Public Health Practice & Community Engagement Faculty, Staff, & Students

MegAnn Smith (she/her) is the Robin Mockenhaupt Endowed Distinguished Graduate Fellow for the Office of Public Health Practice and Community Engagement. She joined the UMD SPH to work toward her PhD in Behavioral and Community Health in the fall of 2022. She received her BS in Biology and Health Sciences from Guilford College and MPH from The Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. Most recently, MegAnn worked for the North Carolina Division of Public Health where she strived to center lived experiences and advance equity in injury and violence prevention. She is dedicated to dismantling systems of oppression through authentic community engagement and power sharing. MegAnn grounds her public health practice in cultural humility, radical listening, and a commitment to equity.

Swati Ramnath (she/her) is an incoming PhD student in the Behavioral and Community Health program at the University of Maryland. She earned her Master’s in Social Psychology from San Francisco University, where her research focused on developing culturally-relevant and accessible depression apps for low-income communities in India. Swati has also excelled as a user experience researcher at Google Health and various digital health startups, conducting mixed-methods research to make digital health tools more inclusive for older adults and underrepresented population groups. Her passion lies in advancing digital health technology and AI-based interventions to be more equitable, culturally attuned, and empathetic for diverse populations. With her interdisciplinary background in Engineering, Psychology and Public Health, Swati is committed to transforming the landscape of health tech with innovation and compassion.

Lahna Hall (she/her) is a senior Public Health Practice major. She is from Harford County, Maryland where she attended Harford Community College before transferring to UMD in the Fall of 2023. Her passion for wellness and interest in holistic health led her to pursue an education and career in public health. Since attending UMD, some of her areas of interest in public health include women’s health, maternal health, and policy advocacy. She is very excited to be part of the Office of Public Health Practice and Community Engagement and contribute to the positive impact the Office has on the SPH community and beyond.

Yashica Yogeshwar (she/her) is a first-year Public Health Science student on the Pre-Physician Assistant track. She is passionate about mental health, preventive care, and advocating for patients in underserved communities. In her free time, she enjoys painting and taking long nature walks.

Alejandra Mata (she/her) is a junior majoring in Public Health Practice with a minor in Global Poverty at the University of Maryland. Her interests include improving maternal and child health disparities and addressing sexual health challenges in low-income communities. She is dedicated to connecting with communities and providing resources, education, and implementing appropriate interventions to address health inequities. Through a combination of academic knowledge and community engagement, Alejandra aims to bridge health disparities and create impactful change.

Cynthia Bonany (she/her) is a student at the University of Maryland. She is pursuing a degree in Public Health Practice. As a Certified Community Health Worker in Maryland, she built a strong foundation for a career dedicated to community wellness. Her experience working with special needs students and vulnerable populations fueled her passion of advocating for inclusive and accessible healthcare, promoting health equity and empowering individuals well-being within their communities.

Julia Fay (she/her) is a sophomore Public Health Practice major and Global Poverty Minor from Kensington, MD. She is a part of the University Honors Program, Public Health Beyond Borders, and Public Health Practice Ambassadors. Her interests include child/maternal health, substance abuse, and underserved communities. She plans to pursue a master's in Behavioral and Community Health following undergrad and is excited to be a part of the PHPCE team.

Dr. Amerlia Arria (she/her) is a Professor and Associate Chair at the UMD School of Public Health. Dr. Amelia Arria's research focuses on substance use and untreated mental health problems among adolescents and young adults, with a special focus on the connection between behavioral health and human capital. She values translating scientific findings for parents, policymakers and community stakeholders. As a first-generation college student, she is dedicated to making sure that higher education fulfills its promise as a place and a pathway to personal and professional success. She is Director of the Center on Young Adult Health and Development and Director of the School of Public Health's Office of Planning and Evaluation. You can read more about Dr. Arria on her faculty profile.

Dr. Cynthia Baur (she/her) is the Endowed Chair and Director of the Horowitz Center for Health Literacy at the UMD School of Public Health. Dr. Baur is a health literacy and health communication expert focused on improving health literacy at the individual, family, community and organizational levels. She directs the University of Maryland Horowitz Center for Health Literacy, the nation's first academic health literacy center, and is a professor in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health. In 2022, Dr. Baur and other advocates worked with Maryland Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk, who sponsored Maryland HB1082, to designate the Horowitz Center as the state's consumer health information hub. Dr. Baur is the Principal Investigator on multiple federal and state funded projects on health literacy, clear communication, digital health, diabetes prevention and organizational health literacy improvement. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Center provided communications support to Maryland local health departments and coalitions, and pre and post-pandemic, the Center supports the Maryland Department of Health and local health departments on the state's diabetes action plan. Dr. Baur provides training and expert advice to local, state and national committees and initiatives. Before coming to UMD, she served for almost 20 years in the federal Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She was CDC's Plain Language and Health Literacy Lead from 2011 to 2016.You can read more about Dr. Baur on her faculty profile.

