Master of Health Administration (MHA) alumna Reynalda "Rey" Davis (’18) took a different path than most to public health.
With a degree in political science and minors in psychology and Latin from the University of Louisville, Davis had dreams of becoming a lawyer until a series of experiences with her father's care journey changed her course forever. “I was a pre-law major and life happened,” she recalls.
While having a front row seat to her father's healthcare journey, being a 22-year veteran, Reynalda was tasked with the responsibility of navigating healthcare policies and found the situation to be less than ideal. Reynalda knew she could make a change and help others not go through the same experience.
“That crusader spirit in me kind of just made me know that I didn’t want to be a lawyer anymore. Public health and healthcare were important to me,” she said. This experience led to Reynalda exploring master’s degrees in the health field. She knew she wanted to make an impact on large groups of people and found herself enrolled in the Master of Health Administration (MHA) program. “This started my journey,” Reynalda said. “Could I say I was destined to know my career path? No. I just knew there was something there in healthcare and public health, and I wanted to be a part of it.”
“That crusader spirit in me kind of just made me know that I didn’t want to be a lawyer anymore. Public health and healthcare were important to me,” she said. This experience led to Reynalda exploring master’s degrees in the health field. She knew she wanted to make an impact on large groups of people and found herself enrolled in the Master of Health Administration (MHA) program.
“This started my journey,” Reynalda said. “Could I say I was destined to know my career path? No. I just knew there was something there in healthcare and public health, and I wanted to be a part of it.”
After graduation, she pursued an administrative fellowship with Banner Health in Phoenix, Arizona, one of the largest non-profit healthcare systems in the country. In 2020, she took on the role of Senior Manager for Alternative Payment Models, which addresses the value of care to patients and providers. In this position, she impacts more than a million patients across 20 plus programs.
Reynalda says she found her job fulfilling because it involves what she loves the most: teamwork, impact, and change.
“I get to see the patients are being served in ways they would wish for themselves,” she said. “We have a chance to make an impact and improve their outcomes – this is the true value.”
In 2023, Reynalda is now the Senior Advisor at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is one of the largest purchasers of health care in the world.
In addition to her career, Reynalda finds time to give back to the community and has the goal of volunteering at least twice a month. Some of the groups she volunteers with include Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., the Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
As a Black American woman, she sees Black History Month as a time of celebration, but also a time of recognition. Reynalda said her parents, who grew up in the south and spent much of their early lives in a segregated community, passed down to her an understanding of the history of race relations in America and how to navigate her space in the world.
“My parents saw plenty of the things that may have only been something that I read about in a schoolbook,” she said. “My father was 16 when tanks rolled through Memphis, and my parents were there when Dr. Martin Luther King was shot and killed.”
“Black history for me is 365, because it's my history,” Reynalda continued. “But for this month, this is where we all have a chance to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Black and African Americans as a nation. Black History Month is the chance for us to decide, as a nation, what we’d like to do for the next year, or the next series of years, and how we change history for better," adds Reynalda.
The UK College of Public Health believes in developing “health champions.” Reynalda said a health champion can come from any background, but they must be actively engaged in promoting health to others.
“A health champion really takes the reins from a proactive standpoint,” she described. “It’s about finding the space that really lights you up or fills your cup.”
She said everyone can have their own ideals for what is healthy, and it can range from going to public meetings for more walkability options in their neighborhood to supporting friends with healthy food choices.
