Center Director
Associate Professor
Fellow, Chiles Center for Women, Children and Families

Research Areas: MCH Oral Health, Family Planning, Health Literacy, Implementation Science

Center Associate Director
Research Assistant Professor
Director, Harrell Center for The Study of Family Violence
Fellow, Chiles Center for Women, Children and Families

Research Areas: Family Violence, Mixed Methods Research Designs, Structural Equation Modeling

My short career has moved from sterile areas of research to the more human and social topics of this field, where I have found a lifelong passion in contributing to the wellbeing of children and youths. I majored in Microbiology during my undergraduate studies, and I spent a few years as a laboratory scientist. I came back to University of South Florida to pursue an MPH in Global Communicable Disease, but I soon fell in love with the perspectives, tools, and stories of Epidemiology, and I eventually completed a dual concentration MPH. After graduating, I worked as a researcher in the county-level K-12 public education system. Crossing over into this field led to a daily appreciation of the overlap in interests between public health and public education, yet these fields remain woefully insulated from each other. Now that I am back at USF pursuing a PhD in Epidemiology, my dissertation research is dedicated to describing and improving the circumstances of students with disabilities: answering public health questions with public education data! I have a deep appreciation for the field of Public Health as an intersection between the most interesting and noble pursuits of our times, and I look forward to the time I get to spend with the wonderful faculty, staff, and students of the Center of Excellence in MCH.

MHA Student

Alexis Rice is a graduate student at the University of South Florida, pursuing a master's degree in healthcare administration. She is actively involved in various leadership and community positions, including serving as the administrative specialist of the student organization Black-ish, a core team member of the Reproductive and Wellbeing Collaborative, and a student member of ACHE. Witha strong passion for maternal and child health, her purpose within the field is to leverage the tools provided by healthcare administration to make significant advancements in the MCH population, addressing black maternal mortality and morbidity, health equity, and health access, as well as tackling black infant mortality and morbidity. Their MHA interests encompass policy, HR, project/program management, and the intersection of maternal and child health. Her future career goals involve advancing the health of women and children using policy and founding an MCH specialty hospital chain. Post-graduation, I will be accepted into an administrative fellowship where I can continue to prioritize Maternal and Child Health.

MPH/MA Student, Medical Anthropology

My name is Anna and I am a graduate student seeking dual graduate degrees in applied medical anthropology and public health at USF. I am currently finishing up my second year and getting ready to begin my third and final year of the programs. I am so excited to be a part of the MCHSummer Scholars program- I believe that the things I learn here will be integral to my work as an anthropologist and public health practitioner. Over the past two years, I have had the unique privilege of being situated between two disciplines. While my undergraduate degree was just in anthropology, I knew that I wanted to dive into public health during my time as a graduate student. The combination of knowledge and experiences I have gained from pursuing concurrent degrees has been invaluable, and I cannot wait to apply what I have learned into my future career. My research interests include abortion access, reproductive justice, comprehensive sexual education, and harm reduction. My thesis will examine anti-abortion centers situated in Tampa Bay. I also currently work as a Hepatitis C testing and treatment specialist at the IDEA Exchange.

MSW/MPH Student, Behavioral Health

Jacqueline Houston is a second-year MSW/MPH (Behavioral Health) concurrent degree student and a recent USF Institute for Translational Research Education in Adolescent Behavioral Health graduate, where she contributed to the implementation of ayouth violence prevention program in rural Florida. She also serves as Legislative Head of USF Social Work Society and is a 2024 Vot-ER Civic Health Fellow. Her professional experience focuses on addressing systemic causes and the psychosocial impact of coercive control. This interest has led Jacqueline to pursue policy advocacy as it relates to child and adult survivors of domestic violence in Florida's child welfare system and maternal and child mental health broadly. Following her advocacy training at UN Headquarters in Geneva, she is completing her clinical practicum at Tampa's domestic violence center. Upon graduation, Jacqueline will work as a clinician providing infant mental health and perinatal mental health therapy in pursuit of becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).

DrPH Student, Advanced Practice Leadership in Public Health

I am deeply committed to advancing supportive policies for pregnancy, including ensuring quality postpartum and lactation care, as well as forward-thinking Medicaid and insurance policy support. MyMCH career began with the Healthy Start program in Florida. I have had the privilege of working in various settings, from rural programs to a large birthing hospital in Miami, while earning my credentials as a lactation consultant (IBCLC) and my master’s degree in public health from Florida International University in Miami with a focus on MCH pandemic preparedness policy. In the Florida Keys I expanded into emergency and public health preparedness, leading the Medical Reserve Corps for ten years. One of my proudest achievements with the MRC was integrating MCH preparedness into our local planning considerations. I am a member of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, Florida Lactation Consultant Association, International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation, and the Florida Public Health Association. I hold a research faculty position at Florida State University, where I will leverage my doctoral training to advance our efforts in lactation and Title V training and curriculum development and working with our Florida colleges of medicine to enhance medical student education in lactation practice.

PhD Candidate, Community and Family Health

I am a doctoral candidate at the University of South Florida, College of Public Health, and a former Birth Equity Research Scholar at the National Birth Equity Collaborative. My research interests are three-fold: (1) Exploring how everyday clinic policies and guidelines create the conditions for disrespectful encounters with prenatal care providers; (2) Making visible how mistreatment shapes Black women’s experiences of agency, oppression, and power within these spaces; and (3) Positioning Black women, through their collective wisdom and unique standpoint, as both the architects and beneficiaries of clinic policy changes and transformation. In all, I hope to further the project of Black women’s liberation by implicating the often invisible role of the institution in their oppression and translating their knowledge into policies rooted in reproductive justice. It is my hope that this policy fellowship will support my long-term career and personal goals of translating the wisdom and stories of Black women into insights reproductive justice activists can use to inform their programmatic work, policy stances, and community power building.

MPH Student, Maternal and Child Health & Epidemiology

I am a second year MPH student doing a concentration in Maternal and Child Health and a graduate certificate in epidemiology. My research interest includes sexual and reproductive health, chronic conditions, and adverse childhood experiences. In the past, I have held different leadership positions and worked with different research projects related to HPV, the maternal and child health student organization, and the black maternal health week of Tampa Bay. In the future, I hope to work as OB/GYN to improve access to care and decrease health disparities for minority populations such as Black and Hispanic women. I also aim to use my platform to be a leader and activist for meaningful reproductive health policy and practice changes.