Title: Assistant Director for Public Health Initiatives
How I Support Student Health and Wellness: In my role, my goal is to prevent, reduce and respond to harm related to substance use and sexual and relationship violence in the University community. To this end, I utilize data to prioritize the public health issues that are most relevant and important to students, plan and implement evidence-based interventions to address these issues, evaluate interventions for effectiveness, and update and improve interventions accordingly. Because public health issues are complex and multifaceted, I am dedicated to a collaborative problem-solving process. I provide leadership for Universitywide wellness coalitions in an effort to unite a number of offices and individuals at the University to achieve public health goals with an emphasis on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA). My role is unique in that it provides an empowering and rewarding opportunity to set students up for success and a lifetime of healthy behaviors beyond their time at Syracuse University.
Professional Interests: While my professional interests are varied, my particular passions are substance use prevention, treatment and harm reduction. The intricate coalescence of politics, legality, social determinants and culture makes harmful substance use a complicated and difficult issue to solve on a large scale. However, the clear and provocative stigma experienced by individuals with substance use disorders indicates that effective public health interventions are needed in a great and pressing way. As a passionate and goal-oriented public health professional, I actively seek out challenges such as those presented by substance use; however, my life has also been deeply touched by substance use disorder. These aspects of my life and personality have contributed to my passion for substance use prevention, treatment and harm reduction, and I appreciate the opportunity to act on my passion here at Syracuse University.
Groups/Classes/Liaison Roles: Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Coalition; Sexual and Relationship Violence (SRV) Taskforce – Culture of Respect Initiative; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility (DEIA) Committee.
Educational Background: I completed my undergraduate and graduate coursework at Northeastern University, where I earned a bachelor of science degree in health sciences and a master of public health (MPH) degree in five years. I am a member of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health as well as the American Public Health Association (APHA), through which I serve on the Women’s Caucus program planning committee. I also hold a Certification in Public Health (CPH) through the National Board of Public Health Examiners.
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers