Mary Ellen Sellers, MPH'18
For the past 30 years, Mary Ellen Sellers has dedicated her career to the health and well-being of others in Canada and around the world.
After graduating from Queen’s University in 1988, Sellers worked as a physiotherapist in Sudbury and Toronto until the early 2000s. She then made the decision to move to northern India to work at a small hospital where she would take on a multitude of roles, from leading its new community-based rehabilitation project to working as project administrator in the community development department.
“Over time, I became involved in projects working on mother and child health, mental health, care for people with HIV/AIDS, anti-human trafficking, and projects working to strengthen the existing health care system,” Sellers said. “Along the way, I realized that creating an environment where people are healthy involves so much more than just hospital care — other factors such as housing, education, and income are important influences in the creation of health.”
Sellers’ experience not only confirmed her passion for addressing the health needs of people who are marginalized and vulnerable, but also taught her that public health is an important avenue to address social determinants of health.
This realization gave Sellers the desire and motivation to move back to Canada and continue her education in the Master of Public Health Program at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry.
Originally drawn to the Program because of its well-rounded curriculum and case-based learning, Sellers also appreciated the opportunity to learn about Canadian and global health public health issues from a variety of perspectives.
“Our classes involved a lot of discussion and participation,” she said. “My classmates came with different backgrounds and experiences, so our class discussions are fascinating and thought-provoking.”
Sellers also appreciated that the Program gave her the opportunity to expand on a variety of the issues she dealt with in her professional career.
“As my work in India progressed, I became more and more aware of how complex it is to ensure that a person, family or community is healthy. Through my training in the MPH Program, I learned how to address the fundamental conditions that enable people to be healthy.”
As part of the MPH Program, Sellers completed a 12-week practicum. Because she already had experience working outside of the country, she decided to complete her practicum on a more local scale to gain more practical experience in Canada.
“The Program opened up possibilities for me that I had never considered before,” Sellers said. “I learned so much, which will enable me to make a contribution in the field of public health.”
