Dennise drury

In her free time, Dennise Drury loves playing volleyball, basketball and soccer. She’s just as multifaceted when it comes to public health pursuits.

As outreach and education specialist for the Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health (PNASH) Center in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health (DEOHS), Drury develops resources for farmworker health and safety. Meanwhile, as an MPH student in the department, she is advancing a key program to combat sexual harassment in agriculture and evaluating its impact in workplaces.

Drury, a Latina who grew up in El Paso, Texas, began studying environmental science in college at the University of Texas at El Paso. But something was missing: she didn’t feel a strong connection between her research and its impact on people’s lives.

After graduation, she worked as a substitute teacher and at a nonprofit, but it was only when she moved to Seattle in 2017 and began working at PNASH that found her passion.

“I love public health: it's like problem solving for the public good,” Drury said. “I was immediately drawn to PNASH, because they were working with communities who have historically been underserved and marginalized, and who need a lot more systemic solutions to address environmental and occupational health disparities.”

 
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