Sonita received her Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Missouri-Columbia with emphasis in Health Promotion and Policy. Prior to living in the United States, Sonita Simelus received her Medical Degree from the Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago, Santiago, Dominican Republic. While working as a physician serving under-resourced and medically underserved communities, Dr. Simelus’ passion for public health, community development, health education and promotion emerged. Before joining IPP in 2019 as a Policy Analyst, she worked at the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services serving as a Zika Virus Emergency and Preparedness Project Specialist and later as a Research Analyst III/Epidemiologist.