USF’s College of Public Health alumna Morgan Brown has built her career around using data and evidence to advance maternal and child health, with a focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights around the world.
Her path to public health began in an unlikely place: a small town in Ohio and a college plan to become a physician.
Brown grew up in Stratton, Ohio, a town of about 270 people. “We had more bars than stoplights,” she joked. Her high school was in the middle of a cow field.
After starting college on a pre-med track, Brown's plans changed in 2013 when she participated in a service-learning trip to Mulanje, Malawi, through a student organization at Ohio State University. She organized community health days and volunteered in a local hospital, where she saw the impact of addressing health at a systems level.
“I fell in love with boots-on-the-ground public health work through this experience,” Brown said. “I saw firsthand the value of a systems approach to public health and left feeling like there was so much more work to be done.”
That experience sparked her interest in global health. Brown earned her bachelor’s degrees in communication and biology from Ohio State University in 2015, followed by a certificate in global health challenges from the University of Copenhagen and an MPH in global health program design, monitoring and evaluation from George Washington University in 2017. She earned her certification in public health credential that same year.
Brown began her public health career with the Pan American Health Organization, working with its Malaria Champions program. She later joined Population Services International (PSI), where she spent five years working on public health initiatives around the world.
Brown traveled to Thailand in 2017 and led a research workshop in Bangkok through her work with PSI. (photo courtesy of Brown)
Her work included advocating for the introduction of next-generation oral contraceptive pills with pharmaceutical manufacturers in Pakistan, evaluating chatbots designed to increase STI testing among youth in Guatemala and analyzing mystery-client data from family planning clinics in Zambia.
“I found my passion for improving the health of women around the world,” Brown said.
In 2018, Brown served as PSI’s acting regional researcher for Southern Africa. Based in Johannesburg, she oversaw more than 55 research studies across nine countries focused on malaria, HIV, family planning and noncommunicable diseases.
“I learned so much from this experience: how to truly juggle competing priorities, what research actually looks like on the ground and how to connect local needs with global strategy,” she said.
Brown visited PSI’s Karachi office in Pakistan in 2019, where she led a knowledge management and technical learning workshop. (photo courtesy of Brown)
Brown eventually joined a women-owned consulting firm working exclusively on U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) projects, where she became a team lead on the Global Health Program Evaluation, Analysis, Research and Learning project, a $90 million maternal and child health and family planning and reproductive health research award.
Wanting to further her education and career, Brown said the COPH’s flexibility of course modality and proximity to family made it the perfect fit.
“I wanted to keep my full-time job while pursuing my doctorate so the part-time/remote first nature of the DrPH program appealed to me,” Brown said. “I also have grandparents that live in Oldsmar, about 40 minutes west of campus, so it was an added bonus that I was able to visit with them each time I came to Florida for the required immersive institutes.”
Unfortunately, Brown’s position was funded by USAID, which was eliminated by executive order in January 2025. When the project ended, Brown lost her job and spent the next 437 days without full-time employment.
“It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” she said. “I watched as my professional community imploded, with LinkedIn becoming a constant doomscroll.”
Brown attended the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., in 2025 with funding support from the MCH Scholars Program. (photo courtesy of Brown)
During that difficult period, the COPH became an important source of support.
“My studies gave me something to focus on and to pour my energy into,” Brown said.
Her advisor, Dr. Cheryl Vamos, professor in the Department of Community and Health Sciences, hired her as a part-time research assistant and encouraged her to pursue fellowships and scholarships. Brown credits Vamos with supporting her financially, emotionally and academically throughout the program.
“She wears so many hats, but still approaches her roles with such expertise, love and care,” Brown said.
Vamos also encouraged Brown to apply for the Maternal and Child Health Scholars Program and she was ultimately selected for their 2025-26 academic year, an experience she says strengthened her leadership skills and deepened her MCH knowledge.
Brown (right, pictured with Dr. Richard Hartman) attended a meet up with COPHers in the DC area around the ASPPH Annual Meeting in March. (Photo courtesy of Natalie Preston)
“I’m super proud to have been selected as an MCH Scholar,” she said. “The professional credential as a Title V trainee has opened doors for me and the program really grew my leadership skills and deepened my MCH knowledge. The funding also came at a time when I was unemployed, so it honestly kept me afloat. I am forever grateful for that.”
In May 2026, Brown earned her doctor of public health in from the COPH, marking a significant milestone during a challenging period. But it was also the beginning of an even brighter chapter.
After more than 400 days without full-time employment, Brown began a new chapter as a research analyst with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). The organization works in sexual and reproductive health and rights in more than 150 countries. Brown’s role focuses on research related to the impacts of funding cuts and policies on sexual and reproductive health and rights around the world.
Brown visited the IPPF office in London in May, marking her first trip to the organization’s London office. (photo courtesy of Brown)
“IPPF is so very firm in their commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights,” Brown said. “At a time when many organizations are trying to fly under the radar to stay afloat, IPPF is boldly leading the fight. They’re unafraid, unapologetic and proud and I love that. I love that I get to work with colleagues around the world who are equally passionate and committed.”
Her doctoral research has also proved directly relevant to her new position. Brown’s dissertation evaluated the impact of a comprehensive sexual health education program for systems-involved youth in Florida, an area that connects with IPPF’s work.
“So much of what I spent years working on is now directly relevant to my day-to-day work,” she said. “This human-centered, empathy-driven, social-justice-minded work in the field of public health is what deeply interests me and gets me out of bed in the morning,” she said.
After navigating two major career disruptions, Brown has also learned to approach the future differently.
“As a type A person, it used to bother me,” she said of not having a five-year plan. “Having survived two layoffs now, though, my plans are to just keep rolling with it. To stay in the fight as long as I can.”
For Brown, that means continuing to pursue meaningful work in maternal and child health and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
“That’s what matters the most to me,” she said. “And that’s what I hope I’m still doing years from now.”
Fast Five
What did you dream of becoming when you were young?
A marine biologist.
Where would we find you on the weekend?
A bookstore, a farmers market or a coffee shop. If it’s during the fall, then I’m on the couch watching football!
What is the last book you read?
“Our Perfect Storm” by Carley Fortune.
What superpower would you like to have?
To be able to understand all languages.
What’s your all-time favorite movie?
I love the Sully movie about the miracle on the Hudson River. Anything inspirational is up my alley.