Dr. Steven Ault (he/him) is a Lecturer at the UMD School of Public Health. As an Adjunct Lecturer/Instructor, Steven Ault teaches infectious disease epidemiology, global health and program and project policy planning and evaluation part-time. He is a public health biologist with over 30 years of technical, supervisorial and managerial experience in international public health and development programs and projects, principally in Latin America and the Caribbean. Ault retired from PAHO/WHO in 2015 after 20 years of service, lastly as Senior Advisor for Neglected Infectious and Tropical Diseases. You can read more about Dr. Ault on his faculty profile.

Dr. Typhanye Dyer (she/her) is an Associate Professor in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department at the UMD School of Public Health. Dr. Dyer is an infectious disease, social epidemiologist and health disparities scholar whose research examines the influence of social, psychological, behavioral and structural factors on HIV/STI-risk in Black populations. The majority of her research applies the concept of syndemics (complex, intersecting, synergistic psychosocial and structural barriers) to the lived experiences of Black sexual minority men (Black SMM), including exploring the intersections of trauma, poor mental health, criminal legal involvement and HIV/STI risk and acquisition. Regarding Black women, she uses a similar framework to develop an understanding of the impact of social position and intersectional structural discrimination on syndemic physical, social and neurocognitive frailties for older cisgender Black women living with of at risk for HIV. Her current research portfolio includes three NIH and one Gilad funded study that focus on syndemic non-communicable diseases among Nigerian sexual and gender minority folx, HIV-related syndemics among Black women in the deep south, PrEP-related syndemics in Black transgender women in the DMV and Atlanta, and syndemic frailties in Black cisgender women in the U.S. You can read more about Dr. Dyer on her faculty profile.

Dr. Mariana K Falconier (she/her) is an Associate Professor in Family Science and the Director of the Couple and Family Therapy Master's Program at the UMD School of Public Health. Dr. Mariana Falconier completed her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) and her doctoral degree in Family Studies at the University of Maryland. She is a professor and director of the Couple and Family Therapy Master's Program. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist and AAMFT approved supervisor. Her research focuses on how couples cope with stress and challenges, particularly regarding economic, immigration, and medical stressors. Her research and clinical experience have lead her to develop and implement a community program called TOGETHER/JUNTOS en PAREJA (www.togetherprogram.org) that integrates relationship and financial education.This evidence-based program that has been federally funded since 2015 for over $11 million and has enrolled over 1,200 couples aims at affirming, supporting, and promoting resilience among minoritized couples including low-income, Latine, African, African American, and LGBTQ. The program has been working with over 50 local community partner organizations to develop and sustain a network that provides information and access to resources for community members, training and employment opportunities for agency staff, assists with recruitment and referrals among organizations, and helps partners' services gain visibility and appreciation in our local communities. You can read more about Dr. Falconier on her faculty profile.

Dr. Jessica Fish (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in Family Science, the Deputy Director for Research & Evaluation at the UMD Prevention Research Center, and a Faculty Affiliate for the Maryland Population Research Center at the UMD School of Public Health. Dr. Fish is a human development and family science scholar whose research focuses on the health and well-being of sexual and gender minority (i.e., lesbian/gay, bisexual, and transgender) people and their families. Broadly, Dr. Fish studies the social and interpersonal factors that shape the development and health of sexual and gender minority youth and adults. Her overarching goal is to identify modifiable factors that contribute to sexual and gender minority health disparities in order to inform developmentally-sensitive policies, programs and prevention strategies that promote the health of sexual and gender minority people across the life course. You can read more about Dr. Fish on her faculty profile.

Dr. Amy Lewin (she/her) is an Associate Professor in Family Science at the UMD School of Public Health. Prior to coming to the University of Maryland in 2014, she was on the faculty at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. A clinical psychologist by training, Dr. Lewin works with community partners to develop and evaluate community-led interventions. Her goal is to strengthen the health and well-being of marginalized youth and families who face significant disparities in health and education. The primary focus of her research is on the health of adolescents. Dr. Lewin’s research interests include community-based participatory research, teen parent families, integration of alternative models of mental health care into youth-serving organizations, and the development of interventions to address social, cultural, and familial determinants of health and health disparities. You can read more about Dr. Lewin on her faculty profile.

Dr. Kevin Roy (he/him) is a Professor in Family Science at the UMD School of Public Health. Dr. Roy is recognized as an expert in the field of fatherhood research, with two decades of experience working with low-income families and community-based parenting programs. His research focuses on the life course of young men on the margins of kin networks and the workforce, as they transition into adulthood and fatherhood. You can read more about Dr. Roy on his faculty profile.

