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A LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

It’s been several months since our last newsletter and so much has transpired. We have an entire new group of ExecHPM Alumni! Congratulations to the Class of 2024! Over 70 healthcare professionals completed UCLA’s EMPH and MHA programs this year and were conferred graduate degrees at Commencement on June 14th. We are so proud of you and feel privileged to have been part of your public health journey. We loved meeting your friends and families at the grad luncheon. So much to celebrate! Please keep in touch as you continue to achieve new heights in your careers. 

Summer is coming to a close and we are starting the academic year off strong. I am thrilled to introduce in this newsletter our brand-new EMPH fall cohort of 15 participants. The EMPH Class of 2026 started the program on August 23 with classes including Principles of Public Health (Dr. Shira Shafir), Health Systems Organization and Financing (Dr. Burt Cowgill), and Microeconomic Theory of Health Sector (Dr. Dhruv Khurana).  

Led by Professor Mike Galper, our second year EMPH students are working on their summer consulting projects, with subjects ranging from the success of a pharmacist led care management program to the value of utilizing patient stories in providing care to veterans. We look forward to your presentations on November 15th. 

With 17 new students starting the program on July 1st for the summer quarter, our online MHA Program continues to grow. We welcomed 28 students to campus last month for MHA Immersion — a great week of team building, professional development, and camaraderie.  

MHA Candidate Srihitha Gaddam has assembled a board and launched UCLA’s first ever MHA Student Association (MHASA). With Dr. Laura Erskine as their advisor, they drafted a constitution and are fully operational. Thank you, Srihitha, for your leadership — we are very excited to see the results of the collaborations throughout the MHA cohorts. 

It was wonderful seeing so many students, graduates, and healthcare leaders at the “Leaders of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow” Annual Awards Dinner in April. Congratulations to those who joined the honors societies of Delta Omega and Upsilon Phi Delta. Working full-time while achieving academic excellence is quite an accomplishment. 

EMPH Sinaiko Business Plan Awardees Dr. Visha Subbiah and Via Moira Ventura were honored at the dinner, along with all of our award winners. The annual Leaders of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow event brings together industry leaders and the UCLA public health community. Looking around the room, we were filled with pride. Thank you to the EMPH students, graduates, and partners who stopped into the Pinnacle Room for interviews. We are so inspired by the work you are doing in the field of public health and love sharing it with our community. 

Enjoy your final few weeks of summer, everyone.  

All my best, 

Kyle Sullivan, MSW
Director, Executive Programs in HPM
Interim Director, EMPH Program