An interview with Public Health Alumni Association Board Members Kat Sham and Whitney Kennedy

What are some of the circumstances that brought you to study at Berkeley?

In my junior and senior years of high school, I volunteered at Westminster Free Clinic, a safety net clinic serving low-income families in my community. I saw firsthand how critical it was to address our patients’ social health needs in addition to the clinical care they sought. This early exposure to the field of public health ultimately brought me to Berkeley, where I had the opportunity to participate in a top undergraduate public health program and start off my career in the field.

What kind of a student were you? What did you do for fun then?

I remember trying to do all my homework during the week so that my weekends were free to explore Oakland and San Francisco. My friends and I liked working together in cafes, baking, karaoke, and excuses for day trips in search of good food.

What is your job and title currently and what do you like best about your work?

I’m about to start a new role at Kaiser Permanente as a medicare product manager, which is super exciting! I’ve known about Kaiser’s presence in the healthcare market as a leader in community health initiatives and in providing affordable, high-quality care since I was a student at Berkeley, so I feel really grateful to have the opportunity to join the organization at this point in my career.

Before I started my Harvard MPH program, I worked as a benefits consultant at Mercer in San Francisco. It was a great place to learn the ins and outs of employer-sponsored insurance and the landscape of digital health solutions that address population health concerns for employees. Students who are interested in exploring healthcare business or management careers should definitely consider this role as a stepping stone to gaining deeper experience in the healthcare market.

What surprised you the most about transitioning from being a student to a public health professional?

Transitioning from the environment and expectations associated with student life to those of a working professional was, at the time, new and challenging. When you’re a student, you are following a somewhat defined path, and you have cause to believe that the world is your oyster when it comes to seeking your future career path. However, when you step on that first rung of the career ladder and learn the ins and outs of your first professional position, the thought of—Where do I go from here? Where should I be going?—can be overwhelming. I wrestled with these questions a lot once I had settled into my first role. Slowly, I learned to accept that I wouldn’t have the answers right away, and would be constantly reevaluating the answers as I advanced through my career. Instead, it felt much better to channel my focus into exploring and discovering what potentially excited me the most in healthcare and the impact that I wanted to have working in the industry.

What do you like to do when you are not working?

I’m always looking for new crafty skills and projects. My current crafting fixation is crocheting, but I also enjoy cross-stitching and collages. Basically making and designing things from scratch!

What has been your favorite part of planning the PHAA Student-Alumni Coffee Chats Program?

While planning the coffee chats program is a big project, working with Whitney to run our fall round of chats made it a lot more fun and manageable. We were a great team! Our fellow Events & Networking Committee members are similarly hardworking and accountable to the work that’s needed for all the events we host for PHAA, and that makes all the difference with executing meaningful and impactful programming for students and alumni.

Please give us a fun personal fact or two

I grew up learning how to use the abacus to solve math problems, so my mental math skills are pretty good (and helpful when quick tax & tip calculations are needed).

Whitney Kennedy, MPH 2015

Why did you join the PHAA board and what has been helpful or enjoyable?

I joined the PHAA board because I wanted to stay engaged with the Berkeley Public Health community. I was pretty involved as an undergraduate student with various BPH programs including the Online MPH program and as a student representative, and I wanted to continue to contribute as an alumni to advance initiatives that strengthen student-alumni relations.

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

Hopefully I’ll have been able to gain experience across different job functions and responsibilities that currently interest me and honed in more on what I like and am good at!

Any advice for students graduating this May?

Even though you’re graduating, keep that student mindset and stay ever curious wherever you end up landing. Invest the time in meeting new people and building professional relationships, it pays off! And, as cliche as it sounds, everything always works out, so try not to stress too much.

What has been your favorite part of planning the PHAA Student-Alumni Coffee Chats Program?

My favorite part is engaging with alumni hosts from diverse public health backgrounds who are incredibly excited about meeting with and mentoring Berkeley students. I love getting follow-up emails from alumni hosts after successful coffee chats and hearing about how students and their public health aspirations have inspired alumni to continue to engage with and give back to the Berkeley BPH community.

What are some of the circumstances that brought you to study at Berkeley?

I knew I wanted to solidify roots in the bay area postgraduate school so building a network in and around Berkeley was an easy choice. With my concentration in Health Policy and Management, I loved the balance the program strikes between academic study paired with real-world application working with local organizations on consulting projects. I was also looking forward to the opportunity to take classes outside of my concentration and at the Haas School of Business.

What kind of a student were you? What did you do for fun then?

I was a busy student! While focused on my schoolwork and group projects, I was also working part-time in the city at a local medical group and was an active participant with the Center for Health Leadership. With the help of my advisers, I also participated in countless informational interviews to explore different career paths. As an introvert, I was committed to pushing myself out of my comfort zone to get the most out of my time at the school of public health.

What is your job and title currently and what do you like best about your work?

I currently serve as the chief of staff to Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s regional president and also serve as the co-director of KP’s administrative fellowship program. In this role, I love supporting our executive team in strategic planning, thinking out of the box to transform healthcare and deliver on quality, service, and affordability. It is inspiring to connect with our leaders and frontline staff to see first-hand, the commitment to keeping our communities healthy. In my role over the administrative fellowship program, it fills my cup to connect with our early careerists and guide them through a journey of discovery as they narrow in on where they see themselves in the future.

What surprised you the most about transitioning from being a student to a public health professional?

When transitioning from student to public health professional, I was reminded of how much learning happens while doing. I lean so much on my subject matter experts and the skills I’ve developed over time to contribute to the organization’s objectives. I also value being a lifelong learner—understanding that learning does not stop in the classroom. In fact, that’s just where it begins. I feel privileged to be able to engage in learning opportunities within and outside of my organization. Lastly, I strongly feel that my time at UC Berkeley as a student prepared me well for an organization like KP, where we know so much of our health takes place outside of the 4 walls of a hospital or clinic. And while not surprising, it reinforced my passion around public health.

What do you like to do when you are not working?

Most recently, I’ve added the title of mom to my identity. As a new mom, most of my time outside of work is filled with giggles (and cries) and snuggles from my sweet baby. I also love exploring new trails around the bay area and appreciate a good weekend road trip!

Please give us a fun personal fact or two

My husband and I met while attending UC Berkeley. Our son is not yet a year old, but we’re secretly hoping he will follow in our footsteps. Go Bears!

Why did you join the PHAA board and what has been helpful or enjoyable?

As a graduate of UC Berkeley for my undergraduate and graduate studies, I benefited greatly from past alumni who turned into mentors for me. Joining the PHAA board was my way of staying engaged with the school of public health and UC Berkeley and an avenue to pay it forward. On this board, I’ve loved connecting with other alumni from so many different backgrounds. Most enjoyable was coordinating our fall coffee chats with one of our fabulous board members, Kat—hearing the feedback from both alum and students was exactly why I joined PHAA in the first place.

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

I enjoy working in hospital administration—the fast pace, the saved lives, the passionate staff—it all keeps me going day-to-day. In 10 years, I look forward to continuing my journey toward executive leadership in this space.

Any advice for students graduating this May?

Take a moment to truly soak it all in. It is a busy time rushing between school, projects, work, extracurriculars, that we often forget to truly reflect on now—all that you have accomplished, all that you will accomplish.