Annie Nagy: Meet our new PHC program director!

Three words that describes you?
Sunny, out-going, and compassionate

Can you tell us about your past service experiences?
I’ve been committed to serving the greater community since high school when I volunteered for Habitat for Humanity and during college, I continued to work with Habitat for Humanity as well as teach adult literacy classes.
 

After college, I joined the Peace Corps, where I served as a Public Health/Community Development Volunteer in a tiny village (200 people) in Guinea, West Africa for more than two years.  Most of my work in Guinea was focused on promoting HIV/STD prevention and education, educating community health workers, running a malnutrition clinic, promoting health education (on topics, such as contraception, family planning, sanitation and hygiene, prenatal and neonatal care, malaria, nutrition, and diarrhea), and increasing access to health care for women and children. 
 

After Peace Corps, I returned to Pittsburgh to complete my graduate studies. While I was in Pittsburgh, I volunteered at the East End Cooperative Ministry in their food pantry, soup kitchen, and drop-in center for about 7 years.  Additionally, every summer during those years, my husband and I worked for an organization called Visions Service Adventures, where we took high school students to do a summer of community service in a developing country (we worked in Guadeloupe for 6 summers and Ghana for 1 summer). 
 

After acquiring my graduate degrees, I was awarded an Albert Schweitzer Fellow, which allowed me to I serve in Lambarene, Gabon as a Public Health Fellow in the Schweitzer Hospital working on vaccination campaign, prenatal and neonatal care, and health care for children less than 5 years of age in remote villages.  In addition, I designed various training courses for nurses at the hospital.  
 

After my term in Gabon, I moved back to Guinea to serve as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer and during this time, I worked to specifically increase access to contraception for women and decreasing mortality for children less than 5 years old.
 

How did your service experience impact you?
I would have to say that my experiences while serving have completely shaped who I am today.  I found my passion in Public Health work while working in Guinea the first time.   Ever since that time, my interest to learn more about public health and to work in the field have never ceased.

What drew you back to Pittsburgh?
I came back to Pittsburgh for the amazing opportunity to become an AmeriCorps Health Corps Program Director.  This position allows me to follow my passion of doing Public Health work in the greater community.  Pittsburgh is ultimately home for me and after spending years abroad, I was extremely excited to come back home and be a part of the greater movement to increase access to healthcare for vulnerable and underserved populations.

What are you looking forward to most as program director of PHC?
I am most looking forward to a very productive, innovative, and positive year of public health service.

Do you have any advice for the 2014-2015 PHC members?
The best advice I can give the new PHC members is to be as flexible as possible and let your experience impact you as much as you impact those around you.