Holly Peek, MD/MPH
Dr. Holly Peek graduated from Tulane University School of Medicine and Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in May 2012 with dual degrees, Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public Health concentrating in Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences. She is currently a Tulane resident physician in psychiatry working in the hospitals and clinics of New Orleans.
She graduated summa cum laude from the University of South Alabama Honors Program in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in communication, concentrating in broadcast journalism. While in undergraduate school, Holly founded and wrote a bimonthly health column, In Good Health, for the university’s newspaper and she worked as a reporting intern for WALA Fox 10 News in Mobile, Alabama.
As a medical student, Holly was the originator, producer, and host of the health and medical radio segment, Holly on Health, for WTUL Radio, New Orleans on 91.5 FM, interviewing local, state, and national experts on health and healthcare related topics for Generation Y. In addition to her radio show, she began writing as the health columnist in The Hullabaloo, Tulane’s nationally award-winning student newspaper. She also maintained a Holly on Health blog and social networking sites. Her writings and broadcasts can still be found at Holly on Health.
As an advocate of health care reform, Holly was one of 12 medical students chosen nationwide by the American Medical Student Association to attend the Paul C. Ambrose Health Care for All Leadership Institute in Washington D.C. where she lobbied for health care reform in the Washington offices of Louisiana’s senators and representatives.
Holly was also involved in several public health initiatives in the city of New Orleans. She was co-organizer of Health Camp NOLA, a conference encouraging grassroots efforts to improve health and wellness in communities. She was a certified HIV counselor and during National HIV Testing Day, she was the volunteer recruitment and multi-site coordinator for HIV education and testing sites throughout the New Orleans metropolitan area. She was nominated and served as a member of Exchange & Engage NOLA, a community team assessing ways in which the mayor of New Orleans and his administration can impact HIV prevention efforts, funded through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
After graduating from medical school, Holly continued to write for The Hullabaloo and began to focus on mental health topics for young adults. In January 2013, she retired Holly on Health and revamped her health column as Psych Gumbo. Along with the Psych Gumbo health column, she co-hosted and produced a Psych Gumbo talk show on WTUL Radio, focusing on mental health for the Tulane and New Orleans community.
Holly’s hobbies include running, the gym, and spending time with her golden retriever, Ivy. Holly and Ivy founded Tulane’s pet therapy program, a service learning organization where medical students and their pets become certified by Therapy Dogs International as pet therapy teams for use in hospitals and nursing homes.
Holly is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.
Through her Psych Gumbo radio show, blog, social networking sites, and newspaper column, Holly is combining her passion for psychiatry and journalism to present current, accurate, and relevant mental health insights to the Tulane and New Orleans community.
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