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Brett Sierra, (MPH '15, DHSc '20) assistant professor in the Department of Health Behavior, Policy, and Management, has been named as the next director of the Master of Public Health program.

The program, housed in the Joint School of Public Health, serves students from both Old ��ֱ���� University and Norfolk State, through the Joint School has directors at each school. Sierra directs student enrolled in ODU, although students can take classes on both campuses.

Helping people is one reason the Chesapeake native pursued public health, so becoming MPH director of the joint program is a natural progression of his career.

“I felt like that was my opportunity to make an impact on students entering the field, and encourage them learn from my success and mistakes,” Sierra said. “I think being the director of the program helps that even more, because I’m passionate about connecting with students and building a culture of servant leadership.”

As an alumnus of Eastern Virginia Medical School, which integrated into ODU on July 1, 2024, as part of the Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old ��ֱ���� University, Sierra understands the MPH experience.

“I think I have the lived experience of going through the program and can relate to the struggles students face,” Sierra said. “There are a lot of similarities between the way it was taught before and how it is now.”

Sierra’s strengths will help to strengthen the MPH program as it grows, said Li-Wu Chen, founding dean and professor of the Joint School of Public Health.

“Dr. Sierra’s passion for public health teaching and research, along with his personal connections to our students, will serve the program in an important way through student recruitment and hands-on experiences with the Joint School of Public Health over the next few years,” Chen said.

One area where Sierra plans to continue growing the program is facilitating collaborations with future employers through internships and practicums. Students are required to complete hands-on experience in the field as part of the program, and the campus experiences and classes provide the know-how and theory behind public health practice, he said.

Leadership and hands-on experience can be found in the deliberate approach taken in integrating the Public Health Student Association (PHSA) ODU and legacy EVMS chapters over the past year. Sierra, along with Dr. DaShaunda Taylor, Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health, co-advised the club while the chapters merged in the 2024-2025 school year, and encouraged student leadership. As of the 2025-2026 school year, the Alpha Kappa chapter of student organization has integrated fully under VHS.

The student chapter of Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health, which recognizes outstanding public health students, has also rechartered into the new program under Sierra and co-chair Dr. Aditya Chakaborty in the past year, allowing more students to become involved.

Sierra says it’s all in service to the programs that gave so much to him.

“Something I love about working at the school I attended is being able to share my passion for public health with current and prospective students and preparing my students to be extraordinary public health practitioners both in the Hampton Roads community and beyond,” Sierra said. “It’s exciting to recognize that the students who go through this program will ultimately become my lifelong peers in the advancement of the public health field.”  

Sierra follows Clinical Assistant Professor, Dr. Leslie Hoglund, who served as MPH director through much of the transition to the Joint School of Public Health.

“During this vital time in our school’s early years, our joint MPH program is a model of how public health is looking to the future, and we are incredibly lucky to have had such a dedicated director, and another poised to fill the position,” Chen said.