Caroline Helsen

Caroline is a 2023 Master of Public Health candidate in the Social and Behavioral Sciences department at the Yale School of Public Health. She earned a BA in Political Science from the University of Miami in 2013 and, prior to attending Yale, spent eight years working in the non-profit sector in marketing and community engagement. Most of that work centered around increasing economic opportunity for marginalized youth by bringing the workplace into the classroom and the classroom into the workplace. This experience contributes to her passion for advancing public health workforce development - both in the US and abroad - especially in the areas of climate change, maternal and child health, and mental health.

As a co-leader of educational programs at the National Alliance on Mental Illness in New Hampshire and a family member of a loved one with a serious mental illness, Caroline is committed to ensuring public health communications, programs, and policies are informed by the lived experiences of impacted communities. She is interested in how news, entertainment, and social media play a role in sharing these stories to educate and motivate people to address public health issues. This currently includes depictions of the mental health impacts of climate disasters, as well as depictions of the public health workforce.