ABOUT STEPHANIE

I am the descendent of farmers, Navy & Marine veterans, matriarch CEOs, corporate leaders, nurses, and early child educators. I am the daughter of Phil & Dean, sister of Alicia, and a girl mom to Ariana. Raised by a father from the city of Chicago and a mother from the rural country of Mississippi, I grew up in the flat lands of Central Ohio.

I earned a bachelor's in psychology and master's in physical therapy degree from Washington University - St. Louis and worked as a physical therapist for several years in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings. Guided by a family history of healthcare, public health nursing, activism and advocacy, I pursued a PhD in Health Behavior from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health to discover a love and passion for health equity activism. 

My research interests include social determinants of racial health equity, community-based participatory research, and using antiracism, and intersectionality lenses to understand and address health inequities. I could not do research without authentic partnerships. I was a 10-year member of the Greensboro Health Disparities Collaborative in Greensboro, NC where I learned the structure of CBPR partnerships and the power of having a shared analysis of where problems come to to find effective solutions. I work with SpiritHouse, Inc. in Durham, NC, where I live. SpiritHouse taught me about the essence and power of community, connection, ritual, and healing. They regular teach me to be a better human. I am also a co-founder of the Alamance County Health Equity Collective, a community-based participatory research partnership created to address health equity by centering its work on the Community Health Assessment (CHA) and Community Health Improvement Plans (CHIP). 

Outside of my research partnerships, I am an organizer and trainer with the Racial Equity Institute, a member of the Black Pearls Society, Incorporated, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.  I hope to contribute to racial justice, social justice and liberation movements through teaching, research, and community and institutional organizing.