Professional Experience

Research, Planning, & Teaching Experience

Boulder County Public Health (BCPH, www.bouldercounty.org/health/). Boulder, CO.
2015-present. Health Planning & Epidemiology Program Manager.
2008-2014. Health Planning Program Coordinator.
Assessment, planning, evaluation:

  • Collect, analyze, and interpret primary and secondary data to assess, plan, prioritize, and monitor population and environmental health, e.g. Youth Risk Behavior Survey, program surveys, internal/external data requests.
  • Research and provide technical expertise to staff and partners in health planning best practices, e.g. social determinants of health frameworks, collective impact, strategy management, logic models.
  • Disseminate planning results via reports, webpages, presentations, etc., e.g. Healthy Intended Pregnancy Report, Public Health Improvement Process, Youth Risk Behavior Survey reports, Public Health Standards.
  • Develop and strengthen www.BoulderCountyHealthCompass.org, the health data management and display system for local indicators of community health status and health system capacity, priority issues, best practices, etc.
  • Evaluate effectiveness of staff, partner, and contractor work, e.g. review program operational plans, develop and use surveys to evaluate program work, track progress via www.BoulderCountyHealthCompass.orgwww.BoulderCountyHealthCompass.org.
  • Support community emergency planning and response, e.g. Front Range Flood, Fourmile Fire, Ebola planning.

Collaborative Leadership:

  • Provide updates on health planning goals, progress, and needs to agency and county leadership.
  • Liaise with partners on population health and system improvement, e.g. LiveWell Longmont, Boulder County Movement for Children, Office of Planning & Partnerships, Community Foundation, hospitals, peer agencies.
  • Effectively and respectfully communicate, convey information, and promote organizational learning via reports, data collection/evaluation tools, presentations, work groups, etc.
  • Support diverse and vulnerable populations and promote health equity. Co-plan local Health Equity Learning Series. Review operational plans for equity opportunities. Highlight health disparities in communications.
  • Engage in government, non-profit, and professional initiatives and forums regarding assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation, e.g. National Association of City & County Health Officials, American Public Health Association, Colorado Public Health Association, Colorado Health & Assessment Planning System.
  • With health planners and epidemiologist, conceptualize and propose health planning improvements.
  • Model agency and professional values, including collegiality, collaboration, work ethic, integrity, and accountability, as well as Regional Institute of Health and Environmental Leadership (RIHEL) tenets.

Program Planning, Management, Supervision, and Budgeting

  • Assess, identify, and articulate internal and external health planning resources and needs to define goals and service delivery. Develop program budget. Plan for fluctuating revenues, expenses, and staff/consultant needs.
  • Evaluate, monitor, and report progress on program and agency objectives and service delivery. Develop and submit program operational plan, budget, annual reports, monthly director reports, Board of Health updates.
  • Coordinate, manage, and facilitate current health planning work, program improvement, and resources to support staff and partners. Effectively bridge divisions, programs, supervisory structures, and cost centers.
  • Develop and monitor program budget. Secure and administer program resources. Oversee program staff purchases. Prepare and monitor contracts. Oversee grants, revenues, consultants, and contractors.
  • Recruit, screen, hire, supervise, and manage staff and consultants. Coach and support staff. Conduct and contribute to performance appraisals. Address disciplinary challenges. Recognize and celebrate quality work.

Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado (www.colorado.edu/anthropology/).
Boulder, CO.

2012-Present Associate Professor Adjunct.

  • Facilitate exchange of insight between the Boulder County Public Health and the University of Colorado, as well as between the two fields of public health and applied anthropology.
  • Identify, mentor, and partner with CU students with the opportunity to sit on students’ committees and customize internship opportunities for CU students on public health projects.
  • Ensure a public health focus on the health needs of CU’s population.
  • Contribute to teaching, team-teaching, and/or lecturing at CU.

Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine (http://www.fcm.arizona.edu/), Tuscon, AZ. 2007 Senior Research Specialist

  • Collaborated in the design of study protocols aimed at identifying, understanding, and addressing regional public health challenges.
  • Conducted complex research work and independently reviewed literature to assist faculty researchers in designing and planning research projects, establishing priorities, and selecting appropriate research methodologies, techniques, procedures, process and outcome evaluation indicators.
  • Developed and maintained relationships with intra- and extramural research partners.

Comitán Center for Health Research (CISC, www.cisc.org.mx). Chiapas, Mexico.
2005-2008. Research Consultant-Facilitator.
2004-2005. P.I., Aging & Health Research Project.
1995-2000. P.I., Reproductive Health Research Project.
1994-1996. Manager, Health Research Resource Center.

  • Conducted formative research, i.e. engaged communities in dialogue on needs and resources; generated options via critical assessment; monitored process, outcome, and responses.
  • Instructed and mentored colleagues, students, and public, individually in seminars and workshops.
  • Coordinated, calendared, supervised, and evaluated team research activities.
  • Explored social inequities influencing health disparities, especially among those subject to a matrix of gender, age, ethnicity, health, socioeconomic, employment-based oppression.
  • Used findings to orient intervention, e.g. to curb maternal mortality and domestic violence.
  • Wrote proposals and reports for funders, including Ford, MacArthur, and Packard Foundations.

