Meet the President of NYMC Student Health Care Executives: Dr.P.H. Candidate Allison Asher, M.P.H., M.B.A.

In addition to serving as the president of StuHe, Asher also served as vice president of the United Nations Association (UNA) on campus from August 2022 to May 2023. The UNA NYMC chapter encourages students to be active in UNA through special interest groups, direct membership with UNA-NYC, UNA internship opportunities, national competitions, county and state meetings and national UNA conferences and events. “You need that extracurricular to balance out the demanding workload as students,” says Asher. When she’s not finding ways to improve the student experience at NYMC, or chipping away at her dissertation, Asher works as an intern for two organizations: the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and Westchester Institute of Human Development (WIHD).

At OPWDD, Asher aids in self-direction for individuals on the autism spectrum. At WIHD, she is a clinical systems intern, playing a pivotal role in the implementation of the organization’s behavioral health program. Her internship with WIHD is her second stint with the group. She was a leadership education in neurodevelopmental disabilities trainee for a year, working with interdisciplinary teams to better understand and advocate for people with disabilities. Her internship experiences tie into what she envisions for herself post-Dr.P.H. “I want to work with survivors of sexual violence and people within the intellectual and developmental disabilities population who are more susceptible to sexual violence for a variety of factors,” she explains.

Asher is entering the final year of her doctoral studies, diligently preparing for her dissertation. She is slated to present “Assessing Provider Knowledge on Best Practice to Help Survivors of Sexual Violence” in the spring of 2024. Her research includes distributing surveys to emergency room providers to assess their level of preparedness for dealing with immediate response to sexual violence.

Even with her busy schedule, Asher is determined to grow StuHe. She wants NYMC students to know that the club is low-commitment, but high-impact. “People can show up to our events and network without taking away from their personal time,” says Asher. “You can join the club and come to one event per year or come to every event. It’s what you make it.”

One major goal for Asher and StuHe is to help students evolve professionally. There are several opportunities StuHe offers for professional development, including the newly launched “Connect and Mentor” webinar series. The goal is to connect students with very well-respected public health professionals doing important work in the field, get career guidance and make connections. The first event was held in April with approximately 30 people in attendance.

StuHe is an interprofessional club available to all students at NYMC, with public health serving as the common denominator for connection. “It’s [public health] relevant for doctors. It’s relevant for SLPs. It’s relevant for researchers in pharmacology. It’s relevant to everyone,” says Asher.

To learn more about StuHe and its mission, visit the StuHe website or contact Amy Ansehl, D.N.P., M.S.N., RN, FNP-BC, StuHe faculty advisor or Padmini Murthy, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., FAMWA, FRSPH, StuHe faculty advisor.