About Us
Our staff, advisory board, and supporters
“I took a new position in January 2023, in the middle of the CSA program, and relocated to Columbus, Ohio. The program helped to prepare me for my new job and provided me with the information needed to make an easy transition.”
— Marc McPherson, CSA Alum ’23
A remarkable team supports Career Skills Academy students and is committed to helping CUNY SPH students advance in their careers.
STAFF
Hannah Stuart Lathan, MPH
Director of Experiential Learning and Career Services
CUNY SPH Class of 2021
hannah.lathan@sph.cuny.edu
Hannah Stuart Lathan, MPH
Director of Experiential Learning and Career Services
CUNY SPH Class of 2021
Hannah Stuart Lathan is CUNY SPH’s Director of Experiential Learning and Career Services and the Program Director of the Career Skills Academy. Hannah Stuart helped launch the New York Vaccine Literacy Campaign at CUNY SPH, which supported community-based efforts to increase vaccine uptake through education and communication. Under the CONVINCE USA initiative at CUNY SPH, she designed and conducted research and programmatic activities to identify and mitigate concerns about vaccination.
Prior to her roles at CUNY SPH, Hannah Stuart served as a peer education supervisor, sexual health educator, and counselor in New York City, specializing in partnership development across community organizations, schools, and New York City institutions. She is an experienced motivational interviewer and has advised students in areas of educational attainment, professional development, sexual health, and financial wellness. Hannah Stuart held a fellowship with the American Public Health Association’s Maternal Child Health section and served on the Professional Development committee. In 2021, she earned an MPH in Community Health and Maternal, Child, Reproductive, and Sexual Health from CUNY SPH, where she graduated as Valedictorian and received the Dean’s Academic Achievement Award. She received her BA from the University of South Carolina Honors College, where she studied Journalism and Public Health and graduated Magna Cum Laude.
Taylor Drost, MPH
Career Skills Academy Program Manager
CUNY SPH Class of 2022
Taylor Drost is the Career Skills Academy’s Program Manager in the Office of Experiential Learning and Career Services. She is a CUNY SPH alumna and received her MPH in Community Health with a specialization in Maternal, Child, Reproductive, and Sexual Health (MCRSH). Taylor previously worked as the Program Manager for the NY Vaccine Literacy Campaign at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, where she managed multiple projects across the program, organized and hosted events, and collected and analyzed vaccine-related data. Before joining the CUNY SPH team, Taylor received her BA in Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies from Stony Brook University. She also has experience working in government and with non-profit organizations.
Tina Lin
Student Career Advisor
Tina Lin is the Student Career Advisor in the CUNY SPH Office of Experiential Learning and Career Services. She works with students in 1:1 career coaching appointments, small groups, workshops, and events. Tina is passionate about career coaching and considers it a privilege to help students feel confident in taking practical next steps in their career paths. Prior to joining CUNY SPH, Tina served on the graduate student career development and experiential learning teams at the Columbia University Center for Career Education. She has served as a career coach at several campuses across the NYC metro area, including CUNY Baruch, NYU, St. John’s, and Yeshiva University.
As a born-and-raised New Yorker and bi-cultural, first-generation college student who has held industry positions in higher education, global corporations, and community-based nonprofits, she brings a diverse range of experiences to the student engagement process. Tina received her MA from St. John’s University and BA from Colgate University where she studied Economics and Asian Studies. In her free time, she can usually be found with a member of her large, extended Asian-American family eating in New York Chinatown or Flushing.
Abigail Goldberg
Special Projects Assistant
Abigail Goldberg is the Career Skills Academy’s Special Projects Assistant in the Office of Experiential Learning and Career Services. Additionally, she supports the Harlem Strong project at the CUNY Center for Innovation in Mental Health. She is a current MPH in Community Health student at CUNY SPH. Prior to her roles at SPH, Abigail managed a grant-funded State Opioid Response project, focusing on harm reduction and the expansion of peer support services for individuals with substance use disorders. She also served as a project manager with a social services nonprofit, contributing to the establishment of mental health services in under-resourced neighborhoods. She received her BS from Binghamton University, where she studied Integrative Neuroscience and graduated cum laude.
Caroline Soares
Special Projects Assistant
Caroline Soares is the Career Skills Academy’s Special Projects Assistant in the Office of Experiential Learning and Career Services. She is a current MS in Health Communication for Social Change student at CUNY SPH. Prior to her role at SPH, Caroline worked as a science and health communication professional with a focus on public health campaigns and clinical research communication. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication/journalism, along with certificate degrees in science journalism and the public communication of science.
