Dear SPH & SPS Community,

With bittersweet emotions, we share that Jennifer Nazareno, Ph. D., will depart Brown to bring her considerable talents to the University of California, San Francisco, where she has been named the new associate dean of the Graduate Division. A graduate of UCSF, she is returning to her alma mater to oversee the Ph.D. and master's programs at the Graduate Division and lead new initiatives.

Nazareno began her career at Brown as a T32 and Presidential Diversity postdoctoral fellow. She subsequently became an assistant professor at the School of Public Health, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, and the Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship. Nazareno was also appointed as a faculty fellow for the Undocumented, First-Generation College, and Low-Income Student Center (UFLi) and the Center for the Study of Race & Ethnicity in America (CSREA). Her contributions earned her the Barrett Hazeltine Assistant Professor Endowed Chairship for Entrepreneurship Practice and the distinction of being named an Ashoka Changemaker Campus Leader by the Swearer Center. She is also the first faculty member from the School of Public Health to receive the Dean’s Award for teaching and mentorship for three consecutive years (2019-2021). In memory of her late parents, she researches the impact and contributions of immigrant Filipino nurses, caregivers and entrepreneurs on the health and long-term care sectors in the United States. Furthermore, Nazareno co-founded the Philippine Health Initiative for Research, Service and Training (PHIRST).

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nazareno was promoted to associate professor and named the inaugural academic director of Brown’s online MPH program, launched in 2022 by the School of Public Health in collaboration with the School of Professional Studies.

Most recently, she served as associate dean for academic affairs and innovation at the School of Professional Studies, where she helped to spearhead new online program initiatives in public health, biostatistics and data science. In this role she passionately aimed to promote educational equity by broadening access to Brown’s master’s programs for non-traditional adult learners, working professionals and international students.

We deeply thank Jen for her commitment to Brown’s students and her myriad contributions to the institution and wish her all the best in this next chapter of her career.

We are also excited to announce that Nithya Puttige Ramesh, BDS, MPH will serve as the next head of the online MPH program. Ramesh is a dentist with a decade of experience as a public health educator. She completed her residency in dental public health at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, where she served as a teaching fellow. Ramesh specializes in global oral health, and her research contributions earned her the Caswell A. Evans Award from the American Public Health Association and full membership to the Harvard Chapter of the Sigma Xi Honor Society. She is expected to graduate with a second doctoral degree in oral health policy and epidemiology from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine in May 2025.

An alum of Brown's MPH program, she currently serves as the manager of MPH programs at Brown’s SPH, where she provides curricular leadership and operational oversight of academic affairs for the online MPH program. Prior to coming to Brown, she worked at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice where she helped launch and deliver their hybrid MPH program.

We have the utmost confidence that Nithya will ensure the success and growth of the online MPH program. The School of Professional Studies will be conducting a search to replace Jen's role as associate dean of academic affairs and innovation.

Please join us in congratulating both Jen and Nithya on their new positions.

Sincerely,

Francesca Beaudoin
Academic Dean, School of Public Health

Shankar Prasad
Dean, School of Professional Studies
VP for Academic Innovation