Practice & Service
Turning Public Health Knowledge Into Community Impact
I believe public health practice and service are inseparable from my work as a teacher-scholar.
My professional practice focuses on translating research, data, technology, systems thinking, and public health knowledge into practical solutions. My service reflects a commitment to contributing time, expertise, and leadership to organizations working to strengthen communities and address social determinants of health.
Across these roles, I have worked at the intersection of population health, health equity, community engagement, systems engineering, GIS, public health informatics, program evaluation, food security, housing, technology, and community development.
My approach is guided by a simple principle:
Public Health Practice
Institute for Translational Population Health Research
Founder & CEO
I am the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Translational Population Health Research, an independent nonprofit research and community action organization headquartered in Elmira, New York.
The Institute represents the intersection of my research, professional practice, and community service. Its mission is to help translate research and data into practical strategies that improve population health and strengthen communities.
Its developing areas of work include:
- Population health research and intelligence
- Health equity and social determinants of health
- GIS and spatial analysis
- Behavioral health innovation
- Artificial intelligence and population health forecasting
- Community-engaged research
- Social prescribing
- Healthy housing and neighborhood conditions
- Program evaluation
- Community wellness
- Policy and implementation research
Through the Institute, I seek to create partnerships among researchers, healthcare organizations, public health agencies, community organizations, policymakers, and residents.
The goal is not simply to study communities. It is to work with communities to understand challenges, identify assets, develop solutions, evaluate results, and translate evidence into action.
Public Health Dynamics
Founder & Director
I founded Public Health Dynamics to support innovative, data-informed approaches to public health practice.
My work through Public Health Dynamics includes developing community-focused public health initiatives, coordinating partnerships and stakeholder engagement, supporting program planning, producing strategic reports and presentations, and applying systems-based approaches to project implementation. My professional records also document work in quantitative and qualitative analysis, evaluation frameworks, GIS, health equity, and community engagement.
Public Health Dynamics reflects my interest in connecting:
Data + Technology + Public Health Practice + Community Engagement
to help organizations better understand population needs and develop practical responses.
Socio-Ecological Mapping Task Force
Community Translational Research Institute
Systems Engineering Manager
At the Community Translational Research Institute (CTRI), I serve as a Systems Engineering Manager for the Socio-Ecological Mapping Task Force.
My work applies systems engineering principles to complex population health challenges. I support multidisciplinary initiatives involving healthcare organizations, academic institutions, public health professionals, researchers, nonprofit organizations, and community stakeholders.
My responsibilities include:
- Conducting and supporting community health assessments
- Using GIS and public health data to identify disparities and service gaps
- Mapping social determinants of health and community resources
- Supporting systems integration
- Developing structured data and reporting processes
- Coordinating multidisciplinary projects and stakeholders
- Translating complex data into actionable information
- Supporting program monitoring and evaluation
- Developing digital tools for community resource navigation and coordination
One major area of this work is the development of the CTRI Resource App, an integrated digital public health platform designed to support community resource navigation, referral management, GIS mapping, and coordination across systems.
This role allows me to combine my backgrounds in public health, information technology, systems engineering, GIS, research, and community engagement in an applied population health environment.
Pocono Mountains United Way
Service Through Grant Review
Community Grant Reviewer
I have contributed professional service as a grant reviewer for Pocono United Way, applying public health and analytical skills to the review of community funding proposals. My professional record specifically identifies grant reviewing for Pocono United Way as part of my public health experience.
Grant review is an important form of community service because funding decisions can directly influence the capacity of local organizations to address health and social needs.
In this role, I have applied skills in:
- Reviewing community needs and proposed services
- Assessing program goals and strategies
- Examining budgets and proposed use of resources
- Considering potential community impact
- Evaluating alignment between identified needs and proposed interventions
- Applying evidence-informed and equity-focused perspectives to funding decisions
This work has strengthened my understanding of how community priorities, organizational capacity, funding, accountability, and measurable outcomes intersect in real-world community programs.
The Salvation Army - East Stroudsburg
Community Service & Applied Research
Food Pantry Researcher & Community Services Volunteer
January 2022 – May 2023
My work with The Salvation Army in East Stroudsburg combined community service, public health practice, and applied research.
