Scholars

CHSP Alumni Scholars H - O

Davyda Hammond, PhD, MS

Training Site:
University of Michigan School of Public Health

Education:
PhD, Environmental Health Engineering, University of Alabama
MS, Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Irvine
BS, Mechanical Engineering, Auburn University

Community Health Scholars Program Project:
Dr. Davyda Hammond was working with the Community Action Against Asthma Partnership (CAAA) on multiple air quality-related projects involving health disparities in Detroit, Michigan. The research activities for these projects include: environmental exposure data analysis, data dissemination to community partners, and air quality policy research and advocacy.

Knowledge of airborne particulate matter (PM) sources is needed to develop effective PM reduction strategies. For this project, the EPA UNMIX and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) models are used for source apportionment modeling purposes and to show distinct patterns of emission composition. CAAA works with multiple air-quality related agencies and initiative in Detroit such as the Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) and the Detroit Air Toxics Initiative (DATI). In addition to working with these two agencies, Dr. Davyda Hammond has been following two proposals in Detroit that have major environmental justice concerns: The Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal (DIFT) and the Detroit International River Crossing (DIRC).

The Community Action Against Asthma Partnership (CAAA) is a project of the Michigan Center for the Environment and Children's Health, working to improve the health of children with asthma in two communities within Detroit (eastside and southwest), which demographically have a high proportion of low-income residents from minority ethnic groups.


I. Shevon Harvey, DrPH

Current Position:
Assistant Professor
Department of Kinesiology and Community Health
College of Applied Health Sciences
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Training Site:
University of Michigan

Education:
DrPH, Public Health, University of Pittsburgh
MPH, Public Health, Morehouse School of Medicine
BS, Ceramic Engineering, Clemson University

Community Health Scholars Program Project:
Dr. Harvey worked with the Healthy Environments Partnership (HEP) in writing a grant evaluating the relationship that influences physical activity and the built environment to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Another primary project was with the Village Health Worker Project (VHWP) to evaluate the dissemination of diabetes and cardiovascular disease information by the Healthy Connection Advocates (HCAs) through informal social networks. As a secondary project, Dr. Harvey worked with REACH Detroit to evaluate the collaboration process between the Spanish speaking and non-Spanish speaking health workers.


Karen Kim, PhD

Current Position:
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Behavior & Health Education
College of Public Health
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Training Site:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Education:
Ph.D, Nutrition, Cornell University
B.S., Nutrition, Cornell University
Community Health Scholars Program Project:
The daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter of pastors, Doctor Kim's heritage is intertwined in her work. At Cornell University, she examined relationships between religion, social support, stress, nutrition, and health, including body weight, body image, and dieting. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Doctor Kim utilized her expertise in nutrition, religion, other psychosocial factor, and body weight to promote health.

In her primary project, Doctor Kim collaborated with several African American churches in Siler City in developing a faith-based weight loss and depression intervention program. After the Health Ministry Team was created, health assessment surveys indicated that weight loss and depression were two issues of most importance to the community. The intervention program addressed several levels of the ecological model, including individual, church and community. The program also had a holistic focus including the health of body, mind, and spirit. Formative research ensured that the intervention tools are culturally appropriate to the faith community. After formative research, the intervention was implemented and evaluated.

Doctor Kim was also involved in other projects. In one, she is the intervention coordinator of the weight and nutrition campaign of the North Carolina Bringing Education and Understanding to You (BEAUTY) and Health project, a 4-year American Cancer Society funded research trial in 40 African American beauty salons. Further, Doctor Kim had also been collaborating with the formative research team in Health, Opportunities, Partnerships, Empowerment (HOPE) Works, a multilevel obesity control intervention in rural North Carolinian women.


Simona Kwon, DrPH, MPH

Current Position:
Research Scientist
New York University School of Medicine,
Institute of Community Health and Research

Training Site:
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

Education:
DrPH, Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
MPH, Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale University School of Public Health
BA, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Wesleyan University

Community Health Scholars Program Project:
Dr. Simona Kwon has been working on several projects, the first of which is a research proposal with the Korean Resource Center to conduct health literacy research in the Korean immigrant community in Baltimore County. Components of this research proposal include a partner-focused tobacco cessation program and a community-based media campaign and intervention to raise awareness and reduce stigma regarding depression in the Korean elderly population. Dr. Kwon's second project was called "Developing Strategies to Reduce Smoking amoung 18-24 Year Old, Urban African Americans". The purpose of the study is to understand the environmental factors and social norms that may contribute to the high levels of tobacco use in this urban environment. As a third project, Dr. Kwon wrote a research proposal called "Building a Culturally-Appropriate Cancer Support Intervention for African Americans". The goal of the proposed project is to understand the cancer support needs and financial constraints faced by older African American cancer survivors living in Baltimore.

