WHY I Work in MCH: Ana Franklin
NICHQ Development Manager
Ana Franklin, NICHQ’s Development Manager, shares her personal health journey and how her experience as the adopted child of a retired general health practitioner led to a lifelong personal and professional commitment to health equity.
"Personally, my mom is now a retired general practitioner. Growing up, I got to be in her office and see her interacting with patients, and I would help with administrative tasks. So I was surrounded by that growing up. I never really had much of an interest in the biomedical side of health, so it's great that I'm working at a public health nonprofit now.
Also reflecting on my life, I was adopted at 3 months old, and coming to the U.S., I had a few major illnesses. Luckily for me, my mom was a medical professional, so she had the knowledge and the resources in helping me get better and heal and help out with my health. I received so much support early on in life, but so many families and infants don't have that kind of access to quality care or can navigate the complexities of the health care system. So, I definitely wanted to support an organization that strives to help children in ways that I got, but not everyone is able to have. Looking back on those experiences, even though I wasn't sure where I would end up now. It makes sense that I'm here at NICHQ."
