CSTE is celebrating National Public Health Week 2024 with a series of three blogs recognizing stories of you, the public health professional. First up, meet Tiffany Dimaano and learn how today’s NPHW theme, “Civic Engagement,” was a cornerstone of her CSTE AEF fellowship.

Growing up in Texas, CSTE Applied Epidemiology Fellow (AEF) Tiffany Dimaano was far from a “lone star.” Her passion for community service and helping others was evident from childhood.

She volunteered at children’s hospitals and organizations such as the Texas Children’s Hospital, Children’s Miracle Network, Make-A-Wish foundation, and the Ronald McDonald House, and even sang the national anthem at a fundraiser for a child with cancer.

As she got older, her work became more centered around the health field. While a graduate student at UTHealth Houston during the Pandemic, Dimaano helped out at a free-standing ER and took calls for patients needing COVID-19 tests.

That experience led her to study epidemiology and public health.

“[The COVID-19 pandemic] kind of gave me a bit of motivation to understand the real importance of public health, especially when it comes to outbreaks and investigations,” she said.

After graduating, she began looking for opportunities to begin her career at a state health department.

“I stumbled upon AEF and heard it was a good way to transition from being a student to a career professional,” Dimaano said. “It seemed like a great way to get hands-on experience in a health department, and it has helped me truly understand what public health and epidemiology is all about.”

Today’s National Public Health Week theme, “Civic Engagement,” is a fitting one as Dimaano’s AEF experience at the Texas Department of Health was full of it. For starters, she participated in a foodborne outbreak investigation to interview affected individuals.

"I assisted with telephone interviews with individuals who tested positive for cyclospora," she said. “They were a little bit hesitant because they didn't want to be investigated but were interested in understanding how surveillance works.”

Another side of civic engagement Dimaano became experienced with was public outreach. She shadowed her mentor, who is the director of the Environmental Surveillance Toxicology Branch, during the Pop-Up ATX event where different departments from the city government set up booths and talk to folks about what they do.

“It was very informative, just being able to have that interaction with the public. And the ability to share helpful resources for parents.”

In addition to professional takeaways, Dimaano said that another bonus of the AEF program is the relationship between cohort members. She said it was beyond helpful to have a group of peers going through similar situations, learning similar software, and completing similar tasks.

“Having a cohort of fellows really helped because we're all very supportive of one another,” she said. “We still have an active group chat going on and ask questions to one another. It's still very strong.”

She credits CSTE’s AEF program for shaping her focus in the field and giving her a wide range of experiences in a health department setting.

Her advice for those thinking of applying?

“Go for it. [AEF] can really help people to define their career path in public health and what working in a health department is all about.”

Interested in Environmental Health like Tiffany? Learn more about our Environmental Health subcommittee on the topic and how to join.