El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR, www.ecosur.mx), via Internet.
2005-2007. Manuscript and Grants Editor for researchers based in Chiapas, Tabasco, and Quintana Roo, Mexico.

  • Concretized research in writing for printed, electronic, and in-person dissemination.
  • Researched relevant and viable scholarly and extra-academic publication venues.
  • Formatted manuscripts to fit publication guidelines.
  • Developed multiple permutations to impact diverse audiences through a variety of media.
  • Translated manuscripts to be accessed by monolingual English/Spanish-speaking audiences.

University of Arizona College of Medicine (COM, http://graceproject.medicine.arizona.edu/final-report.pdf). Tucson, AZ.
2000-2001. Research Assistant, GRACE (Generating Respect for All in a Climate of Academic Excellence) Project.

  • Conducted interviews re gender disparities with COM tenure, clinical, research faculty.
  • Documented gender disparities, identified potential causes, suggested ways to eliminate them.

Stanford University Department of Anthropology (www.stanford.edu/dept/anthropology/cgi-bin/web/), Palo Alto, CA and Chiapas, Mexico.
1990-1991, 1998. Research Assistant for Anthropologist/Latin Americanist George Collier.

  • Conducted bibliographic and on-site data searches, data entry, and coding of sociodemographic and political indicators in southeast Mexico.
  • See: Collier & Lowery. 2005. Basta! Land and the Zapatista Rebellion in Chiapas, Oakland: Food First.

Bar Association of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
1993-1994. HIV+ Immigrant and Refugee Legal Services Project Assistant.

  • Staffed volunteer legal services hotline, fielding questions re deportation/health crises.
  • Conducted telephone interviews with HIV+ immigrants/refugees seeking legal aid.
  • Recruited and trained attorneys to do pro-bono legal advising and representation.
  • Managed extensive, highly-sensitive and confidential client and volunteer databases.
  • Compiled information for and drafted relevant narrative, statistical, and funding reports.

Jackson & Hertogs Immigration Law Firm, San Francisco, CA.
1992-1993. Immigration Paralegal.

  • Prepared visa petitions for submission to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
  • Served as interpreter between immigration attorneys and Spanish-speaking clients.

John Dewey Bilingual School, San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico.
1991-1992. Bilingual English/Spanish teacher for adults and elementary students.

  • Created curriculum and designed evaluations for first grade English immersion program.
  • Collaborated in the school’s founding and initial year of operation.
  • Taught all first grade subjects in English to monolingual Spanish-speaking children.
  • Developed myriad displays of students’ English skills (tape recordings, public exhibitions).

Independent Researcher and Language Curriculum Developer, San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico.
1989-1993.

  • Developed research protocols, reviewed literature, accumulated contextualizing data, prepared for and conducted data collection, analyzed and presented results.
  • Analyzed indigenous (Mayan) teachers’ empowerment via formal and hidden curricula of their government-run training program. Resulting manuscript, “Taking one’s place: A classroom study of education for indigenous teachers in Chiapas, Mexico” (1989-1991), was awarded the Firestone Medal for Outstanding Thesis and the Textor Award for Outstanding Anthropological Creativity (both from Stanford University).
  • Linked research with education via project/manuscript entitled, “Workers speak: A study of language ability, usage, and learning among workers in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas” (1990-1993), a culturally- and contextually-appropriate adult ESL course.

Stanford Literacy Improvement Project, Palo Alto, CA.
1988-1990. English Literacy Teacher and Curriculum Developer.

  • Taught Stanford University service employees English and literacy skills.
  • Improved literacy to promote employee-manager relations and strengthen job skills.
  • Developed a handbook for adult English literacy instruction via participatory, relevant, respectful means.
  • Author chapter centered on community resources (e.g. phone book and newspaper classified section) as tools to further literacy skills and empower learners.

P3 Archeological Associates, Salt Lake City, UT.
1989. Field Assistant, Nevada Historical Preservation Survey.

  • Surveyed northern Nevada desert surface to identify and preserve archeological sites.
  • Distinguished, identified, sketched, and mapped artifacts and archeological sites.

Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do Dojang, Comitán, Chiapas, Mexico.
1995-2005. Co-owner, Instructor, Administrator, and World Tae Kwon Do Federation certified black belt.

  • Taught sparring, forms, self-defense, “stranger-danger” courses to women, men, children.
  • Organized and participated in exhibitions, tournaments, exams, workshops, and parades.
  • Managed advertising campaigns, including radio, print, and television publicity.
  • Promoted community action, e.g. lobbying for neighborhood infrastructure and safety.
  • Managed student registration, administrative duties, accounting, and record keeping.

External funding capabilities
Successful grants on childbirth and maternal mortality (MacArthur and Ford Foundations); family violence (United Nations Population Fund); public health (Colorado Office of Planning and Partnerships), based on:

  • Leading searches for funding sources and tracking funding opportunities.
  • Initiating and maintaining relationships with for profit, non-profit, and government funding sources.
  • Developing and submitting grant proposals.
  • Administering grant-funded programs, including budget management and narrative reporting.
  • Conducting research in accordance with funding award specifications, including IRB adherence.

Education, Training, & Language Skills
Membership in Professional Organizations
Fellowships, Grants & Other Awards
Publications
Working Groups, Conferences & Sessions Organized
Professional Presentations
Commitment to Integrating Teaching & Research