Alumnus Jean Orelien, founder of SciMetrika, rated top entrepreneur

Jean Orelien, DrPH, president and chief executive officer of SciMetrika LLC in Durham, N.C., and alumnus of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health’s Department of Biostatistics, has been selected as one of this year’s “Top 10 Black Entrepreneurs” by Inc. magazine.

 

The magazine delivers advice, tools and services to help business owners start, run and grow their businesses more successfully.

 

SciMetrika, founded by Orelien in 2001, is a consulting firm that helps federal, state and local health agencies and commercial clients with projects that directly lead to improving human health. The company conducts scientific studies to ascertain the prevalence of diseases and other health conditions; develops and implements health programs and evaluates such programs.

 

For example, in Mecklenburg Co. (N.C.), SciMetrika evaluated the effectiveness of an ordinance mandating the use of carbon monoxide detectors in residential dwelling units. The company also annually surveys about 30,000 Medicare providers to assess their satisfaction with services provided by their Medicare contractors.

 

With revenues of almost $5 million in 2009 and explosive growth over the last three years, SciMetrika also was ranked by Inc. as number 374 overall on its “Top 5000” list of fastest-growing privately held businesses.

 

Orelien has more than a decade of experience as a senior statistician and project manager on programs funded by agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In September, his company won more than $2 billion in contracts to provide support and consultation for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Center for Global Health and Information and Management Systems.A native of Haiti, Orelien returned to his homeland after the devastating earthquake last January. He immediately organized a nonprofit team to gather data on victims, with the goal of helping aid organizations more accurately target relief efforts. Inc. magazine featured Orelien for his philanthropic efforts in Haiti in its September 2010 issue.

 

“My connection to Haiti is a big part of my desire to work globally,” Orelien said in the Inc. interview. “Certainly, there’s a greater need there than in the U.S. when it comes to public health. I also feel that I have not paid my dues. I’m living a normal life, in a suburban area with my wife and four kids. I think my work with SciMetrika thus far is a start, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg, and I’m looking to give even more.”

 

Orelien’s company also is a longtime supporter of the UNC public health school’s Minority Health Conference. The conference, the longest running student-led minority health event in the country, was initiated in 1977 by the UNC Minority Student Caucus to highlight health issues of concern to people of color and to attract students interested in minority concerns to public health.

 

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, 919-966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu.