Kaitlyn Keen, a population health scientist and advocate, shares how personal experiences, public health, and storytelling shaped her work in advocacy and community building. In this episode, she reflects on health disparities, self-awareness, caregiving, and the importance of helping people find spaces where they can fully be themselves.
Kaitlyn Keen joins Dr. Dennis Rebelo in the Vault to reflect on a life shaped by advocacy, caregiving, curiosity, and community. Raised in Springfield, Illinois, Kaitlyn describes herself as an explorer from an early age, spending childhood weekends riding bikes, seeking adventure, and learning how to navigate environments that either nurtured or limited her sense of belonging. Through stories about switching soccer teams in second grade, working long hours as a teenager, and becoming self-reliant after her parents’ divorce, she shares how early experiences taught her to recognize alignment, community, and personal fit.
Originally studying communication arts and marketing with plans to pursue photojournalism, Kaitlyn’s career direction shifted after working overnight shifts in a trauma center emergency department while finishing college. Witnessing a young woman experience inadequate care during a traumatic moment exposed Kaitlyn to health disparities in real time and motivated her to pursue a Master of Public Health degree. She reflects on how applying science and mathematics to improving human outcomes transformed her relationship to learning and ultimately led her into population health science.
Throughout the conversation, Kaitlyn discusses the overlap between storytelling, psychology, advocacy, and systems change. She explains how her work at the American Cancer Society and the Illinois Lung Cancer Roundtable centers on connecting organizations, leaders, survivors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to improve lung cancer outcomes across Illinois. Kaitlyn also shares her personal connection to the cancer community through her mother’s experience surviving breast cancer and learning that she carries the same genetic mutation connected to her mother’s diagnosis.
The episode explores themes of identity, self-awareness, and continual growth. Kaitlyn reflects candidly on recently being diagnosed with ADHD at 35, becoming a mother at a young age, and realizing that much of her adult life was spent empowering others before fully understanding herself. She speaks about the importance of modeling self-discovery, intentional living, and personal alignment for both her daughter and the communities she serves. Grounded in her belief that people are “better together,” Kaitlyn emphasizes that authentic storytelling and meaningful connection can help individuals, caregivers, advocates, and communities move toward healthier and more supportive futures.
Links:
Keen on Pet Care, LLC
Rockford University Women in Leadership Advisory Board
https://badgefol.io/advisor/kaitlyn-keen-38900736
Berkshire Innovation Center Accelerator Program:
https://www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com/accelerator-program
Narrative Research Group:
https://narrativeresearchgroup.org/
For more information or to share a question or insight, please email Shannon [at] narrativeresearchgroup [dot] org