Current Activities:
At NYU, Dr. Kwon is a co-investigator at the Center for the Study of Asian American Health and director of the B Free CEED: National Center of Excellence in the Elimination of Hepatitis B Disparities. B Free CEED is 1 of 18 Centers of Excellence in the Elimination of Health Disparities funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Kwon oversees the coalition of local, national, and community-based organizations that guide the Center on its mission to develop, evaluate and disseminate multi-level, evidence-based best practices and activities to eliminate hepatitis B health disparities among Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders.


Cynthia Lanier, DrPH, MPH

Current Position:
Lecturer & Research Associate
Walden University

Training Site:
University of North Carolina

Education:
DrPH, Health Promotion, University of Texas Health Science Center
MPH, Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center
RN, Brackenridge School of Nursing
BS, Health Education, University of Texas at Austin

Research Interests:
Adolescent Health & Program Evaluation

Community Health Scholars Program Project:
Dr. Lanier worked in the Efland Cheeks community with the Teens in Power (TIP) program. TIP was developed as a prevention effort in addressing the use of illicit drug use by adolescents in the community. The program focused on six main areas that included leadership development, health, recreation, tutoring, entrepreneurship, and recruiting minority youth into health careers. Dr. Lanier prepared an evaluation report of the program and presented it to the community in September, 1999.


Tracey Lewis-Elligan, Ph.D., MA

Current Position:
Assistant Professor
Department of Sociology
DePaul University

Training Site:
University of Michigan

Education:
Ph.D, Child and Family Studies, Syracuse University
M.A, Psychology, New School Social Res., New York, NY
B.A, Psychology, Hampton University

Community Health Scholars Program Project:
Dr. Tracey Lewis-Elligan was involved in two projects during her Community Health Scholars Year. One project, Promoting Healthy Lifestyles Among Women, PHLAW, is a 5-year NIH funded community based randomized controlled clinical trial study. The overall aim of the project was to demonstrate the effectiveness of a healthy lifestyle intervention tailored to meet the needs of pregnant and postpartum African-American and Latino women in Detroit, Michigan. The intervention was designed to reduce behavioral and clinical risk factors for Type 2 diabetes. The healthy lifestyle intervention includes three goals: 1) to increase physical activity of women, 2) to increase fruit and vegetable intake and 3) to reduce fat and sugar intake. Dr. Lewis-Elligan's role in this project is to: 1) observe how a randomized controlled clinical trial study is conducted by applying CBPR principles, 2) to facilitate the process evaluation of the pilot study, and 3) to contribute to the curriculum development. Dr. Lewis-Elligan planned to participate in pilot testing newly developed aspects of the curriculum with community resident participants.

The second project Dr. Lewis-Elligan was involved in is affiliated with the East Side Village Health Worker Partnership (ESVHWP). The ESVHWP was developed to investigate the social determinants of health and to improve the health of women, children, and families on Detroit's East Side. The ESVHWP incorporates CBPR principles and relies on a lay health worker intervention strategy to improve the lives of women, children, and families. Over the past seven years, the ESVHWP has worked in collaboration with Village Health Workers (VHWs) to address priority areas and objectives. One project called BEST-Building Early Self-Esteem Techniques was developed by a VHW, Yvette Banks, to address identified priority areas. BEST is a 4-week workshop that was developed to strengthen young women and children's self-esteem by incorporating the art of hair braiding. Dr. Lewis-Elligan's role in this project involved conducting a formative evaluation of BEST. The evaluation methods included participant observation, focus group, in-depth interviews, and CBPR principles. In collaboration with the advisory committee of BEST(which is made up of members from the Health Department, Community Based Organizations, VHWs, and University of Michigan) Dr. Lewis-Elligan evaluated the impact of this project and the feasibility and future direction of such a project.


