Paulah Wheeler, MPH
Paulah is a Detroit native with a passion for advancing the health of Black people both at home and abroad. While obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in Global Health and Environment at the University of Michigan, Paulah traveled to Kumasi, Ghana and contracted malaria two weeks into the trip. Experiencing an African healthcare system from the patient’s perspective and witnessing skilled providers working tirelessly in an underfunded and overcrowded facility heightened her sense of urgency to create broad-scale change for Black people everywhere.
After completing her undergraduate studies, Paulah tested and counseled high-risk individuals for HIV in Michigan while applying to public health graduate programs. She moved to Atlanta upon acceptance into the Health Policy and Management track at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health.
Paulah has spent her career so far working in global health. She trained healthcare workers in Kenya, Nigeria, Cambodia, and Bangladesh in public health management and leadership, and she currently manages a national HIV program in South Africa that aims to improve the quality of HIV rapid testing.
She also works on all things BLKHLTH, and especially enjoys the creative aspects related to curriculum development and social media strategy. In her free time, Paulah creates digital illustrations and tries new foods from around the world.
Areas of expertise: health equity, global health, HIV/AIDS, public health management and leadership, curriculum development and facilitation, health systems strengthening, quality improvement, and social determinants of health