I supported food security and community service programs serving individuals and families experiencing economic and social challenges. My responsibilities included food pantry operations, client intake, food distribution, community outreach, food safety activities, documentation, and research related to community needs and service delivery.
Food Security & Public Health
Working in the food pantry provided direct experience with food insecurity as a social determinant of health.
I assisted with management of donated food supplies and conducted food safety inspections designed to reduce foodborne illness risks and support USDA-aligned food safety practices.
The experience reinforced an important public health lesson: population health is influenced not only by access to healthcare, but also by whether people have reliable access to safe food, stable housing, transportation, income, and supportive community resources.
Applied Community Research
My Salvation Army experience also included applied research supporting program planning and service delivery. I collected and analyzed information related to community needs and service utilization and contributed to documentation and program evaluation activities.
This combination of direct service and research helped shape my commitment to community-engaged and translational public health practice.
Water Gap Wellness
Behavioral Health Practice
Behavioral Health Program Evaluation Intern
May 2024 - August 2024
At Water Gap Wellness, I supported behavioral health program evaluation in a community-based clinical environment.
My work included analyzing participant and program data using SPSS and Microsoft Excel, supporting quality improvement, collaborating with clinical staff, assisting with workflow evaluation, and contributing to reports designed to improve program effectiveness.
This experience strengthened my understanding of the relationship among behavioral health, program evaluation, patient experience, data, quality improvement, and population health.
Affordable Housing Development
Healthy Housing as Public Health Practice
Housing is one of the most important social determinants of health.
Through my work in affordable housing development and management, I have worked directly with housing conditions that can influence physical and mental well-being.
My practice has included rehabilitation of distressed housing, coordination of contractors and inspections, addressing environmental concerns such as moisture, sanitation, structural conditions, and lead-related risks, and working with residents experiencing housing instability.
This experience reinforces my systems perspective:
Technology in Service to Communities
My professional identity also reflects more than 25 years of experience in information technology and systems administration.
That background includes healthcare information systems, systems implementation, technical support, network administration, workflow analysis, end-user training, documentation, and technology project coordination.
At United Community Corporation in Newark, New Jersey, I served as a System Administrator and Training Coordinator, supporting organizational technology systems while providing staff training and operational support.
These experiences continue to influence how I approach public health problems today. I view technology not as an end in itself, but as a tool that can improve access, coordination, communication, efficiency, education, and population health decision-making.
My Approach to Service
Service as Part of the Teacher-Scholar Role
I do not view service as separate from teaching, research, or professional practice.
Service provides opportunities to listen to communities, understand how policies and programs operate in real settings, contribute professional expertise, and learn from people whose lived experiences may not be represented fully in academic research.
These experiences also make me a better educator.
When I teach about food insecurity, social determinants of health, health equity, behavioral health, housing, program evaluation, community assessment, systems thinking, or public health technology, I can connect those concepts to practical experiences and real community challenges.
The relationship is reciprocal:
Practice informs research.
Research strengthens practice.
Service connects both to communities.
Teaching helps prepare others to continue the work.
Professional & Community Engagement
My broader professional engagement centers on activities that advance public health knowledge, professional development, and community well-being.
Areas of engagement include:
Looking Forward
My commitment to practice and service continues to evolve as I develop as a public health professional and teacher-scholar.
I plan to expand my engagement through community partnerships, professional associations, academic service, student mentorship, grant and peer review, nonprofit leadership, public health outreach, collaborative research, and service on committees and advisory groups.
I am particularly interested in opportunities where public health, technology, research, education, and community knowledge can come together to address complex population health challenges.
Practice With Purpose
My experiences across public health, nonprofit service, research, technology, behavioral health, housing, and community engagement have reinforced one central lesson:
It happens in neighborhoods and food pantries, in homes and healthcare organizations, in nonprofit agencies and universities, in data systems and community meetings.
My responsibility as a public health practitioner and teacher-scholar is therefore not simply to understand population health problems, but to use my knowledge, skills, experience, and partnerships in ways that contribute to solutions.
Practice turns knowledge into action. Service ensures that action remains connected to people and communities.
Connect & Collaborate
I welcome opportunities to collaborate with public health agencies, healthcare organizations, universities, nonprofit organizations, community groups, researchers, educators, students, and other partners working to improve population health.
Visit the Institute for Translational Population Health Research