In this episode of the Courageous Public Health Podcast, Dr. Avalon Adams-Thames reflects on what it means to keep showing up—through grief, responsibility, leadership, and systems that do not always make space for your full voice.

From losing family members whose experiences shaped her path into public health, to navigating professional spaces where she was expected to shrink herself, stay silent, or make her expertise less visible , Dr. Adams-Thames shares the emotional weight so many women quietly carry while continuing to lead.

This conversation explores courage, grief, caregiving, visibility, and survival—and what it takes to break learned silence and reclaim your voice.

Meet Dr. Avalon Adams-Thames ✨

Dr. Avalon Adams-Thames is an epidemiologist, educator, and public health leader committed to advancing health equity, women's health, and community well-being. She is an Assistant Professor in the Institute of Public Health at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University, where she teaches epidemiology and chronic disease courses while mentoring future public health leaders grounded in equity and service.

With more than 15 years of experience across local, state, and federal public health systems, Dr. Adams-Thames has led work in overdose prevention, maternal and reproductive health, firearm injury prevention, chronic disease surveillance, and public health data modernization. She previously served as Florida's Senior Epidemiologist and Surveillance Lead for the Overdose Data to Action program and later as a Public Health Advisor and Data Modernization Lead at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Grounded in community-centered and culturally responsive approaches, Dr. Adams-Thames is passionate about translating data into action, strengthening public health systems, and supporting healthier communities through education, mentorship, and service.

Conversation Highlights 🎙️

• Learned Silence — Dr. Avalon Adams-Thames reflects on working in professional environments where she was expected to stay quiet, remain on mute, and minimize her expertise in order to survive within the system.
• Removing "Dr." From Her Signature — Dr. Adams-Thames shares the experience of being told to remove her doctoral credentials from her signature block—and what it means to repeatedly be asked to make yourself smaller.
• Leading While Carrying Grief — From losing her brother to leukemia while pregnant, to the deaths of multiple family members, Dr. Adams-Thames reflects on continuing to parent, mentor, teach, and lead while navigating profound loss.
• Candle Making as Healing — After the murder of her cousin, she began making candles as a way to slow down, focus, and move through grief intentionally.
• Teaching as Calling — Dr. Adams-Thames shares how unexpectedly finding joy in teaching transformed her vision for her future in public health and higher education.

"I think it's a habit. I'm on mute." — Dr. Avalon Adams-Thames

Stay in Touch 🔗

With Dr. Avalon Adams-Thames

LinkedIn ↗: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avalonadamsthames/

With Dr. Kristi McClamroch

LinkedIn ↗: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristi-mcclamroch

Follow for weekly reflections on courage and leadership ↗: http://eepurl.com/jcgQv6

Speaking & Leadership Development 🤝

Dr. Kristi McClamroch partners with public health, healthcare, nonprofit, philanthropic, government, and higher education organizations through keynote presentations, facilitated conversations, workshops, and leadership development experiences.

Her work explores courage, leadership, systems change, the conditions that shape decision-making, voice, well-being, and values-aligned action.

Whether you're planning a conference, retreat, leadership program, or organizational event, Courageous Public Health can help create meaningful conversations that inspire reflection, connection, and action.

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