Meet Our 75th Anniversary Scholars Reimagining Public Health with an Executive MBA

As director of epidemiology for the Cook County Department of Public Health in Chicago, Alfreda Holloway works to improve understanding of chronic diseases, injuries, and illnesses for the county’s large and diverse population. Now she’s pursuing an Executive MBA at Chicago Booth with the twin goals of fostering “public healthy” lives—and reinventing herself.

In this blog, Alfreda traces her journey from epidemiology to MBA and highlights how Booth is expanding her vision for what’s possible. 

How did your path lead you to epidemiology?

I started college as a pre-med student. But then I took an anthropology and public health elective taught by an infectious-disease epidemiologist who brought together history, science, and math in an amazing, exciting way. That’s when I knew I wanted to become an epidemiologist.

After grad school, I taught at Chicago State University for about five years. Today I’m director of epidemiology at the Cook County Department of Public Health, where I oversee data on chronic disease, injury, violence, occupational health, and social determinants of health. I also have a position at the University of Illinois Chicago, where I’m the principal investigator on a project focused on civilian injuries and deaths caused by law enforcement and occupational injuries and deaths to law enforcement.

When did you join Cook County?

I joined in 2019. A year later, the pandemic hit—and everything I’d studied historically was suddenly happening in real life. When I arrived, our epidemiology unit had only two staff members and basically no budget. Yet we were expected to respond to data requests on everything from asthma hot spots to heart disease to cancer disparities. People often think data is “just numbers,” but it’s context, biology, and the conditions people live and breathe in.

When COVID funding arrived, we finally had resources. I had one week—literally—to propose projects to the CDC. Thankfully, I’d been building my “dream list” for years. We created the Cook County Health Atlas with more than 500 health indicators, launched youth and adult health surveys, built a real data infrastructure with servers and SQL systems, and expanded the epidemiology team from two people to as many as 10. None of that existed before. 

You’re also active at the state level. What gaps were you seeing in epidemiology across Illinois?

Many health departments across Illinois don’t have trained epidemiologists, but they’re constantly asked for high-level data. So in 2019, I convened the first “EPI retreat” so we could identify shared challenges, push for statewide data access, and coordinate our work. That led to legislation for easier data-use agreements, new statewide surveys, and more cross-department support. 

What sparked your interest in business school?

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial streak—I love designing projects and building systems. I bought a house in 2019 and sold it three years later for a $115,000 profit. I thought, maybe I’m good at business! Also, I want to create a way to help people live what I call a “public healthy” life. I want to support public health with sustainable business models, because public health desperately needs that mindset.

I’m also thinking about ways to support holistic lifestyles. One idea is what I call a healthy fast-food restaurant. I’m envisioning meals that are baked, broiled, steamed, portion-controlled, low sodium, and ready in three to five minutes. Parents and working families need healthy food options that are fast and convenient. I also want the business to have multiple revenue streams—not just food sales, but meal delivery for seniors, partnerships with health systems, maybe even de-identified nutrition data for academic research, with consent of course.

Booth has pushed me to move from ideas to action. I’ve already met with Cook County Health’s chief strategy officer and plan to meet with our chief innovation officer soon—meetings I would have been too intimidated to even request before. 

What brought you to Booth in particular?

I live in a community that is not far from Booth’s Chicago campus, and it turned out that several of my neighbors are Booth alumni. They kept telling me about the program and encouraging me to apply. I thought about it for years, and when I became an empty nester, I decided it was time. I was ready to do everything I had been putting off while raising my kids—and find out who I really am.

What has your Booth experience been like so far?

It’s only been three months, and already I’ve traveled all over the world, meeting classmates from London, Hong Kong, other parts of Asia, and Saudi Arabia. Booth is truly expanding my world.

The faculty are incredible—Linda Ginzel in Managerial Psychology is a firecracker; Lars Stole made microeconomics fun; Chris Hansen brought new life to statistics. As an epidemiologist, I know a lot about biostatistics, and it’s been fascinating to learn the subject from a different point of view.

And my classmates are so supportive, collaborative, warm, and encouraging. I expected snobbery; instead, I found a community. And it’s not just current students—I’m in WhatsApp groups with alumni who share information about upcoming events and opportunities to connect.

More broadly, Booth is helping me imagine a bigger life for myself. I spent so many years as somebody’s mom, and I didn’t realize how much that shaped my identity. Booth is helping me understand I can create, lead, and dream in new ways. 

How did it feel to receive the 75th Anniversary scholarship from Booth?

I didn’t even know the scholarship existed. When they called to tell me I’d been selected, I was shocked. It was incredibly affirming. It made me feel like I belong here and that people see something in me. 

What advice would you give someone considering Booth’s Executive MBA?

Booth is ready to help you build your dreams from day one. Come prepared to think big and take risks. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and know that you’re joining a community of people who truly support one another.

Also, make your plans. Even if you don’t know when the opportunity will come, make the plans. Eventually, something will open up, and you’ll be ready.