The city of Banda Aceh in Indonesia was virtually destroyed by last year’s tsunami, and assisting with relief was the first assignment of Robert Steiner, MPH ’00, when he signed on to the Office of Global Health Affairs as an international health officer late last year.

Steiner, who graduated from the School of Public Health and Human Services in 2000, joined the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHS) where he is now a lieutenant. Previously he served in the Division for Immigration Health Services and as the personal aide to the former secretary of health and human services, Tommy Thompson.

His current assignment offers numerous challenges. While his responsibilities to PHS include representing the Department of Health and Human Services at high-level health coordination meetings and identifying long term strategies for disaster assistance, his current assignment is much more hands-on.

Steiner is stationed in Banda Aceh and was the team leader of a project in the small village of Lamno, approximately 100 kilometers from Banda Aceh. Steiner’s team helped coordinate a maternal and child health clinic, primary health clinic, and dental clinic in the area.

Steiner has fond memories of GW and acknowledges the unique coexistence of the city and the school. "For international health majors, GW provided an excellent graduate education, enhanced by the backdrop of places like the State Department, the Pan American Health Organization, and the World Bank."

Lieutenant Robert Steiner visits with children in the village of Lamno.