Meet our new faculty: Carly Strouse
- Disciplines: Maternal Child and Adolescent Health and Interdisciplinary
- Research interests: I am interested in community and academic partnerships aimed at advancing health equity. Most of my work focuses on maternal and child health as well as among people involved with the criminal legal system.
- Hometown: Los Angeles
- Current City: Berkeley
- Hobbies: I love to garden and spend time outdoors with my family.
In July 2024, Berkeley Public Health welcomed adjunct assistant professor of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Carly Strouse, DrPH, MPH. Dr. Strouse has been the director of the Doctor of Public Health Program at UC Berkeley School of Public Health since 2022 and received both her MPH (2013) and DrPH (2016) here at UC Berkeley. She previously was on the faculty of Touro University.
Berkeley Public Health: Where did you live and work before joining the UC Berkeley School of Public Health?
Carly Strouse: I have lived in the Bay Area for over 25 years. I was on faculty at Touro University prior to my time at Berkeley.
At Touro, I was a faculty member in the Health Equity & Criminal Justice concentration, the first such CEPH-accredited concentration in the nation. We partnered with community organizations to address issues related to the criminal legal system. [I worked on] Project COPE, a participatory research initiative that seeks to address the mental health challenges and coping mechanisms of individuals who have been wrongfully convicted and later exonerated. The project is driven by exonerees themselves, who are partners in the research process.
The program has highlighted the necessity of providing targeted mental health services and support systems for this population, which has historically been underserved and marginalized.
Another example of community partnerships while at Touro was working with Solano Heals, which promotes equity in healthy births for Black babies and their families in Solano County. I wrote grants for community led projects and assisted with data dissemination. They are one of the organizations featured in the MCAH program online training series on the life course perspective.
BPH: What are you currently working on?
CS: I am wrapping up a partnership developing a syringe service program in a student run free clinic in Solano County and getting ready to welcome our newest DrPH and MCAH students this fall.
We have such an amazing group of DrPH students, I feel lucky to work with them and with Kevin Guzman, our program manager! When I came on as co-director, we were preparing for accreditation and looking at how we could strengthen our curriculum to best train the next generation of public health leaders and changemakers. Since we received accreditation, I have been focused on advancing our mission, enhancing the curriculum, building and strengthening our connection with alumni and faculty, and stakeholders across campus. I am excited to engage with our new cohort of students joining us this fall.