Student-run Organizations
Extracurricular activities are an important part of student life at the Yale School of Public Health. Many students enhance their academic studies with applied public health experiences in the community through groups such as the HAVEN clinic, PAWS or the Student Consulting Club. Affinity groups, intramural sports, and professional organizations also provide opportunities to come together to share in the Yale experience and expand your social and professional network across the University.
YSPH Student-run Organizations
- Student Association of Yale School of Public Health (SAYPH)
SAYPH is organized by YSPH students for YSPH students. SAYPH works to enhance the experience of each student at YSPH by sponsoring educational and social activities, providing a forum for students’ ideas and concerns, and acting as a liaison between students and the administration. Through SAYPH, students get involved in many areas including the following:
- Student clubs and organizations
- Professional development and alumni relations
- Community service and social events at YSPH and in the greater community
- Health and wellness promotion
- Recruitment of new students to YSPH
- New student orientation and commencement activities
SAYPH is led by an Executive Board consisting of a president, professional development chair, treasurer, alumni engagement chair, social chair, community service chair and communications chair. There are also MPH departmental student representatives, PhD representatives and MS representatives. Each department elects students to act as a liaison between students, faculty and administration. All SAYPH positions are filled through a school-wide nomination process that takes place annually.
2022-2023 SAYPH Board:
- President: Maame-Owusua Boateng
- Vice President: Neal Patel
- Communications: Lauren Chin
- Treasurer: Francine Erfe
- Professional Development Chair: Yazhini Ramesh
- Community Service Chair: Kimberly Bako
- Social Chairs: Christina Tong and Jessica Robles
- Alumni Engagement Chair: Avery Naperala
- PhD Representative: Jiye Kwon and Alexandra Savinkina
- MS Representative: TBD
- American College Of Healthcare Executives (ACHE)
The ACHE is an international professional society of 40,000 healthcare executives who lead hospitals, healthcare systems and other healthcare organizations. ACHE's mission is to advance our members and healthcare management excellence. Yale ACHE intends to offer networking, education, and career development to students aspiring to pursue healthcare management roles at Yale SPH, SOM, Nursing, Medical School, and PA School.
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- Addiction Medicine Collaborative (AMC)
The AMC is an interdisciplinary student organization among the Yale health professional schools that seeks to collaboratively enhance professional and public education concerning substance use; to promote and foster the interests of students, health professionals, and advocates for substance use assistance and recovery; and to encourage scholarly inquiry concerning substance use disorders as they impact health care professionals and the public that we seek to serve.
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- American Public Health Association (APHA) – Yale Chapter
Yale-APHA is the Yale chapter of the American Public Health Association, the oldest, largest, and most diverse organization for public health professionals across the world. The mission of Yale-APHA is to: 1) Foster professional and academic development of Yale School of Public Health students, 2) Develop relationships with undergraduate and graduate students with interests in public health and other allied-health professions, and 3) Propagate the mission and goals of the American Public Health Association.
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- Black @ YSPH
Black @ YSPH is dedicated to fostering a sense of community for Black-identifying students at YSPH by advocating for the interests of Black students at YSPH, contributing to the personal, professional, and academic success of Black students, and developing a strong network of Black YSPH alumni.
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- Connecticut Hospice Advisory Board
To create a lasting, positive relationship between Yale University and The Connecticut Hospice through a diverse team of graduate student consultants. The Connecticut Hospice Advisory Board will consist of interested students from all health care or management-related graduate programs and will attend to the various strategic planning and administrative needs of The Connecticut Hospice. The Connecticut Hospice will benefit from strategic recommendations and board institutional memory while students will benefit from meaningful project-based work.
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- Desi Students Alliance
The Desi Students Alliance is a South Asian cultural affinity organization dedicated to fostering belonging, pride, and intercultural understanding of South Asian roots and heritage at YSPH. The group partners with campus-wide Yale organizations to celebrate significant cultural events such as Diwali and Holi. The group aims to build a home for members of YSPH, whether South Asian or non-South Asian, to participate in colorful intercultural events.
