their lives,” Ochoa said. “With that being said,