Michael Lindsey, Ph.D, MPH, MSW

Current Position:
Assistant Professor
School of Social Work
University of Maryland, Baltimore

Training Site:
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Education:
Ph.D, Social Work, University of Pittsburgh
MPH, University of Pittsburgh
MSW, Howard University
BA, Sociology, Morehouse College

Research Interests:
Mental health service delivery to minority adolescents, Development of male children in single-mother homes, Violence prevention among urban youth, Community-based intervention development

Community Health Scholars Program Project:
Dr. Michael Lindsey was involved in various projects geared towards addressing the mental health of African-American adolescent males. An example of one project titled, Mental Health Needs Assessment for African-American Adolescent Males worked with community settings, in most cases community-based organizations and schools, to observe and understand what the different mental health needs are of African-American adolescent males. Dr. Lindsey met with African American families and youth in these settings to identify the most salient mental health issues faced by adolescent males. Of specific focus: 1) understanding the community role (past and current) in addressing the mental health problems of African-American adolescent males; 2) exploring the help-seeking behaviors of African-American adolescent males; and 3) determining the feasibility of multi-site intervention to address mental issue among African-American adolescent males.

Another example of another project that Dr. Lindsey was involved with is titled, Determine the Feasibility of a Mental Health Intervention, was undertaken to review the feasibility and utility of a psychoeducation intervention developed exclusively for African-African adolescent males. Dr. Lindsey worked with the steering committee to identify: 1) how the intervention can be sustained in community settings; 2) a community-based organization to pilot test the intervention; and 3) what settings are most useful for systematic data collection to determine the efficacy of this intervention. In year two of the fellowship period, Dr. Lindsey worked on testing out the psychoeducation intervention using a comparison group and with an adequate sample size to determine program efficacy. This randomized study included community-based organizations and settings that work with African-American males.


Ellen Lopez, Ph.D, MPH

Current Position:
Faculty
Department of Psychology
Center for Alaska Native Health Research
University of Alaska Fairbanks

Training Site:
University of Michigan

Education:
Ph.D, Health Behavior/Health Education, University of North Carolina
MPH, Health Sciences, University of Washington
BA, Psychology/Social Welfare, University of Wisconsin

Research Interests:
Social determinants of health in the communities of color; cancer prevention, control, and survivorship in rural communities

Community Health Scholars Program Project:
Dr. Ellen D.S. Lopez committed to work with two CBPR projects; Community Action Against Asthma (CAAA), and The Eastside Access Partnership. The focus of CAAA is to identify and reduce children's exposure to environmental asthma triggers in east and southwest communities in Detroit, Michigan. A two-year component of CAAA is a household intervention in which community outreach workers visited over 300 households multiple times to work with caregivers of a child with asthma in designing individualized action plans for reducing the child's exposure to indoor environmental asthma triggers, and to provide education, social support and materials (e.g., vacuums, cleaning supplies) to achieve their action plans. Ellen conducted in-depth, qualitative interviews with caregivers who participated in the project to provide them the opportunity to give their perspectives regarding CAAA's impact on their child and family as well as their insights as to how broader social, structural, and environmental issues affect their child's asthma and impact their ability to manage it. The primary aim of the Eastside Access Partnership (EAP) is to increase enrollment of uninsured children into state insurance programs by educating residents about available insurance options, and reducing barriers to seeking and receiving coverage. To achieve this aim, one approach EAP is using is the learning technology, Root Learning Maps®. Learning maps are visual murals that use metaphors (generated by community members) to capture the essence of the issues faced by residents seeking insurance. Ellen worked with community partners to evaluate how well the learning map and interactive questioning is able to engage parents in discussions about issues related to obtaining coverage for their children.

Current Activities:
Dr. Lopez recently took a new position at the University of Alaska after spending four years as a faculty member at the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions. To increase community participation in cancer research she founded and facilitated the “Cancer Resource Connections”, a community-academic group. With support and in partnership with several community organizations, she was granted a UF&Shands Cancer Center Junior Investigator Award to develop a theoretical model of quality of life for long-term breast cancer survivors in rural areas. She also developed a partnership with the Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida focused on assessing and addressing cancer-related issues faced by individuals with disabilities. Within this partnership the group was awarded a Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Special Population Grant. The partnership was also awarded a 5-year grant from the CDC to orchestrate a community-based effort to disseminate the “Right to Know” breast cancer screening health communications campaign for women with physical disabilities throughout the state of Florida.


