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Adrienne Poon '08, a second-year Masters of Public Health candidate at the Drexel School of Public Health, placed second in the national Kaiser Family Foundation’s Second Annual Student Essay Contest. The Kaiser Family Foundation is a renowned organization, and it is a significant achievement to be named as a finalist in the annual essay contest.

In this year’s contest, graduate and undergraduate students were asked to imagine themselves as an analyst on the next President-elect's health care transition team, and write a memo recommending the new administration’s health priorities in one of five areas: controlling health care costs, eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities, expanding health promotion and disease prevention efforts, improving women’s health or improving the quality of health care. Adrienne chose to write a memo to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) on racial and ethnic healthcare disparities.

Adrienne’s essay, "Multilevel Approach to Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities," was selected as a winning essay out of more than 300 student entries from a wide range of disciplines, including economics, public health, health administration, nursing, physical therapy, medicine, and public policy. Entries were received from students at more than 100 colleges and universities nationwide.

In their notification letter, the Kaiser Family Foundation cited Adrienne's essay as exceptionally insightful, thorough, and well-researched.

The awards were announced and posted on KaiserEDU.org, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s site for students and professors interested in health policy. The site also reaches a wide range of individuals in academia, industry, and government.

The essay contest’s judges included former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, MD; the President of the Federation of American Hospitals Chip Kahn, MPH; Dean of the George Washington School of Public Health Ruth Katz, JD, MPH; Kaiser President and CEO Drew E. Altman, PhD; and Kaiser Executive Vice President Diane Rowland, ScD.

"We applaud Adrienne for her fine work and commitment towards addressing healthcare disparities in this country and across the globe," said Marla J. Gold, MD, Dean of the Drexel University School of Public Health. "Adrienne’s research and essay reflect the school’s core values of entwining human health and human rights in addressing today’s public health concerns."

At Drexel, Adrienne is currently pursuing her Master of Public Health degree in Health Management and Policy. Her Community-Based Masters Project (CBMP) focuses on the racial disparities and institutional discrimination encountered by Asian-Americans in healthcare systems.

Adrienne is also a research assistant studying smoking policy at Temple University’s Center for Asian Health. Previously, she managed the legislative portion of a large health inequalities study at the University of Pennsylvania. As a member of Asian Americans United, she facilitates youth outreach programs.

Adrienne is a graduate of Tufts University. Soon after receiving her degree, she met with NGOs in Hong Kong to research volunteer opportunities as part of a collaborative effort between the school’s study abroad program and the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service.

Adrienne will receive a certificate of achievement and award of $500.

For more information visit www.kaiserEDU.org.