UTK Former Trainee Spotlight: Amber Ford

Amber Ford, an alumnus of the Maternal and Child Health Leadership traineeship, is a registered and licensed dietitian at the Knox County Health Department. At the University of Tennessee, Amber completed a dual Master’s program in Public Health and Public Health Nutrition, and completed the dietetic internship. As a Public Health Educator, Amber has focused on school health for the past three years.  

I completed the dual master’s program in public health and nutrition along with the dietetic internship through the University of Tennessee in December 2015. Serving as an MCH trainee was one of the biggest highlights of my time in the program, and the training and experience I received have been so valuable in my current position. I’ve worked as a Public Health Educator focused on school health at the Knox County Health Department for the past three years.

In my role, I specifically partner with Knox County Community Schools to help improve the health of students and families as it relates to nutrition and physical activity. The Community Schools initiative aims to use public schools as hubs for community resources to improve health and academic success. This involves working alongside teachers, students, and families to identify their specific needs and bringing in partners and resources to address these needs. We currently have 18 Community Schools in Knox County, and most of my work is aimed at creating and enhancing access to places for physical activity, promoting increased physical activity and physical education, creating supportive nutrition environments, and increasing access to healthy foods for students and families.

Throughout my time as a trainee, I had the opportunity to lead the cultural and linguistic competency workshops, Interactions that Make a Difference, for graduate students and frontline staff of health departments in East Tennessee. Countless times, I’ve used the skills I developed in presenting and leading trainings for diverse audiences, but I also use the cultural competency knowledge I gained on a daily basis. Our Community Schools are some of the most diverse and economically disadvantaged in our county, and the knowledge and skills provided by these trainings have improved my interactions with the students and families I serve and have helped me develop more culturally competent interventions.

Further, my time as a trainee equipped me with other skills for which I am consistently grateful. Working with a team to plan and implement the bi-annual Promoting Healthy Weight Colloquium improved my long-range planning skills, efficiency, and ability to delegate and recognize the strengths and weaknesses of others and myself. Assessment and evaluation of community needs and effectiveness of our interventions are important for sustained funding and effective utilization of limited resources, and I’m able to rely on the practices of regular evaluation and responding to evaluation outcomes used throughout my time as a trainee. All and all, I can’t say enough about how much serving as an MCH trainee impacted me and shaped the work I do. Well worth every minute!