February 05, 2019

HSP Welcomes Spring Health Security Fellow

We are proud to announce Cecelia Madsen has joined HSP as this year's Health Security Fellow. Cecelia is a graduate student in Cornell University's Master of Public Health program, with a concentration in Food Systems for Health. She comes to HSP and D.C. to explore the link between public health and policy, and is especially interested in learning about the roles of project design and implementation for effective local capacity building.

With undergraduate degrees from Cornell in Government, French and Spanish, Cecelia has always been passionate about exploring other cultures and helping those in need. After joining the Peace Corps and serving as an Agriculture Extension Agent in Senegal, West Africa for two years, Cecelia realized the importance of strong and supportive communities, as she was a young person in a strange new place. This experience taught her that to truly make effective and sustainable change, she needed to go back to school to build her toolbox of technical skills.

Throughout her current graduate education, Cecelia has become more curious about multi-sector approaches to sustainability and development work. To understand private sector opportunities, she secured an opportunity with PepsiCo's R&D Sustainability Office to establish international cross-sector partnerships to implement water replenishment projects to meet both local community needs and the company's sustainability agenda. HSP now offers Cecelia a perspective from the non-profit and national security side, as a complement to her holistic understanding of international development and sustainability work.

Finally, Cecelia is a life-long athlete, Division I Rower, and an All-American! She has spent nearly 10 years coaching rowing at the collegiate, high school, and beginner levels. As a result, teamwork, leadership, collaboration and mentorship are extremely important to her. She looks forward to working with you!