Public health passion earns Elise ‘emerging leader’ title
By Greg Chapman
Dr Elise Rivera’s commitment to enhancing all spheres of public health as an educator and researcher has earned her the Emerging Leader Award from the Public Health Association Australia (PHAA).
The CQUniversity Public Health Lecturer was recently presented with the award at the recent Australian Public Health Conference in Geelong, Victoria.
The award recognised Dr Rivera’s contributions to public health, through high-impact research, innovative education, advocacy, professional leadership, and engagement with industry and communities.
“I feel honoured to receive this award, especially because the PHAA is a professional community I’ve been passionately involved in since 2022,” she said.
“Across these areas, my focus has been on turning evidence into action and creating meaningful social change, whether that is through research that informs policy and practice, developing future public health professionals, or contributing directly to public health advocacy and building the capacity of the profession.”
“I’m proud to receive this award while representing CQUniversity because the contributions it recognises strongly reflect the kind of real-world impact the University strives to create through innovative education, social innovation, engagement, and research that responds to societal needs.”
Dr Rivera has been a lecturer at CQUniversity since 2023 and worked in the industry since 2015. She said she finds the chance to develop future public health professionals and improve the industry especially rewarding.
“What I really value is having the opportunity to contribute across teaching, research, and service to the profession,” she said.
“I see my role as an educator as helping prepare students for an industry where the challenges are increasingly complex and require new ways of thinking. At CQUniversity, I use social innovation and human-centred design to help students develop the creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and problem-solving skills they will need in the public health workforce to tackle ‘wicked’ problems and develop novel solutions for social change in line with the University’s commitment to innovative learning that prepares work-ready graduates.”
“What I like about receiving the Emerging Leader Award is the word ‘emerging’. It is encouragement to keep growing my contribution and bringing together the different parts of public health that I’m passionate about: research, education, advocacy, professional service, and social innovation. I want to keep building partnerships between CQUniversity, the public health profession, and communities so that this work has meaningful impact beyond the University. In the spirit of CQUniversity’s ‘Can Do’ and ‘Engagement’ values, I see this award as motivation to keep supporting others, strengthening these connections, and finding innovative ways to address the public health issues that matter to our communities.”