Iveris Martinez, Ph.D, MA

Current Position:
Assistant Professor
Center on Aging & Health
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions

Training Site:
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Education:
Ph.D, Anthropology & Population Dynamics, Johns Hopkins University
MA, Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University
BA, Anthropology & Society, Florida International

Community Health Scholars Program Project:
Dr. Iveris L. Martinez planned to engage in two community-based participatory research projects over a two-year period: 1) Health Assessment of the Latino Community in Baltimore Metropolitan Area and 2) The Translation of Chronic Disease Self-Management Curriculum for More Vulnerable Populations. The Health Assessment of the Latino Community in Baltimore Metropolitan Area was carried out with Centro de la Comunidad, one of the leading Latino community based organizations in Baltimore City, with a history of providing important health care services, as well as other essential services and referrals, to the underserved Latino community in Baltimore and its surrounding areas. The purpose of the assessment was to document both the strengths and needs of the growing Latino community in Baltimore in order to serve as a baseline for this and other community-based organizations serving this community. Dr. Martinez's role was to facilitate the process by collaborating her skills and knowledge in grant writing, and conceptually organizing the methodology to carry out this assessment, and dissemination, as well as aid in any further program planning that emerged from the assessment. Through an increasing involvement in the Baltimore community, Dr. Martinez sought to identify a community of elders and/or senior community-based organizations to pilot a chronic disease self-management (CDSM) intervention that was being implemented as part of a broader project on integrated health care for seniors called the Guided Care Project as Dr. Martinez's second project. Although this chronic disease self-management program curriculum has been implemented and tested nationally, the target population may not be representative of a population selected in Baltimore City for the Guide Care Project, or the growing number of seniors which are found in minority populations, including the Latin American elders. This curriculum will be tested and modified if necessary in order for it be an effective intervention in a diverse community of seniors, such as those residing in Baltimore City, which may be less educated and/or have less socio-economic resources.


Mondi Mason, PhD

Current Position:

Assistant Professor
Jiann Ping Hsu College of Public Health Georgia Southern University

Training Site:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Education:
Ph.D, Health and Behavioral Sciences, University of Colorado
MPH, Gerontology, University of Northern Colorado
MA, Gerontology, University of Northern Colorado
BA, Gerontology, University of Florida

Community Health Scholars Program Project:
Dr. Mason worked with Las Mujeres Mejorando el Futuro (Women Improving the Future) a group of Latina women in Siler City, North Carolina working toward social change. This new grassroots effort envisioned building capacity among community-dwelling women by developing leadership and advocacy skills through educational opportunities. By empowering women through education and knowledge, and organizing around issues that are important to them and the community, the group intended to create a better quality of life for Siler City residents. Dr. Mason's objectives were to evaluate: 1) the process of organizing this new group and 2) how the group affects the lives of the women, specifically in the areas of stress and coping. Additionally, Dr. Mason collaborated with the women and an African American grassroots organization to conduct a systematic assessment of transportation needs of Siler City residents in cooperation with local transportation services.

Dr. Mason also worked with the Chatham County Public Health Department (CCPHD) on their Dismantling Racism (DR) Process. The DR process involves a multilevel (e.g., individual, organization, institutional and community) approach for social change. Dr. Mason was working with the CCPHD staff to create a surveillance system to evaluate the DR Process. Additionally, she worked to align the Cultural and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health Care Standards with the organization's DR Action Plan. With the agency's staff, she was able to identify areas to be assessed (e.g., language access, cultural competency of staff) and develop and implement area-specific assessments that will then lead to trainings and interventions (e.g., trainings for how to work with interpreters and cultural competency). Integrated with this project was Dr. Mason's Research Clerkship for the CHSP, the MAN (Men as Navigators) for Health Project. Her primary role in this project was to assist with the development of an evaluation and intervention plan for the dismantling racism portion of the project in Chatham County as it relates to improving Chatham County Public Health Department services for Latino men.

