Q&A with Geoffrey Roche on covering childhood trauma, public health and higher ed

I met Geoffrey M. Roche, MPA, the Sr. VP of National Health Care Practice and Workforce Partnerships during our National Leadership Academy for the Public’s Health Fellowship a few years ago. As someone focused on healthcare, higher education and health equity, I wanted to hear how Geoffrey related to the topic of covering and how he saw it impacting work and public health.

To recap, covering is "downplaying, hiding or filtering parts of yourself at work, with different social groups, at school or with family.”

We got to meet IRL in 2022 at CU Denver's Imaginator Academy's Imaginator Summit organized by my husband Theo Edmonds in Denver, CO, where Geoffrey heard my talk that focused on covering and imagination. He said, "Prior to your talk, I had not actually heard as much about covering and particularly as we envision the future of work; the awesome opportunity we have as leaders committed to a culture of belonging and inclusion for all have to make sure individuals can be who they are without fear."

That is one of the reasons for doing these interviews and continuing to share these stories. It provides us with new tools, including language, and a broader understanding of the many ways people are experiencing covering, and uncovering throughout different parts of their lives and journeys.

Q&A with Geoffrey Roche:

Are there examples from your personal life where you covered parts of who you are? Why did you feel like you needed to do that?

• Yes, as I reflect on covering there are many aspects of my life where I have covered. This includes experiences in my childhood, losing my only brother to a heroin addiction, as well as many other circumstances. From a point of reflection, I must admit that I have covered so that I did not face judgment from others that ultimately may have impacted their view of me and my family. However, it is clear to me that I must rise up with courageous imagination to share my experiences because together we are stronger when we share in these stories.

When it comes to work, have you felt the need to cover throughout your carrier? What type of impact did it have?

• Yes, and it pains me to admit this to be honest because I have always strived to be the same person whether personally or professionally. However, I have without question covered in the workplace as noted above. This covering most certainly led to stress, burnout, and even anxiety. I have also experienced other colleagues also covering, which is why your work, Josh, is so critical because it proves that we as a nation and as a workplace whether in person or virtual have a lot of work to do to truly develop, create, and sustain a culture that values and ensures accountability around belonging and inclusion at all levels.

Are there parts of yourself you have actively uncovered or would like to uncover? What process brought you to that understanding? 

• Yes, I have realized that it is more important than ever to lean into my experience as a child where I faced emotional abuse from a former family member that without question impacted my entire K-12 experience. Additionally, I have been inspired to share my brother's tragedy and be more open about it because there is so much work to do to help other families not have to experience death from a heroin addiction. Furthermore, I have learned that if I am critiqued and judged for any of this; then it is clear that those are not individuals or organizations that would be where I choose to spend my time, energy, or resources. 

When it comes to public health – what role do you think covering plays in undermining the field of public health, and the impact public health practitioners want to have? 

• Covering without question, impacts all facets of public health and the last three years; we have seen this firsthand unfortunately where many public health leaders and officials have been threatened and attacked for simply doing their job to help and protect others. I recently had dinner with an inspirational leader involved in providing access to quality healthcare for the Trans community and as we were speaking, I was so sad to hear how their clinic has had to invest in new forms of security to simply protect the patients, staff, and providers due to threats from others. 

As you think about higher education, how/where do you see covering happening? What impact do you think it has on high education’s ability to support future generations of leaders?

• In reflecting on my time in higher education and healthcare, I have without question seen covering occur at all levels of organizations. This can include students at a time when we are seeing mental health concerns at levels so challenging to truly manage, as well as leaders and staff because I would argue that covering is another aspect to mental health and therefore, so many others experience this in ways they do not truly understand or recognize.

Have you witnessed covering in the workplace and how did you respond?

• Yes, I have witnessed this particularly in the workplace. Throughout my career, there are several examples that come to mind where a colleague seemed like they were trying to not have something impacting them come out to others. In these situations, I have always learned to just let them know that my door is always open to listen and be there intentionally to help them to the best of my ability. Many times, this resulted in them sharing with me their life challenges and concerns and then I was able to be there to help them through it.... because if we can help others be able and willing to share what they may be facing in their life and have psychological safety in doing so, we can truly make inroads in addressing the mental health epidemic in our society. 

Learn more about the topic of covering and delve into past Uncovering Your Value newsletters here.