The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Department of Public Health Sciences (DPHS) proudly welcomes Dr. Taylor B. Rogers as an Assistant Professor in the Health Policy and Management specialization, and the inaugural Director of the Public Health Workforce Development Initiative.
Dr. Rogers’ path into public health began with community engagement and health education, where she recognized the limits of individual-level interventions, leading her to pursue higher education to address racism as a structural determinant of health and healthcare. Her work broadly examines how structural racism operates within healthcare, education, and workplaces, and how workforce development, retention, and organizational culture influence career trajectories and population health outcomes.
She earned her PhD in Health Policy and Management, with a specialization in Sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles, where her dissertation critically analyzed racism, equity, diversity, and inclusion in health services research and delivery workforces. She also holds an MPH in Health Equity from the University of Maryland, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies and the Healthforce Center at the University of California, San Francisco.
In addition to her academic work, Dr. Rogers is a full-spectrum birth and postpartum doula, bringing a grounded, practice-based perspective to her scholarship. Supporting Black families through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum has deepened her understanding of how inequities affect patients, providers, and communities. She recognizes the intersections between Native Hawaiian and other systematically marginalized communities, and is committed to ensuring her work meets community needs while avoiding harm.
Dr. Rogers is excited to mentor and support students, helping them expand their understanding of how structural forms of oppression have shaped health in the past, and how these lessons can guide progress moving forward. This fall semester, Dr. Rogers is teaching PH 602: Introduction to U.S. Health Care System and Policy and will teach PH 430: Health Policy & Management next semester.
As the inaugural Director of the Public Health Workforce Development Initiative, Dr. Rogers aims to build on the work of the Hawaiʻi Catalyst Lab and many other partners to expand equity-driven, culturally responsive, and community-centered strategies for strengthening the public health workforce.
“Our department is so excited to have Dr. Rogers join us with her amazing experience, research, and knowledge about public health workforce development, growth, and planning!” said Dr. Tetine Sentell, Chair of the Department of Public Health Sciences.
“We look forward to the work of this initiative to strengthen, grow, and support our public health workforce to meet community needs, strengths, and interests.”