Columbia Mailman Welcomes Six New Alumni Board Members

Six Columbia Mailman alumni recently joined the School’s Alumni Board. Douglas Arbetter, Richard Chan, Olivia SK Chan, Pei Yang (Peggy) Hsieh, Elise Omaits, and Emery Weinstein began their three-year terms on July 1, bringing diverse experiences across health care, government service, pharmaceuticals, and consulting.

The Alumni Board is a key partner in supporting current students, collaborating with the wider Columbia alumni community, and furthering the School’s mission of creating a healthy and just world for all.

“We are excited to welcome Douglas, Richard, Olivia, Peggy, Elise, and Emery to the Columbia Mailman Alumni Board,” said Dorcas Adedoja, MPH ’20, Alumni Board president. “They are exceptionally dedicated to the field of public health, and their expertise will be invaluable as we continue to support Columbia Mailman students and our global alumni community.”

Douglas Arbetter, MPH ’16, is an associate director of biostatistics at Moderna, where he leads statistical strategies for global health vaccine programs, including those for the Zika virus, Nipah virus, mpox, and HIV. Previously, Arbetter held roles at AstraZeneca and Barinthus Biotherapeutics; he currently serves on the American Statistical Association’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee. A resident of Worcester, Massachusetts, he is a former member of the Worcester JCC Board of Directors and served as chairman of the Worcester Community Development Advisory Committee. He is dedicated to cultivating a robust alumni network and advocating for evidence-based public health policies. As of 2023, Arbetter is also a Biostatistics PhD student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Richard Chan, MPH ’23, is a preventive medicine resident at the National University Health System (NUHS) in Singapore. After graduating with his MBBS in 2020, he served on the front line of patient care in Singapore’s hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, witnessing firsthand the resilience of health care workers. Motivated by these experiences, he pursued an MPH at Columbia Mailman while serving as a resident. Since completing his MPH, Richard worked for a year on Singapore’s COVID-19 vaccination policy strategy and implementation with the Ministry of Health. The following year, he served as the project lead for the Community Hospitals of the Future (CHoF) pilot project in community hospitals across Singapore, working with the Ministry of Health  Office for Healthcare Transformation. Currently, Richard is serving as a resident in the National University Health System’s Regional Health System Office, contributing to population health programs. As an active member of the Columbia Mailman alumni community, Chan regularly engages with prospective international students and alumni, and is also an active member of the Columbia Alumni Association in Singapore. 

Olivia SK Chan, MPH ’99, DVM, PhD, has dedicated her interdisciplinary career, spanning more than 20 years, to preventing zoonotic diseases, infectious diseases, and antimicrobial resistance in humans and animals. She has worked across fields including research, teaching, clinical practice, government, and civil service, both locally and internationally.  Drawing on her clinical and research experience, she has developed both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical strategies for preventing infections. Olivia is especially passionate about One Health, global health, and strengthening the School’s presence in Asia. She previously led advocacy efforts connecting the alumni network with public health opportunities in the region. She remains committed to supporting student learning and alumni development.

Pei Yang (Peggy) Hsieh, MPH ’19, is an epidemiologist at the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department, where she works on all non-infectious disease topics, including maternal and child health, violence and injury prevention, and environmental health, among others. Peggy previously worked as a data analyst at NYU Langone Health, analyzing data on over 35 health metrics to support leaders in over 750 U.S. cities. Based in California, she is passionate about building cross-country engagement for alumni in her region by participating in the local Northern California alumni chapter and virtual Columbia Mailman events. As an alum of the Environmental Health Sciences Department, Peggy is also enthusiastic about staying connected with the EHS family through networking and mentorship.

Elise Omaits, MPH ’20, is the innovation and execution lead at Better Life Partners and a consultant at her own firm. While serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon and working on health equity policy and programming at a Jewish women’s organization, Omaits witnessed firsthand how public health intersects with every aspect of life. These professional experiences led her to pursue an MPH in the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health. Her public health training has allowed her to develop care models for underserved populations and strengthen program evaluation to better serve patients. She looks forward to promoting collaboration between the Columbia Mailman Alumni Board and other Columbia alumni groups and hopes to engage students and alumni as a member of the New York City Healthcare Club. 

Emery Weinstein, MPH ’20, is the director of Market Access Strategy at EVERSANA INTOUCH, where she leads value and access strategic initiatives and engages market access stakeholders to support access and reimbursement of medicines. Previously, Emery served as a monitoring and evaluation associate at the Peterson Center on Healthcare, where she aligned program partners in philanthropic programs aimed at delivering system reform and improving the affordability of healthcare.  Weinstein is a board member of the New York chapter of the Columbia Alumni Association’s Global Health & Wellness Network and has been a member of the Columbia Mailman Development Committee since 2024. She is also involved in community organizations across New York City (including MoMA Young Patrons Council and NY County Committee). She is eager to support the School’s mission and work collaboratively to advocate for public health and science-based policy.

“It is a great pleasure to welcome Douglas, Richard, Olivia, Peggy, Elise, and Emery as the newest members of our Alumni Board,” said Kathleen Sikkema, PhD, Interim Dean. “Their commitment to our mission and values is more important than ever, and I admire their dedication to our students and world-class alumni network.”

The Alumni Board serves as the governing body of the School’s Alumni Association. It focuses on alumni programming, engagement, and developing opportunities for alumni to support and grow the Columbia Mailman community. The Board consists of 39 members, including four emeritus members, from a variety of departments and specialities.