Industry Experience

Policy Development Manager

2020-Present

Trust for America’s Health

• Work on the implementation of TFAH’s Age-Friendly Public Health Systems (AFPHS) initiative
• Manage the AFPHS Recognition Program
• Coordinate the state expansion program in Mississippi and Washington state
• Building and maintaining AFPHS website components and content
• Preparing blogs and contributing to journal articles
• Disseminating best practices around partnering to promote healthy aging through national conference presentations and invited guest presentations
• Provide technical assistance to state and local health departments on strategies to incorporate healthy aging

Manager, engAGED National Resource Center to Promote the Engagement of Older Adults
2019-2020
National Association of Area Agencies on Aging

• Responsible for the day-to-day operation and management of this National Resource Center funded by the U.S. Administration on Aging (AoA).
• Work closely with the project partners and the AoA project officer, coordinate with a broad group of stakeholders in the development of a National Strategy to Promote the Social Engagement of Older Adults.
• Educate the Aging Network on the benefits of social engagement of older adults. Highlight strategies and best practices that spur social engagement.
• Develop tools to support the Aging Network’s social engagement strategies.
• Develop a mechanism to capture the success of the Resource Center through metrics that indicate the number of older adults who have become engaged as a result of the Resource Center’s efforts.

Scientific Reviewer (contractor)
2018-2019
National Institutes of Health (Kelly Government Solutions)

• Work with staff to identify and coordinate the participation of reviewers for each application received by CSR.
• Identify and select reviewers by matching the expertise of the reviewer with the specific science contained in the research grant applications.
• Assess reviewers against applications for potential conflicts of interest.
• Refer applications to identified reviewers.
• Serve as liaison between federal staff and reviewers.
• Assist with entry of reviewer data into the CSR Committee Management system in order to prepare peer review rosters.
• Analyze and assist in validating payment information submitted to the NIH Scientific Review Evaluation Activity (SREA) Management and Service Center.
• Interact with and coordinate the review activities with appropriate CSR staff.
• Clarify administrative and policy requirements associated with peer review.
• Ensure that high quality written reviews are obtained.
• Obtain written critiques.
• Subsequent to the reviews, manage the coordination of critiques from expert reviewers; evaluate incoming reviews for completeness and accuracy.
• Provide recommendation for follow up by federal Scientific Review Officer.
• Organize and plan face-to-face review meetings.

Senior Manager, Community Impact Strategies
2014 – 2017
Community Preservation & Development Corporation                                                                 Silver Spring, MD

Provided leadership, direction, and technical expertise to programs that improved the quality of life for older adults in the Washington, DC metro area (See Portfolio for highlighted projects)

• Facilitated the seamless continuity of CPDC’s Aging in Place initiative through process optimization, coalition building, and programmatic innovation.
• Collaborated with cross-sector partners to align goals and share best practices in healthy aging.
• Prioritized workflows, allocated resources, and delegated tasks to ensure the success of multiple concurrent programs.
• Unified partners, donors, and other stakeholders around specific, actionable plans to advance CPDC’s mission, vision, and values.
• Worked with the DC Office on Aging and other community-based programs to integrate multiple healthcare supports.
• Promoted multidisciplinary cooperation by maintaining an active presence across all communities and business units.
• Compiled, generated, analyzed, and presented quantitative reports that empowered data-driven decision-making at all levels of organizational leadership.
• Identified knowledge gaps, codified training needs, and created tools and resources to promote learning agendas across the organization.
• Planned and executed several small and large scale events that focused on the health and wellness needs of seniors.
• Secured a grant in support of research to strengthen programmatic strategy and activities.

Research Associate
2012 – 2014
IMPAQ International, LLC, in Partnership with Abt Associates
Columbia, MD

Supervised analysts and conducted research in support of large-scale public health projects.

• Conducted interviews and coded data to preserve the quality, accuracy, and integrity of all findings.
• Performed qualitative analyses, supported the development of analysis plans, and produced high-quality report content.
• Coached, trained, and mentored staff to master complex data management tasks and achieve their full potential.
• Projects included studies of healthcare-associated infections, as well as a national evaluation of Aging and Disability Resource Centers.
  • Studied the efficacy of ADRCs in improving access to long-term services.
  • Identified the shared characteristics of communities that facilitate successful ADRC development.

Research

Current Funded Research Project

Physical and Cognitive Health in African American Elders

Co-Principle Investigator with Dr. Adrienne Aiken Morgan

The overall goal of this study was to examine the associations between physical activity and cognitive function in low-income African American seniors.

Despite African Americans suffering from disproportionately higher rates of dementia and hypertension, research has not specifically examined the relationship between physical activity/exercise and cognitive function in this population. The contribution of this research study is to demonstrate that physical activity has a significant relationship with cognitive performance in an African American sample that is at greater risk of having cognitive and cardiovascular health problems.