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Celebrating Community and Menopause Equity

We were honored to attend The Power of the Pause Celebration, an inspiring event dedicated to celebrating community, connection, and the importance of menopause equity.

This incredible gathering brought together individuals, advocates, and health leaders who are working to break the silence surrounding menopause and promote greater awareness of midlife health. The conversations throughout the day highlighted the importance of access to resources, compassionate care, and open dialogue for everyone navigating this phase of life.

As a proud sponsor, we’re grateful for the opportunity to support this vital initiative and amplify the message that menopause deserves understanding, respect, and visibility. Events like this remind us how powerful it can be when communities come together to share experiences, uplift one another, and challenge stigmas.

Together, we’re helping to create a future where everyone feels seen, celebrated, and empowered at every stage of life.

📸 Take a look at some moments from the celebration below!

Supporting Our Community: UConn Health MPH Partner with Hands on Hartford

 Kelly Dougherty, the organization’s Community Engagement and Partnerships & Communications Coordinator, & GA's Taline Norisgian, and Julia Szcech stand next to cart with donated items

At Department of Public Health Sciences, community engagement isn’t just a value, it’s part of who we are. Recently, we had the absolute pleasure of partnering with Hands on Hartford, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing housing and food security and improving health for individuals and families in need.

As part of this initiative, we dropped off our department’s donated goods and met with Kelly, the organization’s Community Engagement and Partnerships & Communications Coordinator. Thanks to the generosity of our community and UConn Health colleagues, we were able to donate around 260 items to support their ongoing programs.

During our visit, Kelly shared inspiring insights into Hands on Hartford’s impactful work supporting residents throughout the city and the pressing challenges they’re facing. Her stories vividly reflect the difference community partnerships can make and how vital it is to continue lending a hand.

We left feeling deeply inspired and eager to explore future collaborations, including a potential video project to showcase Hands on Hartford’s incredible impact and highlight upcoming volunteer opportunities. Stay tuned for more on that!

If you’d like to get involved or support their mission, please visit: https://handsonhartford.org/volunteer/

These are their biggest needs right now:

1) Financial Contributions
2) Nonperishable food for our Community Pantry
3) Full Size toiletries and household essentials for our Community Pantry
4) Food for our kids’ backpack nutrition program
5) Snack kits for our Homeless Outreach Team

Together, small acts of kindness add up to lasting impact.

 

Welcome Dr. Monika Doshi to the Department!

Portrait of Monika Doshi

The UConn Department of Public Health Sciences is proud to welcome Dr. Monika Doshi as our newest faculty member.

Dr. Doshi’s research reflects a deep commitment to advancing health equity and addressing disparities among underserved, marginalized, and vulnerable populations. Her work has focused on HIV prevention, care, and treatment; mental health; women’s health; gender and sexuality; stigma and discrimination; chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes; and health and human rights.

In addition to these longstanding areas of scholarship, Dr. Doshi’s more recent research has expanded to examine how policy, community, institutional, and interpersonal factors influence the health and wellbeing of U.S.-based Latinx communities within the context of immigration. By investigating the multi-layered challenges these communities face, her work sheds light on the intersections between health, social justice, and policy.

With her broad expertise and dedication to public health, Dr. Doshi strengthens our department’s mission to improve population health and advance health equity through research, education, and community engagement. We are excited to see the impact her contributions will bring to both UConn and the communities we serve.