ADVISORY BOARD
Austin Cheng, Esq., MHA, FACHE
Chief Executive Officer, Gramercy Surgery Center
Austin Cheng joined Gramercy Surgery Center as the Vice President in September 2019 and was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in February 2020. He previously served as a Business Development Associate as well as a member of the Board of Directors from 2012-2015. During this time, Gramercy Surgery Center expanded from a one-facility ambulatory surgery center to our current two-site operation. Austin is the son of the Founder of Gramercy Surgery Center, Katy Chiang. His vision is for Gramercy Surgery Center to become synonymous with being the premier multi-facility, multi-specialty ambulatory surgery center in New York City.
Austin brings with him prior experience from the New York City healthcare industry as well as recent experience in the legal field—both as a prosecutor and defense attorney for the United States Army and as a prosecutor for the United States Attorney’s Office. Though Austin has chosen to continue leading the company that his mother founded over ten years ago, he still maintains his qualifications to practice law in the states of New York and New Jersey. Austin is a proud alumnus of Union College, Brooklyn Law School, and Cornell University (Executive Masters of Health Administration). He has been recognized as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and also holds a certification as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
Innocent Clement, MD, MBA, MPH
CEO and Founder, Ciba Health
Dr. Clement is a trained physician, innovator and entrepreneur, the CEO and Founder of Ciba Health, a digital therapeutic, chronic disease reversal and a virtual care company. He was the former CEO and Co-Founder of Kaia Health Inc., a digital therapeutic company, where he oversaw US initiatives, including partnerships, clinical trials, regulatory submissions, and expansion across North America.
Katrina Mateo, PhD, MPH
Associate Director, Development Innovation, Regeneron
Katrina F. Mateo, PhD, MPH, is public-health trained researcher, interventionist, and strategist. Her work leverages human-centered design thinking, systems-thinking, behavioral science, and implementation science to drive innovation, optimization, and meaningful impact in clinical trials, digital health research, and public health initiatives.
In her current role at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, she is responsible for identifying, evaluating, evangelizing, coordinating and leading innovation opportunities to optimize clinical development operations speed and efficiency. Previous to this role, she assessed and implemented digital endpoint/biomarker technologies in studies across multiple therapeutic areas, as well as drove strategic initiatives to improve clinical trial operations/processes, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and patient experiences. Her early career in medical-academic settings and research consultancy focused on developing novel digital health behavior change interventions, as well as evaluating novel digital health technologies & solutions.
Katrina received her PhD in Public Health from the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, her MPH degree from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and her BA in Biology from Vassar College. She is currently pursuing an MBA through the Boston University Questrom School of Business.
Errol Pierre, DBA, MPA
Senior Vice President, State Programs, Healthfirst
Errol Pierre re-joined Healthfirst in 2019 as Senior Vice President, State Programs. In this role, he oversees sales, retention, and community engagement across the company’s Medicaid and Long-Term Care product portfolios. Earlier, he served with the company for several years, initially as Assistant Vice President of Product Management overseeing Affordable Care Act implementation before being promoted to Vice President in 2015. Before joining Healthfirst, Errol served as Chief Operating Officer for the commercial business unit of Empire BlueCross BlueShield, where, over the course of his 12-year tenure, he held various leadership roles in Sales, Product Development, and Strategy. Active in the community, he serves as a board member of the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health. Errol holds a Doctoral Degree in Business from Baruch College, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Fordham University and a Master of Public Administration in Finance and Health Policy from New York University.
Avery Bowser, MPH
Director of Strategy and Innovation, MJHS
Avery Bowser is the Director of Strategy and Innovation at MJHS, one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in New York City. She previously served as Director of Operations at Stellar Health, a value-based care tech startup. As the first Operations employee at Stellar Health, she led team development, management, and customer performance. Avery also has professional experience in the healthcare research and digital marketing industries. Avery holds a Master of Public Health Policy & Management from CUNY SPH, and a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications. She is a current graduate student in the Mental Health Counseling program at Hunter College.
SUPPORTERS
Since its founding in 2020, the Career Skills Academy has been the flagship student services program of the CUNY SPH Foundation. Thank you to our incredible supporters who made initial and sustaining gifts in support of this important work!
CORPORATE/INSTITUTIONAL
INDIVIDUAL
