Meriam Mikre, ’26
From: Laurel, MD
Degrees Held: MPH, Community Health and Prevention, Drexel University
BS, George Mason University
Email: mmikre@hsph.harvard.edu
Meriam is a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) student at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health who is driven by the development and implementation of culturally competent public health solutions. In her most recent role as senior advisor at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), Meriam led and managed the behavioral health portfolio, advising the Assistant Secretary for Health on key White House policy efforts including expanding access to medications for opioid use disorder, increasing access and availability of the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone, and the President’s directive to evaluate the current federal scheduling of marijuana. Before OASH, Meriam held positions that focused on improving health outcomes for rural populations and investigating facilitators and barriers to HIV-related care.
Why this program and why now? Meriam is eager to build on her dynamic professional experience and use her DrPH training to lead and effect system-level changes that promote public health and wellness. Her interests are centered on a few core tenets: serving marginalized and underserved populations, advancing health equity, prioritizing the intersection of health and human rights, and fostering a participatory and equalizing medium (whether through public health policy or program) that empowers the people she serves.
