A Perspective Piece by GPH Alum, Kassandra Jones, MPH
As a recent GPH graduate, Kassandra Jones began her public health career by choosing a path less traveled. Since graduating, she has launched a videography business (Infideo) and collaborates with nonprofits on their media coverage and events ranging from Project HEAL to the United Nations.
Most recently, Kassandra attended the 25th United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP25, in Madrid, Spain under the presidency of the Chilean government. She was given the opportunity to assist the nonprofit Kitchen Connection with their food showcase in collaboration with FAO, IFAD, WFP and the UNDGC.
The event highlighted climate-related challenges affecting Chad, Guatemala, and Sri Lanka. Masterchef season 5 winner Jorge Brazalez, from Ibiza, and Pepa Muñoz, Madrid local restaurant owner, were invited to create dishes complementing the discussion with a tasting, while advocating for climate action in the kitchen.
Her main takeaway from this experience was that while the UN continues to recognize the urgent need for climate action, they have yet to take large enough steps towards accomplishing targeted goals. She believes that now more than ever, these nations need to come to a consensus and act quickly.
“We can no longer simply state that we are observing climate change transpire, it has become a global climate crisis and we are almost out of time.”
Kassandra is determined to elicit social change and provide solutions for public health issues. Her next steps are with one New York City’s largest insurance companies – Healthfirst, as a Digital Media Specialist. She wants to use her MPH to highlight awareness around current and future global public health trends by using media and digital content creation.
To see a sample of Kassandra’s work and video highlights from this year’s event click this link:
