Where I've been ... and where we're going
Every so often in life, you get an opportunity you just can’t pass up.
That’s what (luckily) happened to me at the end of 2019.
As I was adjusting to living and running my business in Ohio, I happened upon a half-time research job in Ohio State’s College of Social Work.
I’ve always been social work adjacent, so I was really excited for the possibility of doing university-based research around family well-being.
When my future boss and I clicked during the interview, it just felt right.
And when, a few years later, I was given the opportunity to expand that work remotely through the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and increase my hours, that felt right too.
I’ve learned a ton along the way. I’ve been fortunate enough to:
• Lead the evaluation of a four-year federal grant that prepared clinical graduate students to provide culturally responsive mental health care for marginalized youth;
• Develop, manage, and collaboratively evaluate a support program for kinship caregivers (i.e., grandparents raising their grandchildren) of children with disabilities;
• Coordinate – and contribute to – a five-volume compendium of chapters about child welfare; and
• Conduct qualitative (i.e., focus groups and interviews – see here and here) and quantitative (i.e., co-creating an original survey – see here) research related to kinship care.
I’ve been able to hone my analysis, grant writing, and program management skills; expand my network; and help families along the way.
I’m still doing much of that work.
And all along, I’ve still worked with ongoing clients through Engage with Data, like Perfectly Me’s amazing set of camps and school-based programming for kids in Baltimore.
But I’m excited to share what I’ve been learning in academia and apply it to my consulting work.
All of these projects have built my own capacity and skillset – now I can help do the same for you.
Here are the services I offer through Engage with Data:
