Mariah Laird, MPH, CHES, Associate, knows firsthand the impact systemic inadequacies can have on the resources and opportunities a family and community can access to attain healthy outcomes. She also knows that authentic, respectful, and transformative engagement with communities is the key to identifying strengths and needs and developing strategies for sustainable change. Mariah draws on her life experiences and public health training to draw out the perspectives and voices of communities that are often overlooked, dismissed, and ignored. She is dedicated to equity, community-informed research, and culturally responsive evaluation.
Before joining Community Science, Mariah analyzed data, engaged stakeholders, and facilitated collaborations to inform and support Medicaid reform; conducted evaluation and research studies on topics such as parental help seeking behaviors, public health approach to people experiencing homelessness, health equity practices for violence prevention practitioners, youth concussion prevention, vector-borne disease prevention, support for cancer patients, and teen violence prevention; conducted research to test public health messages and materials about COVID 19 and other public health topics; and provided technical assistance and training to service providers involved in tobacco and alcohol use prevention. She was attentive to the experiences of people from disadvantaged backgrounds and their access to healthcare in all these experiences, applying root cause analysis and culturally responsive methods.
At Community Science, Mariah continues to practice research and evaluation in service of equity and tackling projects that address the different social determinants of health, including early childhood education and economic security.
Mariah received her Masters in Public Health, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education from the Emory University. She also has a bachelor’s degree in organizational studies from the University of Michigan. She is a certified health education specialist. In her personal time, she enjoys dancing, baking, going to the gym, and spending time with her Cavapoo named Brownie.