Advocates in Action: How Our Public Health Practice Community Is Shaping Policy and Politics
Content
By Liz Manlin
When UMass online MPH students and alumni engage in public health practice, they don’t mess around. Take Adam Sendroff ’25MPH, who ran for mayor of Hamden, Connecticut, in November last year — and won.
This was no small feat, considering that Sendroff did not start his career in politics. After being laid off from his publishing job of over 20 years in 2017, he decided to pivot into a career in the public sector. He had a positive experience serving on the Hamden Board of Education and wanted to continue finding ways to make positive changes in his community. He applied to the Keefe Community Center in Hamden, a municipal center serving low- and moderate-income individuals and families. He soon realized that much of the work there was “somehow connected to public health.” To better serve the community, he decided to pursue an MPH. He chose the online program in public health practice (PHP) for its flexibility, which allowed him to continue working full time. Soon after graduating, the time was right to run for mayor.
Grounded in public health values, Sendroff’s campaign focused on “bringing people together and building a broad-based coalition.” Over the next four years, he is determined to find real and lasting solutions to the challenges that Hamden residents face, such as fiscal stability, housing affordability, health equity, and public safety.
“Going through the PHP program was a great experience, which helped me think through community issues and challenges, and uniquely prepared me to run for mayor,” he said. “Public health was intrinsically woven through my campaign and now in my job as mayor.”
Current PHP student Libby Donegan dug into local politics last year by helping to lead the "Yes for Littleton" campaign in Littleton, Massachusetts. She, along with other concerned citizens of Littleton, formed a political action committee (PAC) aimed at garnering support and votes for a ballot initiative to fund a new lower elementary school building. The current Shaker Lane School is over capacity, has aging pipes that are unsafe for drinking water, and other environmental concerns, such as asbestos.
Through grassroots organizing, the Shaker Lane School PAC was able to turn out a record number of voters for the town meeting and ultimately win the majority needed votes to move forward with the new building project.
During her time on the campaign, Donegan had the opportunity to dive deep into town budget planning — a skill that she feels is essential to being a successful public health practitioner. Overall, her political advocacy work has been challenging and rewarding. Donegan wrote, “I pursued this MPH for both volunteer and paid work. I’m becoming a respected voice in my community and genuinely building trust.”
Together, Adam Sendroff and Libby Donegan demonstrate how MPH students and alumni are harnessing their passion and training to transform public health principles into impactful political action, public policy, and community advocacy.