Episode #434 Gaslit by Corporations, Ignited by Community with Vinu Ilakkuvan, DrPH
- Laura Hollabaugh
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- 15 minutes ago
- 3 min read
On This Episode Of The Public Health Epidemiology Conversations (PHEC) Podcast
In this conversation, Dr. Charlotte Huntley welcomes back Dr. Vinu Ilakkuvan, founder and principal consultant at Pop Health and creator of Gaslit by Corporations, to explore what it really means to go “further upstream” in public health. Vinu shares how years of working with coalitions and systems-change efforts led her to focus on power—who has it, how it’s used, and why communities must reclaim it to advance health. She explains why she chose the bold framing “Gaslit by Corporations, Ignited by Community” to translate the academic idea of the commercial determinants of health into language that everyday people can connect with and act on.
Throughout the episode, Dr. Huntley and Dr. Ilakkuvan dig into plain-language communication, narrative power, and community organizing as essential strategies for countering corporate harm and shifting policy, while also highlighting the importance of community spaces (including the PHEC Podcast Community App) to strengthen collective “civic muscle.”
About Our Guest
Vinu Ilakkuvan, DrPH
Vinu Ilakkuvan, DrPH, is Founder and Principal Consultant of PoP Health (www.pophealthllc.com), a public health practice that partners with community coalitions to drive policy and systems change.
She is passionate about addressing the root causes of health shaped by corporate and political forces, and recently launched GASLIT (www.gaslitbycorporations.com), a project focused on building community power and reducing corporate influence to advance public health and equity.
As a professorial lecturer and policy consultant with George Washington University, she has worked with the University’s Center for Health and Health Care in Schools and the Center on Commercial Determinants of Health. She was also selected to be a 2025 Seeding Disruption Fellow with the Equity Lab.
Vinu began her public health career coordinating the Virginia Department of Health's bullying prevention program and later, evaluating the national truth antismoking campaign and managing policy projects at Trust for America’s Health. Vinu received her DrPH from George Washington University, her MSPH from the Harvard School of Public Health, and Bachelor’s degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Economics from UVa.
Listen To This Episode Of The Public Health Epidemiology Conversations (PHEC) Podcast
Conversation Highlights
Community-rooted public health work is essential; being grounded in real relationships and local context changes how policies and systems are designed and implemented.
“Going upstream” is not just about social and structural determinants of health; it is about naming and shifting power—financial, political, and narrative.
Corporate interests often directly harm health (through products, labor and environmental practices, and lobbying) and indirectly harm health through gaslighting and individual-blame narratives.
Institutions frequently pressure public health professionals to “soften” their language; being independent can create space to speak plainly and truthfully about power and harm.
Jargon like “commercial determinants of health” blocks community engagement; using direct, resonant language such as “Gaslit by Corporations” invites people into the conversation.
Collective action and community organizing are the real levers for change; individuals may feel powerless alone, but communities are powerful together.
Simple, low-lift gatherings and coalitions that connect residents, organizations, and decision-makers help rebuild community connection and civic engagement skills.
Clear, compelling storytelling about what public health is—and why it matters—is foundational to building public support, protecting funding, and advancing equity-focused policy.
“As much as we talk about going upstream in public health, we are not going far enough upstream… and further upstream is power.” – Dr. Vinu Ilakkuvan
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DrCHHuntley LLC is a public health consulting firm that specializes in epidemiology consulting, supporting large nonprofit organizations in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, and Florida that serve Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). We also provide nationwide public health consulting and epidemiology consulting support to BIPOC organizations across the United States.
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