We were lucky to catch up with Angela Frazier recently and have shared our conversation below.

Angela, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Sisters in Public Health (SIPH) was established in 2017 as an association to promote self-care amongst women at UTHealth School of Public Health in Houston, Texas. The goal was to create a safe and empowering environment to talk about being a woman in leadership, self-care, breaking down barriers and overcoming life’s challenges. The ultimate goal at the time was to have this space for women on campus to come together to fellowship. SIPH still serves the same purpose – just bigger, we are now doing this nationwide.

Angela, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Angela N. Frazier, MPH is a speaker, Founder of Sisters in Public Health, and author of A Kids Book About™ Suicide. Angela received her Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences and Communication from Portland State University. She also holds a Masters of Public Health in Community Health from UTHealth School of Public Health. She was honored to represent her graduating class as the 2018 Student Commencement Speaker. Since the loss of her mother to suicide in 2016 she has dedicated her time and efforts to sharing her story by bringing tough topics to the forefront of conversation. This began with the opening of a shelter for survivors of domestic violence in honor of her mother. The Tami Best Emergency Shelter was created for survivors of domestic violence fleeing abusive relationships. In 2017, Angela founded a nonprofit, Sisters in Public Health (SIPH) with a vision to connect all women in public health. SIPH now has chapters in nine different cities and has awarded over $5,000 in scholarships to masters and doctorate level public health students.

The Sisters in Public Health mission is to create a safe space to empower, educate, and evolve the next generation of women in public health. The ultimate vision is to connect all women in public health. SIPH does this by focusing on core programs such as scholarships. We know that one of the biggest barriers in life is finances. In order to evolve the next generation of women in public health, we knew we had to minimize that burden. We also value self care and women empowerment. Our chapters host socials, happy hours, gatherings, and volunteer events for all women in public health to come together and connect with each other. We know that investing in sisterhood and mentors can get you far in life.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

I have the absolute best leaders within Sisters in Public Health (SIPH). We have some of the smartest women that have taken leadership roles within our organization. Managing this team has not been a difficult task for me. I believe early on my team knew my vision. I have been very transparent from the beginning and along the way on what my 5 year strategic plan looks like. We have monthly board meetings where we revisit our quarterly goals and report out on what we are currently working on. I have also enjoyed the push back from time to time. Although I may see things one way, my team has been honest about different pathways we can take to get to the same end point. There has also been times I felt we weren’t ready for the next step and I’ve been challenged to push go sooner. We as a collective know each others strengths and weaknesses. That is what I truly love about managing this team and what makes us great.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My Senior Vice President is MicKayla Jones. Her and I attended UTHealth School of Public Health together. She attended the very first event that I planned and hosted at the school (we have the picture to prove it). Our friendship was very organic and developed at school but really took off when we both worked at 24 Hour Fitness together. We had no idea that we would take this adventure on together. One thing I appreciate about MicKayla is that she saw my vision pretty early on and invested. She invested by joining our leadership team, starting our second chapter (Chicago), becoming a scholarship committee member, developing our online merchandise store, and financially investing into making this organization an official nonprofit. Our viewpoints are almost always different which is what makes us a great team. There is a lot of push back, a lot of discussion, but we trust each other to make the best decision for the areas of the organization that we lead. Growing an organization can’t be done without a great leadership team, and that we are.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sistersinpublichealth.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sistersinpublichealth/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/359814851282710
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sisters-in-public-health/mycompany/?viewAsMember=true

Image Credits
Photographer Jerren Willis took a few photos (https://www.instagram.com/jerrenwillis/?hl=en)