Experience

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  Adler weiner research

  Jan 2001 - Dec 2002

  Qualitative assistant
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  Schindler communications, inc.

  Jan 2003 - Dec 2003

  Account coordinator

  Wrote targeted press materialsCoordinated event logistics

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  Windy city fieldhouse

  Jan 2004 - Jul 2004

  Assistant marketing manager

  Created marketing materials for dissemination to community partnersManaged front desk operations

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  Kroll's south loop

  Dec 2005 - Apr 2011

  Cocktail server
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  City colleges of chicago

  Aug 2007 - May 2008

  Chemistry teaching assistant and tutor

  Oversaw two 30-student chemistry labs per semester and facilitated tutoring sessions

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  Uic college of applied health sciences

  Mar 2009 - May 2011

  Peer tutor for macronutrient metabolism courses in a program emphasizing clinical nutrition therapy. Conducted 24-hour dietary recalls on a study evaluating the impact of food package changes in The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

  • Nutrition Science Tutor

    Aug 2009 - May 2011

  • Research Assistant

    Mar 2009 - Aug 2009
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  Institute for health research and policy at the university of illinois at chicago

  May 2010 - May 2015

  Research assistant

  Research assistant under Bridging the Gap, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program that seeks to understand how policies and environmental factors affect diet, physical activity, and obesity among youth.Co-authored a chapter in Prevention, Policy, and Public Health providing a critical analysis of current U.S. nutrition and obesity policy from a systems perspective.Planned and managed Internet, telephone, and field-based data collection on policy surveillance initiatives including a 4-year, federally funded study examining the association between local sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes, body mass index, and SSB purchase patterns. Show less

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  Office of the chief judge, illinois circuit court of cook county

  Jul 2015 - Aug 2016

  Project coordinator/qualitative analyst

  Project manager, on-site technical assistance provider, and qualitative analyst for a MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge award, an initiative that seeks to reduce incarceration rates and racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system. I was the primary liaison between the offices of the Chief Judge, Cook County President, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Cook County Sheriff, States Attorney, Public Defender, and community stakeholders.

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  Northwestern university, feinberg school of medicine

  Aug 2016 - Sept 2017

  Research project manager

  Qualitative research project manager for the Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center (SOQIC), a health services, outcomes, patient safety, and quality improvement research group. I managed the qualitative implementation evaluation of a 56-hospital surgical quality improvement collaborative in Illinois. We explored the implementation of quality improvement initiatives using a combination of site visits, interviews, focus groups, and observations.

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  Institute for health research and policy, university of illinois at chicago

  Sept 2017 - Apr 2019

  Visiting research specialist

  Qualitatively evaluated public health policies, including the implementation of a sweetened beverage tax in Cook County, IL, and Complete Streets initiatives that included public health entities in the development and implementation processes.

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  Institute for policy and civic engagement, university of illinois at chicago

  Mar 2018 - Apr 2018

  Facilitator

  Facilitated community roundtable discussions as part of the Illinois Attorney General’s pursuit of policing reform in Chicago via consent decree. We sought community input in neighborhoods most disproportionately impacted by police with a focus on three areas: impartial policing, use of force, and community policing.

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  Justice system partners

  Oct 2018 - Nov 2023

  Associate

  Project manager and co-led the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA) planning and implementation in Cook County, IL, from July 2021 to November 2023. The PFA is statewide legislation focused on transforming the criminal legal system; it abolishes cash bail and focuses on improving equity.Program manager for the MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge. Oversaw ten workstreams, including eight jurisdictions/sites and two virtual learning networks, in addition to managing relationships and coordinating communications between JSP, the Foundation, and other partner agencies. Show less

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  Discovery partners institute

  Nov 2023 - now

  Human being, cannabis research institute

  Oversee the programmatic development of the Cannabis Research Institute, a $7 million investment, serving as the primary liaison with the sponsors, IDHS and CROO.Develop community engagement strategies for the Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System (IWSS), an IDPH initiative started in 2021 to monitor COVID-19 and later expanded to include other pathogens. IWSS provides actionable public health data to local health departments.