Position/Title: Administrative Director of CARES (Community Engagement)
Years at TraCS: 1 year
Years at UNC: 1 (but 3 if you count my time in graduate school)
Background
I'm originally from... Westfield, New Jersey – a suburb about 20 miles outside of NYC. My husband and I come from a long line of New Yorkers, but we've been down here for almost 10 years and have really grown to love the relaxed pace of life and strong appreciation for local community. Not a day goes by when I don't crave a fresh Jersey bagel, though!
My first job ever was... as a clerk at a local Family Practice office. I spent my days filing paper health records, over and over and over again. Needless to say, I'm a huge proponent of the EHR.
When I was little I dreamed of being... an archaeologist or an artist.
Work
Describe an interesting day at work for you. I've only been at TraCS for a year, so I am still really enjoying the newness of it all. Meeting and serving diverse people from across the University and state ensures that each day is interesting and different. Our program is doing some really new and exciting things, and contributing to the birth and development of new processes and initiatives has also been a lot of fun.
What is your elevator pitch about what you do at TraCS? I manage a program that promotes and supports stakeholder engagement in research. We do this by facilitating academic-community research partnerships, building capacity among researchers and communities to engage in research, and developing tools and methods to advance the science of community engagement.
I got into this field because... I believe health is a human right, and everyone should have the chance to live a healthy and productive life. I've spent time helping to provide medical services in rural Honduras, where people walk three or more hours to receive the most basic medical care. The inability of communities to access health care and knowledge speaks to the immense need for health researchers, and the health system as a whole, to engage communities and prioritize the translation of findings into practice.
Personal
Outside the office, I... spend all of my time with my husband, two sons, and dog. We've recently taken up gardening, love to cook, and spend a lot of time exploring North Carolina (including the waters around Topsail Beach – our home away from home).
One thing on my bucket list... is taking my children white water rafting through the Grand Canyon. My mother took me on this trip when I was young, and I cannot wait to share the experience with my boys. It doesn't get better than camping under the stars on the banks of the Colorado River.
I'm currently reading... NOTHING! I have two little kids (9 months and 3 years old) so finding time to even read the back of a cereal box is challenging. I used to binge on the news, so perhaps now is actually a fortunate time to be taking a hiatus.
What would be your Hitchcockian nightmare scenario? Cockroaches, and I actually lived out this scenario in real life. I was in Honduras, and one night I walked into my dark bedroom and felt something strange. I turned on my light and was greeted by (what felt like!) hundreds of baby cockroaches swarming around my legs. Still gives me the chills.
What word did you misspell in a spelling bee? It wasn't during a spelling bee, but I remember once in elementary school I couldn't remember how to spell the word "of". Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest!
What is your favorite song/type of music/band? Despite being born in the 80's, I've always been of an earlier era. Some of my favorites are Billie Holiday, Neil Young, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and the Grateful Dead. With that said, I've always been a huge fan of Wilco, and am beginning to listen to more blue grass these days – especially local bands like Mipso and Mandolin Orange...
