Here’s me in 2014. Happy & broke as a medical assistant who was enrolled in an MPH program.

Hey friend! I’m Dr. Des, founder and CEO of Strickland Health Consulting LLC and the visionary leader behind The Public Health Club.

But believe it or not, I wasn’t always the boss lady you see today. In fact, just a few years ago, I was a broke medical assistant, barely scraping by with a lot of dreams and not much direction.

Let’s rewind, shall we? 🎥

I started my journey at Florida State University—Go Noles!—where I was laser-focused on going to medical school. I mean, wasn’t that everyone’s goal? But after struggling through organic chemistry and barely surviving physics, I started questioning if the med school life was really for me. Shoutout to all the future docs who can relate! 💪🏾

So, I ended up working as a medical assistant, making a whopping $15 an hour. Your girl was *broke*. I mean, I was scraping by, with my mom helping me pay part of my rent. And let me tell you, the struggle was REAL. I wasn’t sure what my next move would be, and I started feeling more and more doubt about medical school I even thought about cheating on the practice MCAT (That test was HARD😂)! That’s when I knew something had to change.

Enter public health.👇

I decided to go back to school to get my MPH at Florida A&M University. Did I know what public health was at the time? Nope. Not at all. But I thought it would look good on a med school application, so why not? Little did I know, that decision would change my life. I fell in love with public health, and suddenly, everything started to make sense.

Fast forward a bit, and I was working at the Florida Department of Health, making a solid $36,000 a year. To me, that was big money! But I kept learning, kept pushing, and eventually got promoted to Program Administrator, making $51,000. I also started the DrPH program at FAMU, and worked full-time throughout the entire Masters and Doctoral program 😳. (A story for another day lol😂!)

But here’s where things get interesting.👀

I started noticing that my department was hiring consultants to do work I knew I could do—and they were getting paid my whole salary for just a few months of work! These consultants were coming in, doing maybe 10 hours a week, and leaving with a fat check. Meanwhile, I was grinding away full-time for a fraction of that. I knew something had to give.

So, what did I do?🤔

I kept learning. I started managing consultants, overseeing their contracts, and handling their invoices. And I realized, “Wait a minute, I can do this for myself!” So, in 2022, while I was pregnant with my daughter (yes, I thought I’d be bored on maternity leave—don’t judge me 😅), I decided to take the leap. I saw a contract opportunity, put together a proposal, and BOOM—landed my first consulting contract for $40,000!

And guess what? That was just the beginning.

By 2023, I had multiple contracts, including one with ASTHO for $85,000, all while working part-time hours. And the best part? I was doing this on the side of my full-time job. Yup, you heard that right. Side hustle, anyone? 💼

Now, here’s where YOU come in.

I’m passionate about teaching others how to break into the consulting world, just like I did. There are so many opportunities out there, and guess what? We need more qualified consultants! If you’ve ever sat in a meeting and thought, “I could do a better job than that,” it’s time to make your move.

Ready to start your consulting/Career Development journey?

I developed the Public Health Club to be a space where you can find contracts, connect with other consultants, collaborate and gain more insight into the next steps in your public health career. It’s literally everything I wish I would have had as I was trying to figure out public health and consulting. So stop waiting friends, join a community dedicated to your growth!