- 2 min read

Episode #140 Interview with Sandra Melstad, MPH, SLM Consulting

Sandra Melstad Works to Improve the Health of Rural and Urban Communities

Sandra Melstad is the CEO of SLM Consulting, LLC, established in 2007. She has worked in public health for fourteen years, focused on health promotion and chronic disease prevention and control initiatives; working to improve the health of rural and urban communities where people live, work, learn and play.

Sandra uses her experience to adapt to the needs of the project, to achieve measurable outcomes that impact population health. She has also served in various public health roles, working to promote population health through collaborative partnerships.

Sandra holds a Master of Public Health and is currently working on her Ph.D. in Health Sciences focused on health equity and rural public health practice.

Listen to the Podcast Episode

Sandra's Career Advice to Public Health Students

Take the opportunity to talk with public health professionals in fields you are interested in. Learn about their work and public health focus.
Find an applied practice experience and capstone where you can develop your skills beyond the classroom. A good mentor can help accelerate your skills and learning.
Public health careers are broad and more nontraditional in nature, thus opportunities for a career may reside in health care, business, or even educational sectors. Take the time explore your interests.
Ensure you take the opportunity learn about diverse facets of public health practice and build a comprehensive knowledge and skill set necessary to enter into the public health workforce.
Build your writing skills. This is equally an important skill moving into a public health career.

Sandra's Career Advice for Public Health Graduates

Explore non-traditional employment settings in the job search.
Network, network, network. This is such an important avenue to get to know people and hopefully identify opportunities for employment. (Resources to help you with networking)
Find a mentor.
Volunteer with an organization you are interested in. Volunteering can turn into employment.
Do not be afraid to start small. It took jobs that I was underemployed at that built by work ethic, skills, etc and provided opportunities for the next opportunity.