Hello, I'm Claire

In 2011, I arrived in Bangladesh to support a public health nursing project. Between the urban slums of Dhaka and the outlying Manikganj District, I was specifically researching individual access to healthcare while examining indicators of disease and mortality. As a woman born and raised in Alaska, visiting a city of 14.4 million people without language proficiency in Bengali, I realized that the strength of my assessment was in listening: fostering empathetic connections to address larger systemic social problems. Listening meant not only using my stethoscope to assess a baby’s heartbeat or a grandmother’s lungs, but also listening to stories from generations of hardship, and understanding current needs. The narratives wove together a broader understanding of endemic problems that contributed to disease and high mortality rates, and my team began to identify barriers that existed within underserved neighborhoods and communities. These stories helped me understand how collaborative changes could be implemented to approach complex social problems that related to poor health outcomes.

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14 years have passed since my formative public health experiences in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and I am honored to continue expanding my career in ways that are impactful with individuals and communities. In Alaska, I am engaged in several initiatives that address health disparities. I have worked with medical providers, local leaders, state politicians, and nonprofit agencies to generate new programming and advance healthcare access and programming for youth and elders across the lifespan.

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I am available to explore opportunities that involve consultation for rural and public health projects. I am able to support project development, and design methods and strategies around initiatives focused on individual and community health. 

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