I believe our stories change communities.

My health justice story begins when I was 12. Struggling from trauma caused by bullying in my small, rural hometown, I turned a class assignment about issues facing teens today into an essay on teen suicide. That essay was submitted to a statewide contest that encouraged teens to voice concern about issues affecting them. And I won. I went to D.C. for my first lobbying trip and learned what it means to speak up for others. There, a seed was planted. And eventually, I survived. Until I thrived.

I am currently a doctoral candidate in public health at Boston University with a focus on the intersection of race, gender, and poverty in the South. I have worked on issues ranging from senior hunger to women’s health to Medicaid expansion as both a nonprofit professional and volunteer. I also have 15 years of communications experience ranging from political campaigns to technical editing.

I earned a BS in magazine journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and an MPA from The University of Georgia.

You can follow me on Twitter at @tristamac.