A Different Kind of Love Story: Finding Purpose in Public Health

Like all great love stories, mine started with sunny strawberry fields on the Central Coast of California.

But here’s where this particular love story takes a turn from your favorite Netflix rom-com. I found my passion not for a small town carpenter or the owner of a struggling Christmas tree farm. I discovered a passion for nonprofit and public health. I found a calling that has now carried me through a decade and a half career that even today continues to bring me joy and inspiration.

It Started with Strawberries

With lots of dreams and all of my worldy possions shoved Tetris-style in the back of my rusty but prized Camry, I moved west on a bit of a whim to start an entry-level administrative position in health care. From a vantage point of youth, nativity and privilege, healthcare access was barely even a nebulous concept for me. Then I rounded a corner on a dusty road in Santa Maria, CA and saw them.

Under a blazing sun, they moved in lines across the wide open fields, relentlessly gathering strawberries and other produce. I learned that many of these migrant farm workers were uninsured and undocumented, drawn to the United States to pursue their own precious hopes and dreams.

I would also find out that they and their families could not access the health care resources they desperately needed anywhere else in the community…except through the wide open doors of the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) network I had just joined.

From Juggling Lunch Orders to Finding Purpose

My first health care functions involved juggling lunch orders, phones that never stopped ringing and quadruple-booked calendars, but I kept my eyes wide open and absorbed every opportunity to learn and grow.

I saw that the doors of this FQHC (and the 1,400 others spanning this country) were not just opened for migrant farm workers. Those who were unhoused, struggling with substance use disorder, living in poverty, otherwise falling through the gaping holes in our country's health care system found their safety net with us. This work mattered; it changed lives.

I soon transitioned from administrative duties to operational functions within the clinical services team; then I began recruiting Physicians, and my purpose crystalized. I couldn’t deliver the care these patients deserved, but I could effectively advance the work of this organization by drawing others to join us in our fight for health access.

Telling a Story, Building a Mission-Driven Team

As a physician recruiter, my role was to tell the community health story clearly, honestly and authentically. To this day, I still feel a sense of unbridled joy when that story resonates and I land an accepted offer for a Physician, clinical leader or other health care team member. I can visualize the difference they will make; the patient lives they will change for the better.

Today, I'm privileged to lead a team of unparalleled recruiters who not only feel drawn to our mission, but live it every day. We tell our organization’s story from the heart every day and, as a result, drew hundreds of new team members to our system last year.

To me, community and public health really represent the definition of a love story: one that is driven at its core not by “meet cutes,” sunsets and roses but by acceptance. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from or what your history may be. Within the walls of community health centers and public health organizations like CommUnityCare Health Centers and Central Health , you will find your home. That’s what career passion feels like to me: knowing your work matters.