Allison Rapp, MPH, MCHES®, has built her career around communities, connection, and the belief that stronger public health work begins with stronger relationships. That belief is now guiding her into a new role as Director of LEAP Tampa Bay, a local college access network and initiative of the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay. In this role, Allison will continue working at the intersection of community well-being, education, partnership, and opportunity.
She is also the Chief Strategy Consultant and owner of Thrive Impact Strategies, LLC, where she supports organizations with a complex community-centered focus, especially governmental public health agencies and their partners.
Her work often begins with listening. Allison helps organizations understand what communities need, then works with partners to turn that understanding into practical strategies. Much of that work depends on collaboration and the ability to help people see the bigger picture.
With 14 years of experience in the profession, Allison has worked across nonprofit, academic, governmental public health, and consulting spaces. Her career has taken her through different sectors and roles, but community has always been at the center.
“I have always worked in communities,” Allison shared. “Community is where I feel I’m able to give the most.”
That sense of purpose continues to guide her work today. Whether she is helping partners identify opportunities, strengthening collaboration across sectors, or supporting public health leaders as they work alongside communities, Allison looks at the bigger picture. She sees public health not as one narrow career path, but as a framework for improving well-being in many forms.
A Career Built Around Community
Allison completed her master’s degree at the University of South Carolina, where she studied health promotion, education, behavior, and physical activity. While she initially wondered if her academic background might narrow her career path, she found that public health gave her room to grow. Her training became a flexible base for community work, leadership roles, and strategy that reaches across sectors.
Allison previously coordinated a national public health program for the University of South Florida, connecting leaders in 15 communities. The work focused on regenerative leadership, a concept that continues to influence how she views public health today.
Her new role with LEAP Tampa Bay builds on that same thread. Although college access may not always be viewed as traditional public health, Allison sees education as deeply connected to community well-being. It is another example of how public health skills can carry into spaces where organizations are working to improve opportunity, strengthen communities, and help people succeed.
“We really do need equitable approaches for all of us to thrive,” she said.
Her understanding of “thriving” is both professional and personal. As a parent, Allison has learned that health looks different depending on the person and the circumstances. That perspective carries into her public health work, including her experience leading a healthy community initiative for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Strategy Work Rooted in Connection
Alongside this new chapter, Allison brings the same strategy-focused lens to Thrive Impact Strategies, LLC, the consulting business she recently launched. Much of her consulting work supports governmental public health agencies as they partner with communities. Some days, that means guiding a needs assessment. Other times, it means supporting a planning process, strengthening leadership, or helping partners who may not usually work together find common ground.
Allison’s day-to-day work often involves helping people see those connections. She listens for what is happening within a community or organization, identifies opportunities that may not be obvious, and helps partners align their efforts.
“I would say I have a gift of just visualizing things, and seeing opportunities that are not always obvious,” she said.
That skill matters in public health, where complex challenges rarely fit within one program, agency, or funding stream. Allison’s work is strategic, but also deeply relational. It requires technical knowledge, but also patience and trust. Allison has to ask good questions, listen closely, and help people move toward shared goals.
That same belief in connection guides her professional leadership. Allison is the immediate past president of the Florida Public Health Association, where she has been involved since moving to Florida in 2014. In July, she will transition into the role of Affiliate Representative to the Governing Council for the American Public Health Association, helping to bridge the state affiliate and APHA.
The Value of the MCHES® Credential
Allison first became CHES® after completing her master’s degree. Her program encouraged students to take the exam, so she sat for it shortly after graduation.
“I have never been a good test taker ever in my life,” she said. “But I passed it!”
Like many CHES® professionals, Allison later thought about pursuing the MCHES® credential. She knew she wanted to do it, but timing, cost, and the testing process were real barriers. A scholarship opportunity eventually gave her the push she needed.
Allison studied hard for the MCHES® exam, especially since it had been about 10 years since she had taken the CHES® exam. Some content areas felt more intimidating than others, but she trusted the experience she had built through years of public health work and continuing education.
Today, Allison is intentional about including MCHES® after her name. “It’s something I’m truly proud of,” she said. Her career shows how health education practice can apply far beyond one job title. In her work, Allison draws on assessment, planning, communication, evaluation, and leadership to help organizations move forward. Those same abilities allow CHES® and MCHES® professionals to bring value across many different settings.
Allison’s experience also speaks to professionals who may be eligible for MCHES® but have not taken the next step. The barriers can be real. The exam may feel intimidating. Funding may be limited. Timing may never feel perfect. But for Allison, earning the credential affirmed what she already knew from years in the field: she knew her stuff.
Advice for New and Emerging Professionals
When asked what advice she would give to newer professionals interested in strategy, leadership, consulting, or work that reaches beyond a single program or organization, Allison focused on two things: mentorship and networking.
First, find good mentors. Allison encourages professionals to seek out multiple people they admire, ask questions, and learn from those doing work they respect.
Second, think about networking in a broader, more human way. “Network in the places that you already exist,” she said. Conferences and association events matter, but Allison believes networking also happens in everyday places: at community events, on the soccer field, through friends and family, or in conversation with people from other sectors.
For emerging CHES® and MCHES® professionals, her advice is to stay curious and remain open to unexpected opportunities. Often, the most meaningful work happens where different sectors, partners, and community needs meet. Public health skills are transferable. Professionals who can understand community needs, build trust, and communicate clearly can find opportunities in many directions.
Her own career reflects the idea that public health is not confined to one role, one organization, or one setting. It is present anywhere people are working to improve well-being, strengthen communities, and create conditions where more people can thrive.