Alumni Profile: Alissa Keny-Guyer

Name: Alissa Keny-Guyer (Guyer when I graduated)

Year Graduated: 1985

Professional Title and Job Description
Oregon State Representative, House District 46 (SE/NE Portland)

My focus in the legislature is on the social determinants of health. As Chair of the House Committee on Human Services and Housing, I focus on increasing affordable housing and home ownership, preventing homelessness, protecting tenants, and improving our foster care system, elder care, and safety net. On the House Health Care Committee, I promote public health and access to cost effective health care, especially for women and children. In addition to advocating for every Oregon child to get the right start in life, I work to improve public education, protect the environment, address the climate crisis, and create a vibrant, sustainable economy that will close racial, gender and economic disparities.

What does a typical day at work look like?
I work in the Capitol one hour away during the legislative session, which meets for 5 ½ months in odd years and 5 weeks during the even years. During the interim, I work in my district of SE/NE Portland, meeting with constituents and advocates, and attending conferences to learn more about the problems and potential solutions to Oregon issues.

How did your public health degree prepare you for your work? Or how do you think it will in the future?
My degree prepared me to look upstream at the social determinants of health to ensure a healthy physical and emotional environment for people, in which they could thrive. The group dynamics classes taught me how to be a better change agent, and my summer practicum led to a full time job I held in Honolulu for several years. That job at Hawaii Community Services Council, as well as my subsequent jobs (like as a staffer for a Hawaii state rep) gave me the skills and experience that have made me so much more effective in my career to date!

Do you have any advice for future public health students (undergraduate or graduate)?
Combine your reading, class discussions, and practicums into a seamless web that helps guide your heart and mind in your future career.

Alissa Keny-Guyer