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- Disability Empowerment in Public Health at Yale (DEPHY)
DEPHY is an affinity group for all students at the School of Public Health who consider themselves to be part of disability community, including (but not limited to) disabled students, neurodivergent students, students with physical disabilities, deaf/ hard-of-hearing students, blind students, students with chronic illnesses, students with mental health conditions, other students who receive or would like to receive accommodations, and allies. The group embraces disability not just as a personal experience but also as a sociopolitical category, and seek to provide a home for students in the disability community who locate their understanding of disability at any point along the spectrum of social and medical models of disability. DEPHY works in collaboration with disability affinity groups in other parts of the university to foster a sense of community among students with disabilities, share resources for navigating YSPH with a disability, advocate for members of the community, and promote structural transformation at YSPH for the inclusion of disabled students.
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- Emerging Majority Students Association (EMSA)
The EMSA is committed to creating and fostering a sense of community among minority/underrepresented students and students interested in the promotion of diversity and inclusion at YSPH. Our three-fold mission is to:
- serve as a platform for voicing the concerns and interests of minority students at YSPH,
- promote a multicultural, professional, and academic environment that enables us to address the health issues of minorities in the field of public health with an emphasis on the New Haven community, and
- collaborate with admissions toward raising the level of underrepresented minority/underrepresented student recruitment, admission, and retention at YSPH.
Officer Positions:- Global Alliance for Public Health
The Global Alliance for Public Health strives to create a space for the academic and professional development of international students at the Yale School of Public Health and truly bring diverse and global voices to the public health field.
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- Graduate and Professional Student Senate
The Yale Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) is made up of representatives from each of the graduate and professional schools. GPSS is the overarching student government meant to be a liaison between all the graduate and professional schools and Yale University.
The mission of GPSS is to foster interaction among students through community service, social gatherings, academic and professional events, as well as to enable official and unofficial student groups. The Senate also represents the graduate and professional student population on official university committees and oversees the management and maintenance of GPSCY and Gryphon's Pub.
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- Haven Free Clinic
The HAVEN Free Clinic is a student-run primary care clinic partnered with Fair Haven Community Health Center (FHCHC) and Yale University. Our model is unique in its interdisciplinary focus and inclusion of students from across the disciplines of medicine, nursing, physician assistants, and public health. Student volunteers are crucial to the operations of HAVEN and serve as interpreters, clinical care providers, health and nutrition educators, reproductive health counselors, researchers, and a variety of other functions. Medical visits are conducted by teams of senior and junior clinical students with guidance from faculty attendings. Since opening our doors in November 2005, we have conducted over 4000 adult patient visits. Last year alone we saw over 400 unique patients with over 300 student volunteers. Currently, we see an average of 40 patients per week. HAVEN operates Saturdays from 9a-12p out of the Fair Haven Community Health Center. Our programs are targeted to residents of the Fair Haven neighborhood. Our Vision: Every uninsured adult living in Fair Haven will have access to comprehensive quality healthcare. Students will develop a lifelong commitment to valuing social context and community needs in their future work with patients and communities.
- Health and Environment at Yale (HEY)
Health and Environment at Yale (HEY) is an interdisciplinary student group, linking students, staff, and faculty from across Yale, including the School of Public Health and the School of Forestry and Environmental Sciences. The members of HEY have a shared interest in bridging environment and human health and seek to forge connections with future colleagues from all disciplines. Throughout the year HEY holds social networking events, seminars with host speakers, journal clubs, career talks and movie screenings. Topics discussed include (but is not limited to): food security, vector-borne diseases and climate change, green spaces and mental health.
- Implementation Science Group at Yale (ISG)
The ISG aims to help students with interest in Public Health and healthcare services to gain a foundation in Implementation Science by exposing them to high quality implementation science research, training, programming/practice, and resources. At ISG, we aim to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice in public health and healthcare. Our goals are to:
- Attract student interest to Implementation Science
- Provide students opportunities to network in Implementation Science
- Help students identify careers in Implementation Science
Contact:- Neighborhood Health Project
The Neighborhood Health Project provides an educational opportunity for Yale health professions students to offer basic health screenings to low-income residents of New Haven, CT. Our services, which are located at a neighborhood food pantry, include patient interviews, blood pressure and blood glucose checks, BMI assessments and healthcare referrals.
- New Generation Public Health
New Generation Public Health works to inspire rising scholars and professionals to explore the diverse and interdisciplinary nature of public health through outreach, mentorship, and interactive experiences.
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- New Haven PAWS Project
The mission of the New Haven PAWS Project is to emphasize health equity by providing immediate solutions to foot health among those experiencing homelessness in New Haven. The PAWS Project engages the greater Yale community in events centered around foot health, including foot washing services and shoe, sock, and hygiene kit giveaways.
