The Pivot with Ashley Hester

Student Ashley Hester is an emergency response expert.

What’s your role in public health?

I currently have two roles in public health: I am a student at the Gillings School getting my Master of Public Health (MPH) in Leadership in Practice. I am also an Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Professional for the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. My role with the EHS Department is both an assistant fire marshal and the Emergency Response Team training coordinator.

As an assistant fire marshal, I educate the campus community on fire safety and prevention. This includes fire extinguisher training, CPR & AED training, building safety and inspections, and all-hazards emergency action planning and training. That last item includes identifying evacuation routes, assembly areas outside buildings, shelter-in-place locations and secure-in-place locations. The trainings I lead are an interprofessional collaboration between Fire Safety, UNC Emergency Management and UNC Police and are provided through the Carolina Ready program.

As for the EHS Emergency Response Team, it’s a multi-disciplinary group comprised from each of the safety specialties within EHS. These include industrial hygiene, radiation, workplace safety, fire safety, environmental affairs, chemical safety and biological safety. The members of this team are trained in hazardous materials emergency response. My role is twofold, as I am a squad leader as well as the training coordinator. I provide training to the entire team on different hazards that we could encounter on campus, satisfying regulatory agency training requirements while ensuring the team is confident and competent in their skills and equipment usage. When an isolated incident occurs on campus, the squad leader functions as the incident commander within the framework of the National Incident Management System.

In the past, the team was requested by UNC-Wilmington to assist with cleanup and building inspections after significant hurricane damage. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Emergency Response Team assisted UNC Hospitals in acquiring and distributing supplies such as masks and gloves. Once people were transitioning back to campus, we set up and assisted with mass vaccination points on campus. We also help run annual flu clinics.

Can you describe your focus area in one sentence?

I work to ensure the health and safety of the UNC-Chapel Hill campus community and its visitors with an emphasis on prevention and preparedness in fire and overall life safety.

What brought you to public health?

Public health has always been a calling for me in one way or another. During my undergraduate career, I wanted to study viruses like the one in the movie Outbreak, but it wasn’t meant to be — virology classes were removed from the curriculum by the time I was eligible to take them. Still, I always wanted to help people directly while indulging my passion for biology. I finally had this chance, while still in undergrad, when our area was flooded during Hurricane Ivan. I had taken a scuba diving class with a member of the local fire department and, just two weeks prior, been asked to join their water rescue team. I didn’t imagine that I would soon be involved in rescuing people from raging floodwaters! However, that experience stuck with me through various life events. This is how I could help people directly, whether through medical care, fire prevention and education, or other forms of emergency response. My involvement in emergency services has guided my path further into public health.

How have you pivoted during your public health career?

There were a few moments where I pivoted within public health. After undergrad, I was employed with a biotechnology company working in corn, soybean and cotton traits. Specifically, I was involved in a cotton yield project with insect resistance. I enjoyed the challenge of the project but discovered that bench work was not for me. Being an adrenaline junkie — combined with my drive to help people — led me to seek more.

Ashley hangs with Rameses during a work event.

That’s when I first volunteered as an emergency medical technician (EMT) with a local fire department. Over the course of a few years, I pivoted to becoming a career firefighter/EMT, which allowed me to help people directly. While I was in that role, though, there were many times when people needed more help that I could offer because the function I served just didn’t allow for that. For example, after a house fire, I would hand survivors a booklet titled After the Fire and call the American Red Cross on their behalf (if they agreed). Then, my crew would go back to the station and debrief aspects of the fire. I always felt empathy for the family, as their life had been devastated, and I always left the scene wishing we could do more for them.

As I’ve mentioned, I’m drawn to responding to natural disasters, especially hurricanes. The devastation from Hurricane Katrina is forever imprinted in my mind as a public health emergency. Again, I saw people struggling to survive and wondered how one could help and do more. I wanted to pivot, but I didn’t know where or how.

It wasn’t until a fire prevention and education position opened at UNC-Chapel Hill that I would discover my next pivot. I still had hurricane response in the back of my mind, which is how I found the Community Preparedness Disaster Management certificate offered at the Gillings School. That program provided direction and traction to my public health career and inspired me to pursue an MPH. My ultimate goal is to bring a public health focus to emergency management and reduce the disparities in preparedness and recovery phases.

Who are you when you’re at home?

When I’m at home, I’m the family manager. I am a mother, wife, runner, soccer fanatic and gardener. I have two daughters who are involved in numerous activities throughout the year. Between running them places and keeping schedules straight, I stay busy! Otherwise, I love to travel and run distances up to half marathons. We have been trying to combine travel and races, so I ran the Boston half-marathon last November. I also love soccer and played until I had my daughters. I can’t wait until the World Cup 2026! Finally, I garden and grow vegetables — especially bell peppers.