Khaliah Fleming, MPH, CHES®
Serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru led Khaliah Fleming, MPH, CHES,® to her career as a health education specialist.
Her volunteer work illustrated the impact of community-based participatory research and health education has on people and communities. Trust plays a tremendous role. People must trust the person providing the health information to them in order to receive it.
The Peace Corps influenced Khaliah to dig deep into public health to find feasible solutions to issues.
“I enjoy helping people create their own health blue prints and best practices for getting to their “healthy best.”
After the Peace Corp, Khaliah returned to the United States to pursue her MPH from the University of South Florida.
Following graduation, she continued her career as a health education specialist at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Florida. In this role, Khaliah is responsible for assisting in the development, implementation, and evaluation of cancer-related resources, information, and educational sessions that are culturally and linguistically appropriate for the medically underserved residing within the center’s 15-county catchment area.
She has the ability to learn and grow with people from various backgrounds which she translates into effective teaching skills.
“I am always learning from community members!”
Khaliah is also a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Education.
Her advice,
“Learn all you can about the field, stay up to date with changes in policy, educational guidelines, best practices, etc. Do not be afraid to ask for assistance and be sure to have a few mentors.”
Her professional career also includes serving as immediate past president of the Florida Society for Public Health Education, board member of the Society for the Analysis of African American Public Health Issues; a member of APHA; and serving as a grant reviewer for the American Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen, Florida Suncoast Chapter.
Khaliah’s final thoughts,
“Purpose is seasonal; find what season I am in within my health education career and be sure to honor that season in action and deed.”
Khaliah is a member of the Florida SOPHE Chapter.