TIME100
YLE makes the list (!)
It is with overwhelming gratitude, a little embarrassment, and incredible excitement to share that I/YLE/we made it into the TIME100 Most Influential People in Health!
I’m equally floored to be alongside these other 99 incredible changemakers worldwide. They are my heroes—people who ruffle the feathers, refuse to accept the status quo, and innovate, and, most importantly, they are doers. Not because it’s flashy but because it will save lives.
For the past few years, I’ve felt like I’m going through the jungle with a machete to carve out a new path that I believe so deeply needs to be paved: one that empowers people to make evidence-based health decisions by bringing them on the scientific discovery ride. Not with fear but rather curiosity, timeliness, “translated” data and language, and action. Or, as TIME100 profiled, “speaking up for science” that has traditionally taken a quiet, passive, and invisible approach.
What started as an email to faculty and students four years ago landed here— with over 400 million views in over 133 countries. To say it’s been a hell of a ride is a vast understatement. And, let’s be honest, I’m still winging it most of the time, but TIME100 is a sign that the path is, in fact, moving forward.
Thank you for exploring with me. For making YLE such a unique, enriching community. For teaching me more than you could ever learn from me. For your patience, support and constructive feedback, for the laughs and even the tears. None of this would be possible without you, the team behind YLE (now 12 people!), and support system along the way. Including my husband, who picks me up, more often than not, after I question over and over again whether I’m crazy for searching the jungle for something new.
We’ll soon celebrate at the TIME100 Gala in New York City. Time to go dress shopping!
Love, YLE
“Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE)” is founded and written by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, M.P.H. Ph.D.—an epidemiologist, wife, and mom of two little girls. During the day, she is a senior scientific consultant to several organizations, including CDC. At night, she writes this newsletter. Her main goal is to “translate” the ever-evolving public health world so that people will be well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. This newsletter is free, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support this effort, subscribe below:
You have received official notification of what we all knew... ROCKSTAR!!!
You have totally earned this recognition! I'm so happy for you! And happy for us, too, because we need your guidance and insights. Keep up the good work! (And have fun dress shopping!)