Experience

Research and Public Health Experience

2017-2023   Research Lead & Co-Principal Investigator

Over the course of five summers, I worked with women and children living in rural Nicaragua to investigate aspects of well-being and the production of resilience in this community. This research has employed a mixed methods approach, relying on a combination of community ethnography and semi-structured interviews, as well as the collection of information about mental health, food and water insecurity, stressful life events via surveys, and anthropometrics to evaluate physical health. The most recent field season involved the collection biomarkers of metabolic function (pictured on the right).

2023-2024 Research and Evaluation Consultant at The American Red Cross

In support of the Tornado Preparedness Pilot Program, I conducted program evaluation research to help refine program effectiveness. This work included the development of a pre-intervention survey instrument, statistical analysis of survey data, content analysis of qualitative data, the facilitating focus group sessions with staff members to gather qualitative feedback on program implementation. Toward the end of my tenure, I began mentoring and training a junior researcher on research protocols, participant engagement, and data management best practices.

2022   Program Evaluation Consultant at Comunidad Connect

Comunidad Connect is an Atlanta-based NGO working to address poverty and create sustainable change in Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Comunidad Connect has been working alongside local partners for over a decade to improve community health, support sustainable community development, and empower youth through sports. Working in conjunction with Comunidad Connect, I was able to take the skills that I had developed in program evaluation, program planning, and grant writing to produce two products for the organization. The first is an evaluation of their clean water program, Nica Agua. This program has been ongoing since 2011, but only limited evaluations have been completed.  The second product is a grant proposal to the International Foundation seeking funding for a related household sanitation project. To complete this, I adapted a program based on a similar project being undertaken in the Dominican Republic by a partner organization and produced a the grant proposal for Comunidad Connect. The APE both allowed me to practice the skills that I've developed over the past couple years, as well as gain experience working within NGOs. This has been a valuable learning experience in terms of learning to work with limited and disjointed data sets, communicating ideas and expectations with individuals of different backgrounds, and providing accessible suggestions and guidelines for program restructuring

2017-2018  Project Manager - The PowerPATH Project

Trained, scheduled, and managed a team of 50 undergraduate researchers working to evaluate local Head Start programs. Oversaw the collection of physiological data to ensure both ethical and quality standards were met and acted as the main point of contact between participating families, schools, and communities and the project's primary investigators.