Bridging the Gap

“I had my little office in the health department where I would hop onto virtual class and then as soon as it was over, I would run around the health department having meetings with people, doing what I needed to do as an epidemiologist,” he recalled. “In the evenings I’d go to the gym, eat dinner, and read for classes the next day. Then get up early and do it all over again.”

Brought up in the rural town of Bardstown, Kentucky, Brendan said he always dreamed bigger than the life expected of him and his peers. His mom, who raised him solo, never let those big dreams seem too far out of reach. 

“I always wanted to go on to do bigger, better things than the prescribed life,” he said. “Today, I do it all for my mom. She has been my support system and my reminder that I have the ability and the skillset to do this. So I'm gonna do it.”

Brendan’s extraordinary journey from a Masters student in Public Health at the University of Kentucky, to running the State of Kentucky’s contact tracing efforts, to consulting with states like Rhode Island unfolded swiftly and fortuitously. Unknown to him, it all started when his professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology offered the class the opportunity to volunteer at the Lexington Fayette County Health Department in March 2020. Motivated by his passion for public health, Brendan was the sole volunteer. 

Immediately, he was tasked with the responsibility of contacting Covid-19 patients and tracking their symptoms, along with anyone who may have been exposed. Within the first week of volunteering, he witnessed the number of cases in the state skyrocket from eight to 500 in a matter of days.

Bridging his passion for public health and the law, the path toward a career in legal epidemiology became clear. Even before the pandemic, Brendan had long recognized the health disparities among certain groups due to unjust systems, particularly for people of color, people who identify as LGBTQ+, and women like his own mother.

“Coming from a small rural town, I've seen the struggles that my mom has faced as a single mother who has struggled to get jobs. She's had her share of health issues and I've seen how systems in most cases failed to provide the support that she deserves and needs,” he said. “I want to be able to go into my career as informed as I possibly can with how these laws and systems operate, to be able to effectively reform them.” 

While these diverse experiences gained during his time at UC Law equipped him with a skill set he will take into his career, it was two pivotal courses he took in tax law, both taught by Professor Stephanie McMahon, that opened his eyes to how the tax system might be used as a vehicle to reshape systems. Because of these courses, he was given a more exact vision for what his career will look like. 

“I will forever owe Professor McMahon my career in tax law,” he said. “There are so many novel things that you can do with tax that I had never even thought possible before. The opportunities that exist there are limitless.”

At a time when the country is grappling with multiple crises and inequalities, Brendan’s understanding of the interplay between tax law and public health makes certain he will be, and is, an uncommon catalyst for change. And he said he wouldn't have it any other way.

“In this country we have the ability to remedy and mitigate systems from hurting people,” Brendan emphasized. “If not me with my skill set to do that work, then who?” 

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Author: Katie Bachmeyer