Episode #461 Created For Right Now, With Nandi Marshall, DrPH, MPH
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
On This Episode Of The Public Health Epidemiology Conversations (PHEC) Podcast
What does it look like to lead the nation's oldest and largest public health organization during one of the most turbulent moments the field has ever faced? Dr. Nandi A. Marshall, current president of the American Public Health Association (APHA), has a clear answer, and she delivers it everywhere she goes: you are here for a reason, and this moment needs you.
In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Dr. Marshall for a wide-ranging conversation that covers personal origin stories, public health advocacy, maternal and child health, workforce encouragement, and the future of the field.
From a Magazine Article to a Career in Public Health
Dr. Marshall's path into public health began with a single moment she describes as vividly as if it happened yesterday. A required class, a grabbed magazine, and an article about HIV in the Black community set everything in motion. That moment of recognition, that she needed to do something, led her to seek out an internship at Aid Atlanta, where she planned a full World AIDS Day event as a college senior. She has been intentional about her work ever since.
A Personal Mission in Maternal and Child Health
After years of building expertise in community engagement and health equity, Dr. Marshall found her most personal focus area: breastfeeding advocacy. Drawing on her own contrasting experiences as a new mother and graduate student, she channeled that journey into research and community-based work. Through a REACH grant partnership with Healthy Savannah, she has spent nearly a decade working to make communities more breastfeeding-friendly by addressing the support, access, and policy structures that determine whether families can meet their goals.
What It Means to Be APHA President Right Now
As both Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University and president of APHA, Dr. Marshall carries a full plate and carries it with intention. She opens up about what the role actually looks like, from visiting state affiliates and MCing the March for Public Health in Washington, D.C., to writing a monthly column for the Nation's Health and showing up as an engaged participant (not just a speaker) at every conference she attends.
The Message She Brings to a Tired Workforce
Public health professionals across the country are exhausted, and Dr. Marshall knows it. Her presidential platform centers on a simple but powerful reminder: this is not the first time the field has faced crisis, and the people doing this work were made for exactly this moment. She speaks candidly about naming practices, community power, the possibility of rebuilding public health infrastructure in ways that actually serve everyone, and the non-negotiable importance of rest and self-care.
Bringing the Next Generation Into Public Health
One of Dr. Marshall's most energizing goals is expanding public health education into K-12 settings. Through a Pathway to Public Health program in Bulloch County, Georgia, high school students are already developing a public health lens and imagining community solutions to local health challenges. Dr. Marshall's vision goes beyond recruitment: she wants young people to understand that every career, from engineering to owning a restaurant, carries a responsibility to the health of others.
About Our Guest
Nandi A. Marshall, DrPH, MPH
Dr. Nandi A. Marshall is a nationally recognized public health leader, community-engaged scholar, and educator dedicated to advancing health equity and strengthening the public health workforce. She serves as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University, where she is also a full professor. In this role, she oversees curriculum, accreditation, recruitment, retention, and alumni affairs. Dr. Marshall is the current president of the American Public Health Association, and notably serves as both APHA's youngest ever elected president and its first legacy president, following in the footsteps of her father, a former APHA president and longtime public health leader. Her research and community engagement work centers on health equity, maternal and child health, and breastfeeding advocacy, including a long-standing partnership with Healthy Savannah through the CDC's REACH grant program.
Listen To This Episode Of The Public Health Epidemiology Conversations (PHEC) Podcast
Conversation Highlights
Follow your curiosity, even when the detour is unexpected.
Dr. Marshall's public health career launched because she had to retake a class and happened to grab a magazine. Leaning into that moment of recognition, rather than dismissing it, changed everything.
Volunteering without course credit or pay can shape a career.
As a college senior, Dr. Marshall sought out an unpaid internship with Aid Atlanta and was trusted to plan a major public health event. That hands-on experience built the foundation for her graduate training and career.
Personal experience is a legitimate and powerful source of public health expertise.
Dr. Marshall's two very different experiences with breastfeeding, shaped by access to support, workplace conditions, and resources, directly informed her decade-long community-based research agenda.
Public health professionals need encouragement, not just information.
Dr. Marshall intentionally closes every talk with a reminder that the people in the room are there for a reason. That message of purpose and belonging is part of her presidential platform, not a footnote.
Changing the name of the work does not mean abandoning the work.
In a climate where language around equity and health disparities is being challenged, Dr. Marshall reminds practitioners that the field has navigated naming constraints before and can continue advancing impact regardless of what it is called.
The workforce cannot pour from an empty cup.
Rest is not a reward or a luxury. Dr. Marshall emphasizes that public health professionals must actively protect their own wellbeing in order to sustain their work and show up for their communities.
K-12 students deserve a public health education.
Workforce pipeline concerns are real, but Dr. Marshall's vision is broader than recruitment. Raising a generation with a public health lens means every future professional, in any field, understands how their decisions affect community health.
"The best thing about all of this and having to potentially start over is that we can create what we need it to be. We can bring our partners together and we can create a system that's actually going to work for the people that public health folks think it should be serving." - Dr. Nandi A. Marshall
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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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