ALUMNI PROFILES

Brandon C. Heitmeier, MPH (Graduated in May 2008)

Consumer Safety Officer, United States Food and Drug Administration
Health Services Officer, United States Public Health Service

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I am a commissioned officer with the US Public Health Service (USPHS) assigned to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Office of Regulatory Affairs. As a consumer safety officer, my primary role is to investigate health and safety violations of FDA-regulated products. In this capacity I am responsible for planning and directing investigations; initiating actions against violators; advising industry, state and local officials and consumers on enforcement policies, methods, and interpretation of regulations.

I also serve as a health services officer in the USPHS. As a public health service officer I train and maintain my readiness to respond to public health crises and national emergencies, such as natural disasters. Aside from my emergency preparedness duties, I have also been provided opportunities in global public health diplomacy. Recently, I was chosen to be part of a USPHS team participating in Continuing Promise 2009 and will be deployed aboard the USNS COMFORT (T-AH 20) this summer.  Continuing Promise 2009 is an annual humanitarian civic assistance operation supported by the U.S. military and civil government agencies, USPHS, regional health ministries, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and U.S. academic institutions. The purpose of the mission is to provide health care, health education and other forms of humanitarian assistance throughout Latin America in 2009. I am thankful for the opportunity to participate in Continuing Promise 2009 and hope to serve in future global health missions.

I received my MPH degree from UMass in May 2008. I decided to pursue my MPH after seeing the devastating events of Hurricane Katrina. While I was already a federal employee with FDA, I desired to go beyond civil service and pursue a commission in USPHS. I knew earning a MPH through UMass would afford me the credentials I needed to pursue a career as a USPHS officer while still maintaining full-time employment with FDA.  I found the distance-based curriculum at UMass to be both challenging and rewarding, offering the core disciplines of public health as well as a unique and diverse perspective on many cross-cutting topics that significantly impact public health. Coming from a traditional undergraduate education (i.e. brick and mortar) I was surprised at how much more I learned in the online threaded discussions. The distinctive didactic approach employed by UMass pushed me to dig deeper into topics and consider different perspectives, more than I ever did in a traditional education setting. Also, the support and individual attention I received from the instructors and program coordinator was outstanding. 

Since receiving my MPH I have obtained a commission in USPHS and completed field medical readiness training, and I am now ready and able to respond to the next public health crisis facing our nation. I hope to build upon my career as a health services officer by pursing a CPH (Certified in Public Health) certification as well as other credentials in the area of emergency public health response.

Brandon is a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi which is the nation's oldest, largest, and most selective all-discipline honor society. Brandon was chosen as an member of the Phi Kappa Phi  Honor Society due to his academic excellence and demonstration of qualities of leadership in public health.