I wish I could remember what the five-year old me told my parents I wanted to be when I grew up. I am pretty sure I didn't say I wanted a job about diarrhea. And yet…

I've heard many celebrities say they have the greatest job in the world - acting in a movie, playing a sport, being a musician on tour. The common thread seems to be that they can't believe they are paid to do what they love.

Fair enough, but they've got nothing on my job.

Because here's the straight poop - I have the greatest job in the world.

Every day I come to work with a group of smart, smart-ass, creative, and passionate people who are relentless in their drive to improve the health of the world's most vulnerable children. Our DefeatDD team is part of the larger Vaccine Development Program at PATH. I admire and appreciate the work of all my PATH colleagues, but I adore the DefeatDD team.
 

While a blog is too short to enumerate all the great work they do, I want to share a few of my favorites:
 

·         Giving the data their due, as in the media release package for the ROTAVAC clinical trial results and this blog about why health economics matters.
 

·         Giving voice to the families and communities we serve, as in this blog about the clinic in Zambia and the stories in this wonderful interactive feature.
 

·         Getting past the poo taboo with the Poo Haiku, the toilet calendars, the cocktail party slated as “Get the Scoop on Poop,” the No Bleep video.
 

·         Empowering our allies across the world to advocate for better protection for children, as when we helped push out the Integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD)and compiled advocacy resources for the “movement.”
 

·         Finding powerful ways to share the successes and the stories, through videos, social media, and nurturing coalitions.

It is truly a joy to work with this team and to contribute to this cause. It's been five years of hard work, creative collaboration, and more fun than I thought possible in a desk job. 

-- Eileen Quinn is Communications Director for the Vaccine Development Program at PATH. 

Other posts in our DefeatDD fifth birthday celebration series:

-- What it means to be five by Allison Clfford. Her son, Nate, also turns five years old this year, and he taught his mom some important things about this big milestone.

-- DefeatDD is five years old! And we wouldn't be here without you!