Health & Medicine is pleased to announce our Fall 2022 Ben Squires Equity Intern, Mayra Miranda!

Mayra is a Master of Public Health student at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Community Health Sciences division. Originally from Chicago, she graduated with her BA in Gender and Women Studies from UW-Madison in 2014 and her BSN from Resurrection University in 2017.

Before working as Registered Nurse in community health and care management at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in Chicago, Mayra completed an AmeriCorps term as a Health Educator at a school-based health center in North Lawndale. Mayra is passionate about preventative health and empowering community members to be participants in their health through education and advocacy. She enjoys volunteering, reading, and trying new restaurants.

Inspired by their father’s commitment to helping young people, Amy Squires and Sarah Squires-Doyle graciously support the Ben Squires Equity Internship. The Internship supports one intern per cohort for an entire year, for a total of three interns.

Ben Squires followed many different career paths before finding his true calling in public health. He worked for more than 20 years on various health care initiatives in the City of Chicago and with the Illinois Department of Public Health. He was passionate about challenging health inequities and helping to pave the way to improve access to quality health care for all people in Illinois. He especially enjoyed leading efforts to improve maternal and child health programs and to reduce infant mortality in Chicago.

As a board member at Health & Medicine Policy Research Group for 25 years, Ben made significant and lasting contributions to public health in Illinois. In 2021, Ben posthumously received the Quentin D. Young Board of Directors Award of Excellence for his tireless commitment to public health and his mentorship of young people starting out in their careers.

Ben passed away at the age of 95 in 2021, and his devotion to public health equity continues to live on. “We are deeply honored to continue our father’s legacy by funding equitable internships with Health & Medicine, an organization we love, respect, and trust. Our father had a real passion for mentoring young people starting out in their careers,” says Amy Squires and Sarah Squires-Doyle. “From mentoring his two daughters, to the kids in the neighborhood and budding young professionals, he was always eager to get people connected.”