Sophia Peerzada’s path to USF’s College of Public Health (COPH), and ultimately a transportation safety specialist for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), is one marked by unexpected crossroads, strategic detours and a clear dedication to the cause of public health.
Peerzada's journey began with a simple belief instilled by her immigrant father, who earned his civil engineering degree from USF--education was the key to success.
“I was born and raised in Brandon, Fla., and always knew I was college-bound,” Peerzada reflected. She graduated high school in 2013 and began her undergraduate studies at USF that same year.
“USF felt like home, not just because of its proximity but because of its sense of community. It is a family school to me,” she said.
At the start of her college career, Peerzada, having completed several Advanced Placement (AP) courses in high school, was already ahead of the game.
“At orientation I learned that with my credits I was already a sophomore,” she explained. “I was told I had to declare a major to make my schedule, so I just picked psychology as a placeholder since it was my favorite AP class in high school,” Peerzada recalled.
After a year and a half of classes, Peerzada learned she would be graduating sooner than expected. “I was 19 or 20 at the time and I wasn’t ready to be done yet.” So, she looked in the undergraduate catalogue and found behavioral health care interesting and chose that as her double major.
“I thought I wanted to be a therapist,” Peerzada explained. Yet, her passion for traffic safety and suicide prevention always tugged at her, pulling her toward a unique crossroads between two seemingly distinct fields.
Peerzada graduated in 2016 with a psychology and behavioral health care degree.
Sophia presented “Safety Advocacy as Public Health Practice” at APHA 2024. (Photo courtesy of Peerzada)
In November 2019 she returned to USF, but this time as an academic advisor. “I knew USF paid for a certain amount of credit hours and I saw it as an opportunity to get back into school,” she said.
It was then that she found herself drawn to the field of public health. “I was scouring the graduate catalog when I found the traffic safety piece in public health and that’s when I decided to apply,” she said.
Peerzada started the master of public health program with a concentration in health policies and programs right as the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
COVID-19 was a pivotal moment in Peerzada's development. With little else to do during the lockdown, she began walking and biking around her community, an experience that forever altered her view of transportation safety.
“I was walking and biking everywhere and realized quickly that it was impossible to bike safely,” she reflected. The inadequate infrastructure on roads like Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa became glaringly apparent. “It became clear to me that pedestrian safety was a public health issue.”
The pandemic also provided an unexpected opportunity for Peerzada to confront issues of community infrastructures in lower income neighborhoods.
In her research and presentations, Peerzada began advocating for safer streets in lower income communities. “I shared this in my presentation at APHA and discussed topics like equity as it related to neighborhoods and traffic safety for pedestrians,” she said.
Sophia met with Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) representatives to gain firsthand experience with the technology in an equipped vehicle (using rubbing alcohol, of course!). (Photo courtesy of Peerzada)
She said her work with the faculty, especially professor Dr. Katherine Drabiak, and the sense of camaraderie with her peers during the pandemic were defining moments.
Peerzada graduated in May 2022, cementing her role at the intersection of public health and transportation safety. Her first job was with Frameworks of Tampa Bay, where she promoted social and emotional learning for at-risk youth in schools.
From there Peerzada’s career took her to various positions, each one reinforcing her commitment to public health. She worked for ConnectWise as an internal corporate trainer, where she incorporated mental health messaging into her training.
Eventually, she found herself at City Block, a health care company based in Brooklyn, N.Y., as a patient safety associate. This role involved investigating and reporting safety incidents in outpatient settings where Peerzada could apply her public health knowledge to improve patient care.
Caption: Sophia moderated the NTSB’s first “Traffic Safety Through a Public Health Lens” webinar, which highlighted traffic safety as a public health issue. (Photo courtesy of Peerzada)
Today, Peerzada has reached her ultimate dream destination as a transportation safety specialist for the NTSB. In this role she advocates for the implementation of safety recommendations in the transportation system.
“I was hired for my public health knowledge,” she said with pride. “My job is to advocate for safety recommendations to be enacted. I work with state and local agencies to push for improvements in transportation safety that can save lives.”
“Transportation safety is a public health crisis,” Peerzada said. “Over 40,000 people die on our roads every year, and yet we treat it like it’s just part of life, but it’s not. We need to treat transportation safety the same way we treat other public health issues.”
One of the highlights of Peerzada’s work has been her efforts to integrate public health perspectives into the NTSB’s messaging. She led a groundbreaking webinar on traffic safety through a public health lens, drawing attention to the fact that transportation safety should be viewed as a public health issue.
“It was the first time the NTSB ever couched something as a public health webinar and it was a huge success,” Peerzada said. “We had the most registrants for any of our webinars.”
Looking to the future Peerzada sees herself staying with the NTSB for the long haul, advocating for transportation safety at the federal level and using her position to inspire change at the local level.
“I want to elevate the conversation about transportation safety as a public health issue and help local communities connect with the resources they need,” she said. Peerzada has never lost sight of the need to create safer, more equitable transportation systems. "The journey is still ongoing," she said. "But I know this is the road I was meant to take."