Amanda Puckett, Program Officer

“I really enjoy working with such intelligent and supportive colleagues who are committed to improving health outcomes for men, women, and children,” says Amanda Puckett, an IntraHealth program officer. “Every day, I feel an innovative and cohesive energy with my workforce development team which makes work worthwhile and fun.”

Amanda Puckett is a program officer for CapacityPlus, the largest IntraHealth-led global project, providing technical and operational support to CapacityPlus workforce development activities.

With an undergraduate degree in International Business and French, Amanda worked as a journalist for several years before re-evaluating her professional goals. She decided to pursue what she had always wanted to: international development. “IntraHealth was—and has been—the perfect fit.” In May 2011, Amanda completed her master’s in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health.

Joining IntraHealth in 2005, Amanda was drawn to the organization’s passion and commitment to public health programs that not only improve but save lives. “My work at IntraHealth has had a profound impact on my life,” says Amanda, explaining that seeing IntraHealth’s work firsthand—in a rural health clinic in Rwanda that was successfully integrating family planning into HIV/AIDS services—inspired her to pursue her master’s with a focus on maternal and child health. The Kigali staff showed Amanda not just the counseling rooms and stocked supplies;  Amanda also remembers seeing how many women and men came in for services—evidence of not just the higher demand for services, but also that more men were getting involved in seeking family planning, another success.

As for Amanda’s work with the Capacity Project and now CapacityPlus, she says, “Human resources for health is one of the most fundamental cornerstones in providing health services, and I’m so proud to help as IntraHealth grows as a leader in this field.”

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