Lorin Kerr Award - Acceptance Speech: Marysel Pagán Santana, DrPH, MS

Acceptance Speech

Marysel Pagán Santana, DrPH, MS

Lorin Kerr Award 

APHA Annual Meeting 2021 

October 27, 2021 

Good afternoon. I am excited to be here and honored to receive this award. I first want to thank the American Public Health Association and the Occupational Health and Safety Section. The welcoming environment they create for young professionals is unique. Since joining APHA during the annual meeting in New Orleans in 2014, I have seen the energy and enthusiasm with which new and future generations of public health professionals are received and included in advocacy efforts for public health. This space's experience and networks were an essential part of my development and what led to my integration into the Migrant Clinicians Network (MCN). Without a doubt, the perfect beginning of the professional path that I have traveled and that I wish to continue. Before talking more about that, I would like to share how I got here. 

Much of the energy and passion for worker-related advocacy results from a childhood filled with rallies and protests for workers' rights in Puerto Rico. My parents, both union workers in the public sector (a teacher and a data analyst), taught my sisters and me to fight for labor justice, for vulnerable and disadvantaged populations, for what was fair. At that time, I did not quite understand the concept of labor rights. Nor did I know how a person could get sick at work. I didn't understand it, but I saw it through my parentes’ stress, fatigue, illness, and back pain. I know now that it was unpaid work, unsuitable workspaces, infectious diseases in offices with no ventilation, and ergonomic problems from heavy loads or inappropriate equipment. As time went by, I saw it as a norm, we fight, and maybe someone will help us. I didn't know that there were people dedicated to supporting workers and finding solutions to these problems. 

I did not know that I wanted to work in public health and workers' health and safety. The first critical moment was an environmental emergency management class whose focus was the protection of first responders. The "aha" moment of discovering that I could make a profession out of my interest in workers' health came when I asked the teacher what was the job of the person that "gave out the hardhats to the workers". I wanted to be that person. The rest was a process of completing courses and applying to graduate schools hoping that this opportunity would not force me to leave my country. I managed to enter the University of Puerto Rico and its industrial hygiene program. I was met by mentors and had opportunities to impact communities as I finished both my master's and doctoral degrees. The University returned me to where I first discover occupational health: the schools' unhealthy work environments. Through a Susan Hardwood grant, I had the opportunity to train principals, teachers, and cafeteria employees. Each training experience was a reminder that the school environments were not appropriate for these workers. I remember a conversation with a cafeteria employee in which she told me about how heavy the instruments they used were and the fear they had that they would fall on their feet at some point. This was why they were continually in awkward postures while working, resulting in pain, the lack of appropriate work tools, or even the adequate shoe was causing them pain. The opportunities that the University of Puerto Rico gave me in my training were not limited to academic experiences in a classroom but were more than that. I consider it a core part of why I continued learning to advocate for the vulnerable population and work with the communities. 

In the University or UPR, I was able to see different aspects of social inequities, the role of health professionals and establish links with other health professionals that quickly turned out to be highly beneficial. During my career as president of the student body and member of the University's governing board, I had the opportunity to join other advocacy processes and fight for what I considered fair. The networks I built during my studies were essential in advocating for protecting essential workers, especially teachers, during this public health emergency (COVID-19). Now young professionals like me, teachers, and students joined from different fronts to respond to the public health crisis and the workers' needs. One of the collaboration spaces that I was able to join is La Mesa Social, an organization that puts together various groups in defense of workers and vulnerable populations. Another group that joined our efforts was the School Surveillance System and the Municipal System for Investigation of Cases and Tracking of Contacts. Both groups created significant fronts in the defense and protection of workers in Puerto Rico. This collaboration allowed me to offer my support in the organization and advocacy for healthy schools. A role I continue to practice in collaboration with the teachers' unions. Getting involved with these groups was the silver lining of a public health emergency partnership that opened the channels of cooperation that we've been missing. 

One opportunity the COVID-19 emergency has fostered is linking my knowledge and experience with the struggles of these groups and communities. The satisfaction of being able to provide practical solutions that promote the health of workers is unique. This is true for other populations I also collaborate with, such as agricultural workers in Puerto Rico. These workers also suffer from inequities and injustices in their places of employment and fight daily to contribute to the country's food security without guarantees and protections that allow them to be healthy. I cannot emphasize enough the intrinsic role that education has in these efforts. Especially today, the spaces that provide for the development of professionals like me are limited; young professionals have no alternative but to migrate to get fair employment, and essential workers see their rights and financial security disappear. 

When I began my career, Puerto Rico was in response and recovery processes to natural disasters while recovering from economic and political disasters.  

The intersection of political issues with environmental stressors has been a significant setback for students, teachers, young professionals, disadvantaged populations, and essential workers. Through the teachers' unions and the University, public education has been a consistent front in the fight for labor justice and decent and safe workspaces. As a social determinant of health, it is evident that the direct implication of educational impairment is a population with more significant difficulties and inequities in health. I can't stand in front of you (virtually) without asking you to support workers, teachers, and professionals in training in the fight for adequate financing to continue providing accessible and quality education in Puerto Rico. Without them, I would not have accomplished the achievement that we are celebrating this afternoon. I also take this opportunity to thank those who, in one way or another, support recovery efforts and advocacy for workers and communities in Puerto Rico, such as the Migrant Clinicians Network. There is no better workspace than one whose source of energy to continue the fight is a vocation. MCN has joined in the fight for labor justice and safe workplaces in Puerto Rico and provided the space for young professionals and talented people on the Island to remain in it and join its organizational mission, allowing us to contribute from the Caribbean to the US and to support local efforts. 

Finally, I want to say a last thank you. And I apologize to those who may have difficulty with Spanish. Agradezco a mis padres, por fomentarme el sentido de justicia por los derechos y empatía por los más vulnerables. A mis hermanas, mi pareja y amistades quien siempre han sido fuente de ánimo, apoyo, consuelo y acompañamiento. Y a mis sobrinos, en especial a Adrieliz Nicole, que son un recordatorio constante del por qué no debemos dejar de luchar y abogar por mejores condiciones de vida.