Life On High: Work-Life Balance as a Public Health Emergency Manager and Alpinist

March 19, 2026
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Online in Zoom
Sponsored by: Careers Service Team
Contact Information: sph.jobs@umich.edu
This event features U-M or SPH alumni

More Information & Registration

Dylan Kilby (MPH Global Health Epidemiology, 2020) is an epidemiologist from Colorado who works in emergency management. He has been a part of several high-profile infectious disease response programs in the US including a year deployed to support the COVID-19 response. But in his free time, he pursues his "second career" of alpinism, having successfully summited over 500 peaks throughout California's Sierra Nevada and the Colorado Ranges while volunteering with local climbing organizations. Listen to him talk about how he balances work, life, and summit-chasing, as well as discuss how students and new professionals can pursue their hobbies, personal interests, and relationships after graduate school. There will also be a discussion on his experiences in managing his mental health during deployment-based work and remote work. Alum Bio: Dylan Kilby is the Lead Planner at Navigating Preparedness Associates, a boutique emergency management firm based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. Dylan primarily works on hazard mitigation projects and public health training with clients in California and Colorado. From 2020 through 2023, he supported the California Department of Health and California Governor's Office of Emergency Services in the COVID-19 Pandemic response and the 2018 California wildfires recovery. Much of his work lies at the intersection of statistical analysis, GIS, community-centric planning, and exposure science. Dylan graduated with his MPH in Epidemiology (Global Health Track) in 2020 with a certificate in Risk Science & Human Health. His summer internship was at the Facultad de Medicina at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago, Chile, where he assisted in land-use regression analyses of maternal-child health outcomes and air pollution. Dylan currently lives in Colorado with his wife and two cats where he pursues his "second career" in alpinism. He was on the Management Committee of the Sierra Peaks Section of the Sierra Club from 2024-2026, volunteer