Bay Path Alum Taylor Rich Selected as “40 Under 40 Public Health Catalyst” by Boston Congress of Public Health, recognized for her advocacy in Maternal Health and Community Care

Taylor Rich has built her career on the conviction that lived experience drives the most meaningful social change. A two-time Bay Path alumna and current doctoral candidate focusing on maternal health in the University’s Doctorate in Health Science program, Rich was named by the Boston Congress of Public Health (BCPH) as one of the region’s most promising health advocates and recognized for her work expanding the role of community health workers (CHWs), improving equitable access to care, and shaping workforce development reform; work that is informed and shaped by a deep commitment to reproductive justice and community health.

A graduate of Bay Path’s online undergraduate degree program for adult learners, she credits the University with helping her to begin and continually progress on a career path that has taken her from direct service to statewide policy leadership. “Accessibility is what brought me to Bay Path,” she said. “I didn’t have the luxury of not working while in school, and I had stopped and started so many times. It took me 10 years, but online learning through Bay Path changed everything—it allowed me to work full-time, pay my bills, and still earn my degree.”

Rich graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology, and before pursuing public health, spent years as a community health worker, where she confronted the cycles of poverty, trauma, and systemic gaps that make care inequitable. “I saw all the social determinants of health before I even had the vocabulary for them,” she said. “Once I understood what public health was, I knew I wanted to be part of the solution.”

Most recently, Rich served as Senior Project Manager at Partners In Health, a social justice organization working in 11 countries to bring the benefits of modern medical science to those most in need of them. There, she helped drive coalition-building and legislative advocacy to strengthen the community health workforce.

Her work included advancing Medicaid reimbursement for community health workers. She separately supported the successful effort to secure MassHealth coverage for doula services—an achievement she describes as one of her proudest. Rich provided testimony while navigating a high-risk pregnancy, being 4 months pregnant with her son at the time of the hearing.

“Thinking about all the moms who now have access to a doula because of this policy change—it’s so powerful,” she said. “To know I gave testimony at the hearing, and to know that access to doula care will improve maternal outcomes means everything.”

Rich recently transitioned into a new role at the Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers, where she continues to lead policy, training, and workforce development initiatives. “The skills from my MPH at Bay Path—program evaluation, project management, community-based research—I use all of them in my job,” she said. “Every course built a piece of what I do now.”

Her doctoral research focuses on maternal health, shaped in part by her own experience with a pregnancy in which her son was diagnosed with a rare brain anomaly, and the gaps she experienced in care. “Maternal health in this country is not where it should be,” she said. “I want to contribute research that brings community voices into the center of maternal health reform.”

Across her career, she has served as Director of Partnerships and Initiatives at Girls Inc. of Worcester, launched equity-driven programs reaching hundreds of girls annually, and advocated for reproductive justice legislation - such as the Sex Trade Survivor’s Act, and the “I Am Bill”,  focusing on menstrual equity. She has authored multiple opinion pieces linking STEM education, youth opportunity, and health equity. She is also a certified community health worker, a licensed alcohol and drug counselor, and a birth doula.

Yet for all her policy influence, Rich remains grounded in the community. “Advocacy and organizing, that is what makes me whole,” she said. 

She also hopes her journey serves as a signal to others that there is no single path into public health. “Your lived experience matters,” she said. “Your path doesn’t have to be linear. What you’ve been through can inform your practice and help you connect with the populations you serve.”

Despite her growing list of accomplishments, Rich laughs at the idea of moving into academia any time soon. “Maybe one day, when I’m older, I could imagine teaching,” she said. “But right now, I love being in the work.”

For Bay Path students and prospective students, she offers simple encouragement: “Stay true to what you value. And know that education can change your life. It changed mine.”