Emily Gibson

Emily Gibson is a Master of Public Health student in the Health Systems and Policy concentration in the Department of Health Services, School of Public Health. She is also a nurse with five years of experience working in reproductive health, community health, and emergency services. She currently works in the Emergency Department at UWMC-Northwest. Working as a nurse, Emily witnessed the social determinants of health negatively influence the outcomes of her most vulnerable patients. After finishing her MPH she hopes to leverage evidence-based, community-oriented policy to improve health outcomes and access for refugees and immigrants.

Emily’s partner was born and raised in Montreal, and he grew up speaking French and Creole at home. His parents immigrated to Montreal from Haiti in their teens, and he often discusses the disparity in life outcomes of immigrants in Canada who have access to social support systems such as state sponsored health insurance and low-cost university, compared to immigrants in the US who have neither. These stories sparked Emily’s interest in the differences between social services in Canada and the US, and specifically how they impact the long-term health outcomes of refugees and immigrants.

Emily hopes to develop a strong grasp of the French language to enable her to work effectively in Montreal and abroad in both a clinical and professional capacity with francophone colleagues and patients. With Canadian area studies through FLAS, she plans to deepen her understanding of Canada’s immigration policies and social programming, to strengthen policy arguments for initiatives to bolster social services for immigrant families in the US.