Kamesha N. Owens, MPH
Kamesha Owens, MPH, is an accomplished Arbovirus Epidemiologist with over 15 years of experience in public health. She currently serves at the Texas Department of State Health Services, Zoonosis Control Branch, where she leads statewide surveillance, case investigation, and quality assurance for arboviral diseases such as West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis. Her work ensures that local and regional health departments report accurate, complete data to the CDC while providing expert consultation and training to public health investigators across Texas.
Kamesha began her public health career as a sanitarian in 2011, inspecting and ensuring the safety of food, water, and environmental health across communities. After earning her Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from Kaplan University in 2013, she transitioned to epidemiology, rapidly advancing to senior roles where she managed influenza surveillance, outbreak investigations, and complex disease reporting. Her expertise in arbovirus epidemiology, zoonotic disease surveillance, and workforce development has allowed her to contribute to national conferences and peer-reviewed publications, highlighting rare cases and advancing best practices in public health.
Beyond her technical expertise, Kamesha is deeply committed to workforce development and mentorship. She emphasizes the importance of education combined with hands-on experience, ensuring the next generation of public health professionals are well-prepared. A person of faith, she integrates values of love, active listening, and community service into her work, volunteering in church ministry and music leadership. Kamesha’s career reflects a dedication to protecting communities, strengthening public health systems, and empowering others to succeed in this critical field.
• MPH – Master of Public Health, Epidemiology
• Kaplan University – Master of Public Health (MPH), Epidemiology
• University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff – Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Biology, General
• Influential Women 2026
• Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE)
• Sigma Alpha Iota (Women's Music Fraternity)
• Church Ministry and Music Leadership
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my faith in God and to having very supportive parents and family members. Especially the women in my family, they always encouraged me to make sure that I had the ability to be self-sufficient and to be educated so that I can always take care of myself. My parents were always encouraging my sister and me, and any chance they got, they were like, you're going to get a college education, you're going to be an educated person. So I attribute my success to my family and to God, because He opens up the doors, and then you just walk on through them.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I’ve learned that combining education with real-world experience is crucial. While academic achievement is important, I believe that hands-on experience is what truly builds a meaningful and sustainable career.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Along with the education, make sure that you're getting and taking time to get the experience, because experience, at the end of the day, is what will matter. Take time to allow yourself to grow in that experience and capitalize on opportunities such as certifications, even in areas of public health that you may not be initially drawn to, so that you can be a well-rounded candidate. I know a lot of times people go straight through school - they'll go, got my master's, now it's time for me to get my PhD. They'll have all this education, but no experience, and then they're not really hireable. Like, they're hireable, but they may not get the pay they think they deserve because there's no experience backing up the education. So now you have this PhD making under $100,000 a year because you haven't done anything, you've just been in school. Sometimes you have to take a more humble position to go higher in your career. Sometimes you have to take, even though I was getting paid more, I still took a pay cut comparable to the cost of living to gain more experiences in my field, and that opened doors for me. My journey definitely wasn't linear - it was down, up, down - but those experiences shaped who I am today.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Public health continues to face challenges with data accuracy, disease surveillance, and workforce development. I see a major opportunity in strengthening training systems and improving how we collect and interpret data, which ultimately helps us better protect our communities.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
It's important for people to love one another, regardless of their socioeconomic background, regardless of who these persons are claiming to be. It's important for people to love one another. And as a person of faith, I just believe that it's not only important for people to love one another, but it's important for people to pray for each other and to not judge, because you never know what someone is going through. Just taking the time to actually listen and hear someone out, you might be the very person to help them. I'm a minister as well, so these values of love, prayer, and active listening are at the core of everything I do, both in my work in public health and in my ministry.