Serving on a Committee

These teams play a critical role in carrying out the mission and vision of HPSA. Working closely with one of our executive chairs, you will have the opportunity to influence the direction of the organization, practice working with a variety of community stakeholders, and network with a group of like-minded peers from colleges across the university. While every committee experience is different, many come away with experience in event planning, newsletter development, or fundraising.

Opportunities include positions in:

Advocacy

The Advocacy Chair is responsible for overseeing and organizing advocacy activities for both HPSA members and the SPH community. Initiatives include but are not limited to: partnering with community organizations, organizing advocacy letter campaigns, inviting speakers to campus, and coordinating with other committees. Additionally, the Advocacy Chair works closely with Cindy Bank at the Ford School of Public Policy to coordinate Lansing Day, a multi-session workshop on effective advocacy culminating with a trip to Lansing to advocate in front of Michigan state legislators.

Alumni Engagement

The role of HPSA’s Alum Engagement Chair typically involves coordinating and facilitating interactions between HPSA alumni and the current members, maintaining communication, and building relationships to foster a strong alumni network. The Alum Engagement Chair ensures effective communication between alumni and the organization's leadership, conveying updates, news, and opportunities for HPSA.

Education

The Education Chair is responsible for educational programming that supports the interests of policy students. This includes organizing educational events for HPSA members and the SPH community at large (e.g., policy evaluation training) often in partnership with other SPH student organizations and invites speakers for HPSA Great Body Meetings. This position also authors and delegates responsibilities for the HPSA blog, the bi-weekly Out-of-Pocket publication. Additionally, this position interviews guest speakers and publishes episodes for the podcast, The Health Policy Checkup.

Finance

The Finance Chair is responsible for managing all of the finances of the organization including applying for and securing external funding, collecting dues, leading Giving Blueday fundraising efforts, disbursing funds. The Finance Chair must gain familiarity with the Student Organization Account Services (SOAS) through the University to perform important functions and tasks. The Finance Chair also works with the HMP department to coordinate annual departmental financial support of HPSA, including for sending students to the National Health Policy Conference. This position provides general oversight over all financing and communicates status to the board.

Marketing and Communications

The Marketing and Communications Chair is responsible for informing HPSA students and stakeholders about what events we have coming up. This position will take primary responsibility for the HPSA social media platforms and website. The Marketing and Communications Chair will be in frequent contact with every member of the executive board in order to ensure prompt advertising of their events. Contact with the School of Public Health and other schools is necessary to promote events as well.

Professional Development

The Professional Development committee is the most extensive in HPSA. The Chair is responsible for creating opportunities for HPSA members to sharpen and enhance their health policy and management skills through several practical professional development experiences. HPSA offers job/internship search skills, connections with alumni, and opportunities to learn about various health policy career paths. This position has an emphasis on policy mentorship.