Meet Our Team: Rowena Lindsay

Over the next several weeks, we will be publishing a series of Q&As introducing our readers to the people behind the work here at Public Health Post: our student fellows and editorial team! Next up is Rowena Lindsay, one of our student writing fellows. Each week, Rowena pitches new story ideas that break down health research, explain data graphics, or present original interviews with leaders in the field. She then works with our editors to write, edit, and rewrite her stories for public consumption.

Learn more about Rowena, her public health interests, and how she hopes to make an impact through her writing below.

What public health issues are you most passionate about, and why?

My passion for maternal and reproductive health is political and personal. It has been difficult to see the reproductive rights that previous generations of feminist activists fought for being taken away, but it is very motivating. Also, my personal experience with endometriosis has had a big effect on my life and shown me firsthand how delays in diagnosis, dismissal of pain, and lack of research continue to undermine reproductive health care in the United States.

What drew you to Public Health Post, and what are you hoping to contribute or learn?

When I was getting my bachelor’s degree in journalism, I had a job where I got to write about a really wide variety of topics, which was a fantastic experience and showed me I wanted to focus my career on science writing. The Public Health Post fellowship seemed like a great way to have a parallel experience—honing my writing skills and setting me up for success in this next phase of my career.

What’s a public health myth or misconception you’d love to bust?

There’s a misconception that public health is about telling people what to do: don’t smoke, don’t drink soda, wear sunscreen, eat organic produce. But at its core, public health is about making it possible for people to make healthy choices for themselves. That means addressing housing, food access, education, transportation, and all the systems of inequity that shape our lives.

How do you know when a story is worth telling?

I think storytelling is most powerful when it connects a big-picture issue to real people’s lives, or challenges the way we usually think about a problem. When I find such a topic, I hear a little voice in my head that goes “Yes! That’s the one!” and I feel really confident and excited to write about it.

Who or what inspires your writing?

Jia Tolentino, who writes for the New Yorker and published a book of essays called Trick Mirror a few years ago, inspires me a lot. She writes about the present moment with the kind of astute perceptiveness that is usually only accessible in retrospect.   

What’s one unexpected skill or hobby you have outside public health?

I really enjoy astrophotography. A lot of planning goes into taking a night sky photo (right), so there was a big learning curve, but it has been really satisfying to get incrementally better over the years. The hobby has brought me to some really beautiful places. 

Coffee or tea?

Coffee

Early bird or night owl?

Night owl

Last book you read and loved?

Daughter by Claudia Dey

Dream vacation spot?

Italy