Public health workers don’t clock out at 5 p.m. For the consultants on North Highland's Public Health team, the commitment to healthier communities extends well beyond client engagements, into classrooms, boardrooms, and the neighborhoods where health disparities are lived every day.
Our public health experts are more than consultants. They are thought leaders and practitioners who bring their skills and knowledge directly to the people, places, and organizations where public health challenges are felt most acutely.
Nicholas Alford, DrPH, Consultant
Nicholas recently completed his Doctor of Public Health degree at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee, graduating in 2026. His dissertation examined how social factors, including masculinity, perceived discrimination, and social support, shape preventive health screening behaviors among African American men, using a mixed-methods approach that combined quantitative data with qualitative insight.
The findings carry real implications for how health systems and community organizations design outreach. Nicholas has conducted research directly for local men's health organizations, supporting workshop development and program evaluation to help translate evidence into practice.
“Public health is everything around us! It shows us how truly connected we are,” Nicholas says. “One of the most rewarding things about pursuing a DrPH is becoming a change agent, not only in science but also in the industry. I’m able to help organizations and communities turn data and lived experiences into meaningful changes to programs, practices, and policies.”
Leah Elsmore, MPH, Manager
Leah stepped into the classroom this year to teach Practicum in Public Health at Bates College, her alma mater. The month-long, skills-based course gives undergraduate students hands-on training in qualitative research methods, including focus groups, interviews, direct observation, and ethnographic fieldwork.
Students applied those methods to a real community project in partnership with the Bates Harward Center for Community Partnerships and Maine Community Integration, addressing actual public health challenges and gathering community input on potential solutions. Leah shared,
“In addition to practicing skills in class and through the community engaged project, I shared examples from my own public health career, including in my work at North Highland, of how I have successfully applied these methodologies.” She added “Students valued being able to connect the dots between the frameworks and theories they learned in the classroom to how they can be used in the real world.”
By the time the course ended, students had resume-ready research experience and connections to public health professionals that Leah helped facilitate.
Katie Williams, MPH, Senior Consultant
Katie serves on the Board of Directors for Big Bend Area Health Education Center (AHEC), a nonprofit focused on improving healthcare access in underserved communities through education, workforce development, and community outreach. In that role, she helps shape the organization's strategic direction, with particular attention to the evolving needs of rural and medically underserved populations.
Her board work includes supporting healthy aging and chronic disease management programs, tobacco cessation initiatives, career exploration programs for students, and building partnerships with local schools, healthcare providers, and community organizations to strengthen the pipeline of future health professionals.
"Serving on the board allows me to advocate for policies and resources that address health disparities," Katie said, "and to champion the mission of building healthier communities through education, outreach, and collaboration."
These three practitioners represent something that runs throughout North Highland's Public Health team: a genuine commitment to the field that goes beyond client work. Whether in a classroom, a research lab, or a nonprofit boardroom, they are putting their expertise to work where it matters most.
This is what it looks like when expertise and purpose align. To explore how North Highland's Public Health team can support your work, reach out today.
