on health. SXSW® runs from March 11-20, 2011, with the SXSW® Interactive from March 11-15. Want to know more about SXSW - check out SXSW 101. Andre Blackman, an alumnus of UMD SPH, has been involved with the SXSW interactive conference for a couple years and will be serving on the SXSW Health Advisory Board. Check out Andre's post on his involvement with SXSW. He took some time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions, which we'll share over a couple of blog posts.
How do you think your degree/time at UMD has helped prepare you for your career?
Learning from and working with fantastic minds in public health such as Dr. Donna Howard, Dr. Boekeloo and Dr. Sawyer really shaped the way I view the field and its importance in our society. They gave me the mental tools and building blocks to spur my interest and didn’t brush me off when I asked a ton of questions. Being in and out of their office hours showed me that this was a field that actually had caring individuals. Getting their continued support (even to this day) gave me the encouragement I needed to succeed. Getting my foot into the professional world through my senior year internship at WESTAT also prepared me well for the years that followed.
How did you get involved with SXSW?
I had become familiar with the Interactive portion of the SXSW festival a few years ago when I became immersed into the social media world. Last year, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend for the first time since I was moderating a panel entitled “When Swine Flew: Embracing Innovation in H1N1 Response”. The panel consisted of great leaders from NIH, CDC and HHS who have experience using social media tools and technology for the betterment of public health.
Do you know what went into them adding a health track?
The new Health track was added after last year’s hit success of a pre-SXSW event called Social Health. The event brought together innovative leaders and changemakers in the healthcare world including Johnson & Johnson, Humana, Livestrong Foundation and the MD Anderson Cancer Center. The event’s organizers then petitioned the folks over at SXSW to have a track devoted to health innovation and here we are!
Thanks so much for the opportunity! Looking forward to seeing the submissions that come through for SXSW and for the innovation to follow.
ReplyDeleteStill not exactly certain why or what purpose SXSW serves in adding the health track to the conference?
ReplyDeleteSo basically what is the goal of collaborating with SXSW?
The school of public health shows the insider view of SXSW interactive adding health track. This is exciting news coming from the Austin.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the interview, that was an interesting read.
ReplyDeleteThis post is looking very informative. The key point of this post is its valuable information. After reading this post any one will get some very important points which are only helpful even precious also. I use to visit the post of many different kinds but it is the first time when I am fully satisfied. Now a days people are in to the habit of making posts. I think it would be a good inspiration for them.
ReplyDeleteThe field can have graduated students entering careers that have them working for wellness programs in schools, hospitals, universities, and government firms. With the field being incredibly diverse students have many options to consider before deciding on an online degree program. Family health, health education, epidemiology, and environmental health are just a few of the options that students can choose to focus their schooling on.
ReplyDelete_____________________
"sharing info about wilderness program"