Rising Stars: Meet Kelly McCue of Flagstaff

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly McCue.

Hi Kelly, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story. 
I’m initially from Fort Collins, Colorado, and moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, in 2007 to pursue an undergraduate degree. I changed my major a few times, but I kept circling around health: Nutrition? Midwifery? Naturopathy? It wasn’t until a trip to Nepal in 2010, where I met and lived with a Female Community Health Volunteer (FCHV), that I really understood and found passion for public health. From there, my academic and professional path was forged. 

I went on to earn a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Boston University with an emphasis in Maternal and Child Health, during which I fully immersed in the discipline. I explored public health research, grassroots advocacy efforts, and community-based health education.  

In 2015, I moved back to Flagstaff, where my soul is most happy. I started my career in diabetes education, but I missed academia and wanted to be back in the public health research setting. In 2018, I began working for Northern Arizona University (NAU) Center for Health Equity Research (CHER), where I work on several grant-funded projects to improve maternal and child health across northern Arizona. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I tend to navigate my world with an optimistic lens: Any bumps in my path have been essential to get me where I am today! That said, I think the biggest hurdles in my journey thus far have been Imposter Syndrome, mild depression, and impatience with myself. 

I am honored to work in the sphere that I do, surrounded by incredibly smart and passionate women from various cultures and ways of thinking. My challenges become learning opportunities with the support and guidance of my mentors and colleagues.  

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Through my work at CHER, I enjoy working alongside various teams and communities, such as Yavapai County, Navajo Nation, Dine’ College, and Arizona Department of Health Services. My day-to-day tasks vary a lot, from grant-writing, mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, facilitating classes and workshops, managing budgets, and conducting community outreach. Most of my work is office-based, but every summer I get to spend a couple weeks with my colleagues at Dine’ College and about a dozen high school students from across Navajo Nation, immersed in public health and service-learning. Last year, my colleague from NAU, Dr. Alisse Ali-Joseph, invited me to coauthor a book chapter on Indigenous reproductive justice and breastfeeding. I am honored to have had that opportunity to learn from and work with her on a topic I’m very passionate about. 

I balance my professional life with community connections and time with my husband. I currently chair the First Things First Coconino Regional Partnership Council to promote early childhood health and development, and I am board president of High Country Lactation Care which aims to address the equity and access gap of lactation support services for women/families who are un/underinsured. 

My husband and I just got married in October 2023. We are just living the dream together: cooking, mountain biking, and exploring.

What do you think about happiness?
I love my life! I love where I live and get to immerse myself in the beauty of mountains, trees, trails, and blue sky.