LINK FOR EQUITY STUDY TEAM
Principal Investigators
Marizen Ramirez, PhD
Principal Investigator
Dr. Marizen Ramirez is Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the UC Irvine Program in Public Health, and Former Director of the Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety. She received her doctoral and masters degrees in Epidemiology from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Her research focuses on society’s most vulnerable population at risk for violence (especially bullying) and injuries: children, persons with disabilities, agricultural workers, minorities, and rural populations.…
Andy Ryan
Senior Research Fellow
Andy is a senior research fellow in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. He serves as the database manager and data analyst on the Link for Equity Study. He has over 20 years of experience with data management and statistical programming on studies related to environmental and occupational health and safety.
Briana Woods-Jaeger, PhD
Principal Investigator
Dr. Briana Woods-Jaeger is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education at Emory University. She received her PhD and MS in Clinical Child Psychology from the University of Washington.
Dr. Woods-Jaeger’s research examines social and structural processes that link the experience of child trauma and adversity to mental and physical health disparities.…
Co-Investigators
Timothy Church, PhD
Co-Investigator
Dr. Church is a Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. His primary research interests include clinical trials and epidemiological studies related to screening for and prevention of cancer, as well as the development of biostatistical and epidemiologic methods. His expertise is in cancer screening, colorectal cancer, medical device evaluation, biostatistics, epidemiologic methods, and clinical trial design.…
Project Managers
Tiffaney Renfro, MSW, MRPL
Project Manager
Tiffaney’s role on the Link for Equity study is to coordinate the Emory deliverables related to the project.
She is passionate about mobilizing communities and empowering youth. She has over 18 years of evidence-based public health experience including research project coordination, intervention training, implementation and technical assistance along with utilizing community-based participatory approaches to engage community stakeholders.…
Bao Nhia Xiong, MPH
Community Engagement Coordinator
Bao Nhia is a bilingual public health practitioner with years of research experience focus on health disparities. As a daughter of refugee parents, she is dedicated to working towards health equity for all, especially vulnerable and underserved communities like her own. She serves as the Community Engagement Coordinator for Link for Equity and is responsible for the overall maintenance and communications between the schools and the study team.
School Liaisons
Stacy Bender-Fayette, M.Ed.
SEL Specialist
Stacy, a Social Emotional Learning Specialist with Peacemaker Resources, has been in the field of education for 24 years. Most of her teaching experience has been focused on teacher professional development. For Peacemaker Resources, Stacy helps to facilitate the STAR (Students Teaching Attitudes of Respect) program, teaches social-emotional learning skills to children, and provides teacher professional development in the areas of resiliency, positive psychology, and mindfulness. …
Keila McCracken, MA
SEL Specialist
Keila currently serves as a Social and Emotional Specialist with Peacemaker Resources and an Adjunct Profession of Cultural Communication at Bemidji State University. Keila earned her MA in Human development focusing on sustainable systems that support the local economy, environment, social connections, and cultures.
Consultants
John Gonzalez, PhD
Consultant
Dr. John Gonzalez is Professor of Psychology at Bemidji State University. He is a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe/Anishinaabe and a mixed methods researcher focused on social determinants and consequences of substance use, mental disorders, physical health issues, racism and Indian education. Several schools in the study have a substantive proportion of American Indian students.…
Karen Heimer, PhD
Consultant
Dr. Karen Heimer is Professor of Sociology, Collegiate Fellow and affiliate of the Public Policy Center at the University of Iowa. She is a quantitative criminologist whose research focuses on juvenile delinquency, victimization, and gender and violence. With her expertise in quantitative analysis, her input will be valuable to the design as well as analysis of the data.…
Barb Houg, LSW
Executive Director
Barb Houg, LSW Executive Director of Peacemaker Resources. Peacemakers is a local non-profit community agency based in Northwest Minnesota that provides mental health supports to students and staff in schools and organizations in several communities in the region. They work with youth in particular in areas of trauma-informed practices and cultural responsiveness with a special emphasis on the American Indian/Native American population.
Charlene Myklebust, Psy.D.
Consultant
Dr. Charlene Myklebust, with Professional Education Pal, has a background in classroom teaching, public education administration and mental health. Dr. Myklebust’s professional activities include conducting state and national workshops in the areas of positive psychology, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s), trauma, brain-based instruction, Restorative Practices, and children’s mental health disorders. She leads Minnesota’s mental health diversion project for students who have been adjudicated.
Marleen Wong
David Lawrence Stein/Violet Goldberg Sachs Professor of Mental Health; Senior Vice Dean of Field Education; Clinical Professor of Social Work
Dr. Marleen Wong is senior vice dean, David Lawrence Stein/Violet Goldberg Sachs Endowed Professor of Mental Health, Executive Director of the USC Telehealth Clinic, Clinical Advisor for the Family Nurse Practitioner Program and Fellow in the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. She also serves as the Director of Field Education at the University Park Campus and the Virtual Academic Center with students based all over the United States.…
Erika Yoney
Consultant
Erika Yoney is a Licensed School Nurse. She is a student in DNP specialty of psychiatry and mental health and MPH in Occupational Health. Erika is passionate about the health and education of Minnesota students.
This study allows us to examine and intervene regarding the health, discipline and education disparities that are impacting our students and families.
Staff
Joy Archibald
Website and Graphic Design
Joy Archibald is the Web and Graphic Design Coordinator for the Division of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. She is responsible for the creation and maintenance of multiple research center websites within the Division, as well as marketing and promotional materials for various centers, academic programs, and research studies.…
Alyson Harding
Research Assistant
Alyson Harding is a PhD student in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health. Her research focus on the health impacts of disasters and trauma. She is working as a Research Assistant on the Link for Equity study, assisting with survey development, data management, and analysis.
Kaitlin Piper, MPH
Qualitative Research Lead
Kaitlin Piper, MPH is a PhD Student in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. She serves in the role of Qualitative Research Lead. Her interests are in health disparities, trauma-informed care, adolescent heath, implementation science.
Christina Rosebush, PhD
Post Doc Scholar
Christina is a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on health equity and injury prevention across the life course. She supports public-facing and scientific results dissemination activities for Link for Equity.
Alexis Grimes Trotter, MPH
Research Assistant
Alexis is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Occupational Injury Prevention Training Program at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on policy implementation and evaluation and health equity, which fuels her passion for community-based participatory research. Currently, she serves as a breakout room facilitator for Link for Equity Cultural Humility Trainings.