Andrea Martinez-Mejia, M.A.\/M.P.A. \u201908 originally aspired to work in international diplomacy. Luckily for the residents of New Jersey, she is just as intrigued by the diplomacy required in state government. Today, she is the chief of staff for the New Jersey Department of Health, overseeing the department\u2019s day-to-day operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the ability to make an impact in the lives of others, and I am honored to be able to be at the table, making decisions and bringing problems in vulnerable communities to light,\u201d Martinez-Mejia says. \u201cI also am lucky for the ability to work with great, multi-talented individuals from other backgrounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a department that employs 6,800 people, Martinez-Mejia has direct oversight of its management and operations, personnel, information technology and equal opportunity. The job requires long hours, many of which are spent bringing key stakeholders together to discuss major healthcare issues, such as concern about the coronavirus outbreak.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a position that draws on the lessons she learned at Seton Hall in earning a master\u2019s degree in both diplomacy and public administration (with a concentration in healthcare management), while also working full-time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI use a lot of the knowledge and theories from my graduate program on the job, and the practical knowledge my classmates and I shared has also been very helpful,\u201d she says. She also points to the compassion and empathy emphasized by a Catholic education as being important in the work being done by the Department of Health.<\/p>\n
Martinez-Mejia\u2019s interest in politics and diplomacy was sparked at a young age.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring my early teen years in Ecuador, my imagination was captured by a foreign mission between Ecuador and Colombia,\u201d she says. \u201cColombia had a woman as secretary of state, but there were no women in the Ecuadorean delegation.\u201d<\/p>\n
After her family immigrated to New Jersey in 1994, she earned a political science degree from Rutgers University, took a job with the gubernatorial campaign of James McGreevey and subsequently began working for the state government. She eventually became director of the office of appointments for the governor\u2019s office, using her diplomatic and political skills in working with three successive administrations. She requested a transfer to the Department of Health after earning her graduate degrees, then made a brief sojourn into the not-for-profit sector. But public service \u2014 and public health \u2014 drew her back; in 2015, Martinez-Mejia returned to Trenton to work for the city\u2019s health department. In 2018, she began her current role with the state, where she thrives today.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the ability to make a difference in the lives of others,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Andrea Martinez-Mejia, M.A.\/M.P.A. \u201908 originally aspired to work in international diplomacy. Luckily for the residents of New Jersey, she is just as intrigued by the diplomacy required in state government.<\/p>\n