Ysabella Hawkings, Senior Public Health Strategist and ADPH London Communications Lead, London Borough of Camden

For Ysabella Hawkings, public health was not part of the original plan. After studying biomedical science with ambitions of pursuing medicine, her path took several unexpected turns before a role at a public health research institute in Toronto introduced her to the field and opened her eyes to public health’s potential.

Her career has been shaped by a diverse range of experiences. Joining Newham’s newly established public health team gave her the opportunity to gain formal public health experience. Shortly afterwards, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated her development, allowing her to apply skills gained from communications, event management and project delivery alongside her public health knowledge. She believes her experiences before public health have been just as important as those within it.

Indeed, Ysabella’s career has included aspirations to become a forensic pathologist, consideration of teaching, youth work, website development, and work in Canadian agriculture before eventually finding public health.

Among her proudest achievements is the work she led during the pandemic, including supporting the humanitarian response, helping establish London’s first walk-through PCR testing site, organising mass vaccination events and launching a community vaccination clinic in just ten days. These experiences highlighted the remarkable impact that can be achieved when organisations and communities work together.

She is particularly passionate about health literacy, believing it is fundamental to empowering people to make informed health decisions and improving population wellbeing.