Dr. Negin Fouladi (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management at the UMD School of Public Health. Dr. Negin Fouladi serves as program director and academic and career development advisor of online programs (MPH in Public Health Practice and Policy, MHA, dual MD/MHA with UMB School of Medicine) in the Department of Health Policy and Management (HPM). She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on health systems, health policy and services research methods, health care strategic planning & marketing, global health and health policy and mentors internship and capstones of HPM online programs. She has expertise in Translational Science focused on T3/T4 translation to practice and policy. You can read more about Dr. Fouladi on her faculty profile.

Dr. Melvin Seale (he/him) is an Assistant Clinical Professor in Health Policy and Management at the UMD School of Public Health. Dr. Seale earned a Doctor of Health Science from A.T. Still University, where his dissertation focused on identifying barriers to interoperability and implementation of electronic health record systems within ambulatory care facilities. He also holds a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) from Marygrove College and a Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management. Dr. Seale is a Registered Health Information Administrator and is certified in Clinical Coding Classification Systems (e.g., ICD-10, CPT, HCPCS). Before arriving at UMD, Dr. Seale served as Manager of Healthcare Quality & Compliance for the CVS Health Corporation and Director of the Health Information Management program at Gordon State College. In addition, he developed the curriculum for the Master of Health Informatics program at The University of Findlay and was an instructor in a joint Healthcare Administration program between Colorado State University and Saudi Electronic University in Saudi Arabia. His research interests include the impact of health informatics and telemedicine on improving population health outcomes. Dr. Seale understands the importance of health information technology and its role in managing chronic diseases, creating evidence-based practices and eliminating health disparities. You can read more about Dr. Seale on his faculty profile.

Dr. Shannon Jette (she/her) is an Associate Professor and the Director of Graduate Studies in Kinesiology at the UMD School of Public Health. Dr. Jette is a feminist scholar who engages in the study of women’s health and fitness practices across the life course. Through her research, she has sought to better understand how individuals (particularly marginalized individuals) negotiate the at times competing discourses about the (in)active body and health, as well as their embodied experiences of physical activity. The goal of her research agenda has been to question taken-for-granted knowledge about the gendered body, also providing space for alternative ways of knowing about the body and health, including Eastern traditions and Indigenous knowledge. Her work contributes to scholarship on health disparities via my focus on the development of ‘embodiment’ as a framework for understanding how social inequities are manifested in biological health disparities as well as how social positioning is incorporated into bodily movements and lifestyle choices. She has extensive experience utilizing a variety of qualitative research methods (ethnographic techniques, in-depth interviewing, media analysis, poststructuralist discourse analysis, focus group methods, audience studies), and has developed expertise in theories that help us explore societal power inequities as they pertain to the body and health. Her research agenda has facilitated the creation of culturally nuanced health promotion messages and practices that are attuned to societal inequalities and resulting health disparities. You can read more about Dr. Jette on her faculty profile.

Dr. Jennifer D. Roberts (she/her) is a tenured Associate Professor in Kinesiology at the UMD School of Public Health. Her scholarship focuses on the impact of built, social and natural environments, including the institutional and structural inequities of these environments, on physical activity and public health outcomes of marginalized communities. Dr. Jennifer D. Roberts is an active living, health equity, and truth telling scholar who draws on history to understand and dismantle the health disparities and social injustices that marginalized populations and communities of color endured generationally and presently. Her lived experience and observation of racialization have embodied and informed her approach to scientific discovery and ultimately to her quest for an antiracist society where the basic human rights of health, equity, and justice are no longer denied. She is also the Executive Founding Director of the Wekesa Earth Center, Co-Founder/Co-Director of NatureRx@UMD, and Director of the Public Health Outcomes and Effects of the Built Environment (PHOEBE) Laboratory. You can read more about Dr. Roberts on her faculty profile.

Dr. Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health (MIAEH) at the UMD School of Public Health. Dr. Rosenberg Goldstein is a water quality specialist, analyzing water quality and the most effective ways to communicate about water. She is the co-project director for Extension and Outreach in CONSERVE, a Center of Excellence at the Nexus of Sustainable Water Reuse, Food, & Health. Her current research includes evaluating roof-harvested rainwater quality, measuring neural responses to water reuse videos and assessing gardening as a stress management technique. You can read more about Dr. Rosenberg Goldstein on her faculty profile.

Dr. Sacoby Wilson (he/him) is the Director of Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health and a Professor in the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health at the UMD School of Public Health. Dr. Wilson has over 20 years of experience as environmental health scientist in the areas of exposure science, environmental justice, environmental health disparities, community-based participatory research, water quality analysis, air pollution studies, built environment, industrial animal production, climate change, community resiliency, and sustainability. He works primarily in partnership with community-based organizations to study and address environmental justice and health issues and translate research to action. You can read more about Dr. Wilson on his faculty profile.