Current Activities:
Dr. Mason is the lead evaluator on the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's, New Tools New Visions 2 Project. Utilizing a participatory evaluation approach, she and her colleagues work closely with four distinct community-campus partnerships between African American communities and HBCUs in Georgia that are addressing health disparities.


Siobhan Maty, Ph.D, MPH

Current Position:
Assistant Professor
School of Community Health
Portland State University

Training Site:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Education:
Ph.D, Epidemiology, University of Michigan
MPH, Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
BS, Biology, University of Maryland

Research Interests:
Social determinants of health & disease, Health disparities, Epidemiology of diabetes and obesity, Translation of research into action to achieve social change

Community Health Scholars Program Project: Dr. Siobhan Maty's research objective was to collaborate with Strengthening the Black Family, Project Direct, the UNC School of Public Health and community members to gather formative data from adolescent males and females who reside in South East Raleigh. Dr. Maty's objectives were to determine the adolescent level of knowledge about overweight/obesity and type 2 diabetes, determine their level of awareness of risk factors for obesity/type 2 diabetes (e.g. dietary choices, physical inactivity, etc..), determine the adolescents perceived risk of becoming overweight/obese or developing Type 2 diabetes, and investigate contextual factors (neighborhood characteristics such as location of playground, food sources, financial resources, role modeling, family size, food options) that influence the perceived risk and risk behavior adoption/cessation of these adolescents. Dr. Maty hoped to use both focus groups and individual interviews as data collection methods. Dr. Maty engaged the adolescents in a social mapping exercise where they will be asked to draw where they spend their time and to document how much time they spend with each activity. These maps were used to stimulate discussion during focus groups and to help the youth participants become aware of their surroundings and how their physical environment can influence their behavior.

Dr. Maty's research project allowed her to employ a community-based participatory research approach to collaborate with academic and community mentors and community partners to explore the health beliefs and risk perceptions of adolescents in SE Raleigh, focusing on nutrition, physical activity, obesity and Type 2 diabetes.


Isa Williams Miles, ScD

Current Position:
Epidemic Intelligence Service Office
Coordinating Center for Health Promotion
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity
Physical Activity and Health Branch
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Training Site:
Johns Hopkins University

Education:
ScD, Epidemiology, Harvard University School of Public Health
MS, Epidemiology, Harvard University School of Public Health
BS, Mathematics, Howard University

Community Health Scholars Program Project:
Dr. Isa Williams Miles' research interests include health disparities, cancer prevention in African American populations, women's health, and health communication methods. As a community health scholar at Johns Hopkins University, she actively applied CBPR methods to each of these areas of research. Specifically, Dr. Miles worked on two post-doctorate research projects: 1) A community based evaluation and dissemination of hypertension prevention health communication materials; and 2) Designing, evaluating, and implementing a survey for a faith-based participatory intervention designed to increase breast health care among African American women.

In her primary project, Dr. Miles worked with community members in East Baltimore and the leadership at The Men's Center, a CBO serving African American men living in East Baltimore, to evaluate and pilot a dissemination of hypertension prevention educational materials that were developed as a result of the research of a previous Kellogg Community Health Scholar, Dr. Lisa Benz-Scott. This project involved evaluating the accuracy and appropriateness of the materials for the community, receiving feedback from the community about ways in which the materials should be tailored to be more specific to the community's needs, working with the community to develop a plan for dissemination of the materials, and designing a proper evaluation plan to determine whether the pilot dissemination effort was successful. The community was involved in all aspects of the research including, but not limited to, deciding on methods to collect information, participating in all research and dissemination efforts, and establishing criteria for success of the dissemination.

Dr. Miles was also part of a research team for a study funded by the Susan G. Komen Foundation that sought to determine if a faith-based participatory intervention could increase breast health care among African American women living in Baltimore. Eight churches in Baltimore participated in the study and each church elected one woman to serve as a program coordinator for the study. These lay health workers were part of the research team and were responsible for organizing a Women's Health Day Program at their church with a focus on breast cancer health and prevention. Dr. Miles had the primary responsibility of working with the lay health workers to develop, pilot-test, and plan for the implementation of a survey to collect relevant health and demographic information from all participants at the Women's Health Day Programs. In addition to her two research projects, Dr. Miles was affiliated with the Morgan-Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions.