Elisabeth Emerson

Retired Border Health Program Officer,
World Health Organization, Ministry of Health

Degree: MPP/Master of Public Health, 1987
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Elizabeth Emerson grew up on a farm in southeastern Minnesota, where her parents instilled in her the importance of taking care of one’s health. Since then, Emerson has worked in such far-flung destinations as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Myanmar, and Mozambique helping to reduce preventable public health problems.

Tell us about your career.
After working in public health in Minnesota, I joined the World Health Organization (WHO) in war-torn Bosnia-Herzegovina, as head of the field office in Mostar. My area of responsibility included all three ethnic groups— Serbs, Bosnians, and Croats—and, at that time, the WHO office was one of the few places where public health officials from these ethnic rivalries were able to safely meet and address common concerns.

What do you like best about your field?
I like the incredible challenge of the work and the tremendous satisfaction, when one is successful. I love the ability to interact with people at all levels, including the Ministers of Health, refugees, migrants, UN agency representatives, and NGOs. I love pulling people and organizations together, supporting the effective coordination of activities to improve the health of the world’s most vulnerable.

Do you have any advice for incoming and current students interested in a career like yours?
With international humanitarian work, you have to be flexible, ready to change jobs or locations on short notice. Be prepared to stay in housing that is quite different from what you are probably used to in the United States. Other factors will affect your lifestyle—think land mines, no TV, few news sources, limited food options.

That aside, if you have the opportunity to work overseas and think it is something you would like, do it! I am so glad I had the experiences overseas when I did! It is a treasure beyond measure.

What is the biggest lesson your have learned since graduating from the Institute?
I learned many lessons, but one that always stands out is the need be patient and understand the viewpoints and frames of reference of different players. In 1999, I was coordinating with other UN agencies to prepare for the expected upheaval in East Timor at the time its separation from Indonesia. UN representatives from New York flew in to help but they didn’t always listen to the workers in and benefit from the work that already had been done. I observed and listened to the frustrations of the field workers.

Soon thereafter, I was transferred to the WHO UN Office in New York, now working with the same individuals I had met a few weeks earlier. Now I listened to the frustrations of the New York administrators. While the overall goals of the administrators and field workers were the same, their interests and needs were different. Having experienced both so recently, I could understand and support each side and saw the importance of listening to and trying to understand all parties. This insight served me well, particularly when it was clear that the lives of many vulnerable people were at stake.

When you are working with another culture, continue to remind yourself that what works in your own culture may not work somewhere else. What is appropriate in a large urban center may not be as effective in more remote areas of the country. In order to be successful, you need to figure out what will be acceptable in the place where you are. Respect the ideas and plans of others. You will learn a lot!