Pequitte Schwerin

Pequitte Schwerin had a lengthy career as a nurse in the U.S. Air Force working in health promotion and disease prevention. During her military service, she attended Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, receiving an MPH in 1992. Using knowledge gained from her Tulane education she revitalized/reengineered the largest overseas community Health Promotion Program in order to address community needs on nutrition, family activities, and healthy lifestyle behaviors. She then spearheaded the initial Department of Defense Prevention Council and collaborated with Joint Services representatives to ensure that the clinical and business areas of population health were accurately presented in the military health facilities. For this work and for authorship/editorial input on the key Air Force plan for Population Health Initiative in 2000, she received an Achievement Award.

As a military retiree she maintains strong advocacy for the underserved and disadvantaged through Virginians Organized for Community Engagement (VOICE). As a member of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps (IVC), she has worked for Catholic Charities teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), editing their beginning Speak Out booklet for use by speakers of other nationalities. She has also assisted with the initiation of a transitional housing program in Prince William County, Virginia, St. Margaret of Cortona, which houses 11 families who are being assisted to move from homelessness to self-sufficiency. Currently she volunteers at Action in the Community Through Service (ACTS) in the Turning Points domestic violence intervention program in Prince William County.

The Pequitte Schwerin MPH ’92 Scholarship provides scholarship support for students in the graduate program at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.