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- Out in Public
Out in Public seeks to promote diversity and awareness at Yale School of Public Health by providing a platform for students to advocate for the needs and concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community members at YSPH and beyond, by creating a personal and professional network for the LGBTQ community, and by organizing social and academic events aimed at fostering a sense of community at YSPH.
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- Plant-Based for Public Health (PB4PH)
Plant-Based for Public Health (PB4PH) at YSPH is dedicated to recognizing, amplifying, and celebrating the connection between nutrition, individual wellbeing, population health, animal welfare, and environmental health. PB4PH embraces the One Health perspective. We exist to empower individuals through education, community advocacy, and wholehearted inclusion to wield the power of accessible dietary and lifestyle choices for the promotion and progression of public health. We advocate for a healthier, more equitable, sustainable, and compassionate food system, and recognize that public health depends on the wellbeing of humans, animals, and the planet.
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- Public Health First-Generation & Low-Income Students
This group aims to create a strong community consisting of First-Generation & Low-Income Students at Yale School of Public Health.
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- Public Health Innovation Exchange
Public Health Innovation Exchange (PHIX) connects YSPH students into the greater Yale entrepreneurial community and creates a supportive student working group to achieve entrepreneurial success. Goals include identifying key public health challenges as project(s) of interest; conceptualizing, pitching, and implementing commercial products; and empowering membership to creatively pursue novel and innovative solutions.
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- Reproductive Health Equity Now (RHEN)
RHEN at YSPH is dedicated to the achievement and protection of the rights of all people to the full realization and enjoyment of their sexual and reproductive health. This we embrace as part of a holistic definition of reproductive justice that works to ensure the complete physical, mental, spiritual, political, social, and economic well-being of all people. We work in pursuit of sexual and reproductive liberty, gender equity, and social justice through community engagement, education, and advocacy and dedicate ourselves to the creation of a healthier, safer, and more just world.
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- Student Consulting Group
The Yale School of Public Health Student Consulting Group provides pro-bono consulting and public health practices to organizations in the Greater New Haven area and beyond, while also creating opportunities for graduate students to advance their education, knowledge, and experience.
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- Student Recreation Programs
- The Yale Intramural program provides an outlet for athletic competition for the Yale community. All currently enrolled undergraduate students of Yale College and Yale Graduate & Professional Students are eligible for Intramural Sports (subject to some restrictions). The William Clay Ford Club Sports Program Clubs are open to all Yale undergraduate and graduate students (with a required ratio of 3:1 or greater); a few also accept staff, faculty, and alumni as "assistants." And most clubs are coed.
- Students for Sustainable Waste Reduction at YSPH (SWAY)
The SWAY is a student-led organization dedicated to encouraging a cultural shift towards environmental stewardship in the YSPH community. We work on minimizing the use of disposable items at catered events along with creating a model of sustainable consumption and minimalist disposal patterns to be implemented across the university.
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- Womxn of Color for Maternal & Child Health
Womxn of Color for Maternal & Child Health is a group led by womxn of color passionate about health justice for pregnant people, infants, children, and young people of color. Our mission is to:
- Facilitate interdisciplinary dialogue about health equity from a racial justice perspective,
- Elevate health narratives and health knowledge of people of color,
- Advocate for health policies and solutions alongside communities of color driven by their needs,
- Promote the integration of evidence-informed practices* and holistic healing practices,
- Provide training on combating racism as a root cause of health inequities, and
- Promote equitable engagement between the Yale community, New Haven community and beyond.
*Evidence gathered from both academic and non-academic sources, including peer reviewed articles and laypersons’ experiences
Executive Board members:
- Yale Healthcare Conference
The Yale Healthcare Conference is a joint effort between YSPH, School of Management and the other Health Professional Schools at Yale. It’s a day-long event with more than 40 industry speakers, and brings together more than 450 professionals, academics, and students for one exciting day of dialogue about major issues in the healthcare industry. This is an entirely student-run conference, and opportunities for involvement and leadership roles include committee chair and volunteer positions in the following areas: recruitment and coordination of speakers, fundraising, logistics, marketing, and budget.
- Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics
- The Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics is a biannual publication of the Yale Schools of Law, Medicine, Epidemiology and Public Health, and Nursing. The Journal strives to provide a forum for interdisciplinary discussion on topics in health policy, health law, and biomedical ethics. It targets a broad and diverse readership of academicians, professionals, and students in medicine, law, and public health, as well as policy makers and legislators in health care.