File:I Am CDC - Gabriela Ramirez-Leon (English).webm

English: I work as a Training Specialist in the Applied Learning and Development Team facilitating trainings to enhance public health emergency preparedness and response. I am also a Lieutenant Commander in the Commissioned Corps. As Lieutenant Commander, I belong to a Rapid Deployment Force and often deploy in the midst of a natural or man-made disaster. I love that my job is so versatile and so there is no such thing as an average day for me, which is both a blessing and a challenge. I could be traveling on Sunday to set up for a 3-day training in Anniston, AL or on a bus to Orlando, Florida on the wake of a category 4 hurricane.

Last year, I deployed with a team of CDC officers to Mexico City to train emergency medicine physicians, nurses, and other first responders on best practices for disaster mental health, psychological first aid, and self-care. A very rewarding moment was when my team learned about the impact that our lessons had in Mexico in the aftermath of the strong earthquakes that shook the country in 2017. We received a letter from the Ministry of Health telling us that over 1,500 local responders were trained in a single day by the trainers that two colleagues and I had trained earlier in the year.

My path to public health was not straightforward. I am a Clinical Psychologist by training and as such, I worked in hospitals, clinics, and private practice for nearly 23 years. I became interested in public health when I realized that my work will reach and impact a large number of people. Helping people and communities, to live well and healthy is what I love to do!!

Comments on this video are allowed in accordance with our comment policy: https://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html

This video can also be viewed at

https://www.cdc.gov/about/videos/IamCDC/IamCdcRamirezExt/IamCdcRamirezLeon_EXT.wmv