Alumni Spotlight: Bryn Haden '21

Current Role: Higher Ed BI Analyst, UNC Systems Office 
Location: Chapel Hill, NC 

Bryn's Journey 

After earning her MPH in Applied Epidemiology from UNC-Chapel Hill, Bryn joined the UNC Systems Office as a Higher Ed BI Analyst. She works with data from 17 institutions across North Carolina, analyzing student, HR, and finance data while helping manage enterprise Data Marts. Bryn also oversees ticket workflows to resolve data requests from internal and external partners, ensuring data integrity and accessibility across the system. 

Impact of the Center 

“My experience at the Center for Community Health Innovation laid the groundwork for everything I do now. While the datasets I work with today are different, the core skills—managing large datasets and maintaining strict data security—are the same. I still remember learning about the Roanoke Valley Community Healthy Living Index during my Public Health 101 class. That one lecture changed my academic path entirely and led me to pursue a second major and eventually a graduate degree in public health.” 

Defining Moment

“For my Honors project, I used data from the Roanoke Valley Community Healthy Living Index to study the impacts of neighborhood environments on weight trajectory in youth and presented my findings at the Southeast ACSM Annual Meeting. Being the only undergraduate presenter in my session gave me confidence in communicating complex data to a technical audience. That experience connected me with MPH programs and helped shape my professional identity.” 

Advice to Students

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Dive in fully—these opportunities are special. The more you put into the experience, the more you’ll take away. Let the work teach you what you need to know.”