My name is Joshua Fuller and I currently reside in Oklahoma, in the Midwest of the United States. I grew up in the countryside near a rural lake town. I have always been captivated by nature and science. Many would consider me a traveler in my personal life and when it comes to work a collaborative leader and holistic thinker. My professional experience includes 14 years in operations management and 11 years in health promotion including non-profit and global health diplomacy work. I have learned that everything and everybody are truly connected and affected by each other. I have been credentialed for over 5 years as a Public Health Specialist for assessment, strategic planning, implementation, and evaluation. This specialization exposed me to the many environmental factors that affect us, and how we influence the environment in turn. In my work, I have been endorsed as an accomplished communicator and influencing agent. I am adept in partnership building, demonstrated by quickly building trust and rapport with stakeholders. My key competencies include: monitoring and evaluation, partnership building, program development, strategic communication, and epidemiological research.

My practical public health experience began 6 years ago when I worked with the Tulsa Health Department in Oklahoma doing coalition building and program evaluation for the city. After completing my Masters of International Business and Public Health I was accepted into the U.S. Agency, the Peace Corps as a Community Health Specialist to aid in the management of a community health project with the Belizean Ministry of Health. This project focused on chronic disease prevention, which included many environmental factors affecting rural communities. While preparing and delivering volunteer technical training for capacity building in health initiatives, I also provided staff support through a national communications committee and evidence-based community interventions. In addition, I spearheaded the development of a national coalition of health stakeholders and implemented a regional outreach program focused on holistic wellness. In this facility, I coordinated, co-planned, and co-facilitated volunteer led workshops with host-national counterparts across Belize. I partnered with the Department of Environment during this time and learned much more about the effects of tourism and commercialism on delicate ecosystems. There are 5 very distinct ecosystems in the developing country of Belize, which are home to 9 different ethnic groups and well over 5000 species of flora and fauna. Many organizations and individuals there seek sustainable solutions to conserve their natural resources while developing into a healthy, thriving country.

More recently, I was given the opportunity to do non-profit work with the American Cancer Society (ACS) in the greater San Francisco area. As a hospital systems manager, I worked closely with hospital administration, medical teams, and volunteers developing and implementing health initiatives, such as outreach quality improvement; as well as health system development in health equity and disparities through influential relationships and strategic planning. This past year when COVID-19 devastatingly entered our world I found myself looking for other ways to reach out for aid. I have moved forward with project management through the United Nations Online programs in the areas of advocacy, organizational research, proposal writing and program evaluation. In doing so, I accepted a capacity building position with the Global Waste Cleaning Network (GWCN). Through their efforts, they seek to build synergy with all organizations around the world looking to better the environment through innovation, conservation, resource management, and research. I was able to aid in partnership building primarily in areas of the world I have knowledge of and connection with through my work.  As part of a specialized and interdisciplinary, multi-cultural team, we were able to grow GWCN’s outreach and then look towards new goals with influential partners along our side. After serving in this capacity, I was given the opportunity given my skills and experience to become part of the management team as the Content Manager for the purpose of building an organizational identity and online presence through the creation and dissemination of multimedia content. This involves developing strategies, managing informational resources, supporting an online community and evaluating that community’s growth, among other duties like press releases and curating and editing content for articles and informational materials.

I am considered to be someone that thrives on change and through reliance and creativity I have found many ways to pursue my interests while aiding others in need. I am excited to see what impact GWCN’s efforts will make on the world and the globally beneficial outcomes that form from their mission. Contributing as a Content Manager with GWCN has been a fulfilling and valuable place for me to grow and help others. I would like to thank them for this opportunity and ask anyone who reads this to consider GWCN when looking to engage with the environmental health community.