Meet Sara Stanley
Hi, I’m Sara Stanley and I’m the new program manager for the DeRouen Center for Global Oral Health.
Why I chose public health
I chose to go into public health because it is an interesting and ever-evolving field. As the current COVID-19 pandemic shows, once basic public health breaks down, people cannot work, take care of their families, or interact with their communities in a normal way. Public health is the pulse of our society – without basic metrics of public health people are not able to pursue their daily lives.
I have worked in different aspects of public health and research over the duration of my career, including community physical activity, organ donation programs and low SES population access, behind the scenes managing grants and contracts, and now in global oral health. Every area has been interesting and full of surprises – working with new and interesting people and learning about new areas of national and global health.
Joining the DeRouen Center
I’m excited to join the DeRouen Center and be working in the oral health field. There is so much to do, as many people around the globe do not think about oral health as part of standard public health. But it is. As anyone who has ever had an urgent dental issue knows – it cannot be ignored. And the way oral health manifests in disease populations such as HIV has many parts of the world needing urgent oral health care in conjunction with their main disease treatments.