Maysoun Freij, Ph.D., MPH, Senior Associate, has extensive experience researching and evaluating initiatives aimed at achieving health equity. With roots in health education and advocacy, her expertise spans health coalitions and networks, health care and language access, immigrant and refugee health, social determinants of health, and intersectoral approaches to health and well-being. Her recent work concerned the COVID-19 pandemic and health informatics. Maysoun is especially skilled in qualitative and method methods.

 

Maysoun leads, provides technical oversight, and engages the diverse staff at Community Science to design and implement national and local health-equity focused evaluation and research studies. As part of this work, she engages and facilitates expert panels and advisory committees, develops theories of change and measurement frameworks for strategies and initiatives designed to end health disparities and achieve health equity, monitors the implementation and performance of these initiatives and their outcomes, and advocates for systemic changes that would benefit low-income minoritized communities, particularly immigrants and refugees.

 

Prior to joining Community Science, she led and managed numerous foundation-sponsored health equity initiatives, including those aimed at increasing language access for limited-English proficient patients (United Health Foundation, New York State Health Foundation, New York Community Trust), engaging older adults in civic activities (Atlantic Philanthropies and the New York Community Trust), improving disaster preparedness (New York Donors Collaborative of 16 philanthropies), strengthening the nursing workforce (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence), assuring civil justice (Pew Charitable Trusts and Kresge Foundation), and advancing racial equity (Grand Victoria Foundation and Illinois Field Foundation, among others). She has also worked on federally sponsored health equity projects related to social determinants of health and electronic health records (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation); COVID-19 (Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality or AHRQ); clinical decision supports (AHRQ); and culturally and linguistically appropriate services (Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services Office of Minority Health).

 

Maysoun has published, presented, and conducted workshops, guest lectures and webinars on qualitative research, mixed methods, and public health matters. She has also provided technical assistance and training on evaluation design and implementation.

 

Maysoun holds a Doctoral degree in Cultural Anthropology as well as a Master’s degree in Public Health from Emory University. She lives in the Washington DC metropolitan region and outside of work, Maysoun finds time to enjoy art, yoga and running, as well as the company of her family and friends.

Examples of Publications

Examples of Projects

  • Internal evaluation of the Think Cultural Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (subcontract to BCT Partners).
  • Project management oversight for the systematic review of AmeriCorps’ national and state grants’ use of evidence.
  • Technical and quality reviewer for the learning and evaluation of de Beaumont Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Modernized Anti-racist Data Ecosystems (MADE) initiative.
  • Evaluation design for the Rippel Foundation’s enterprise to foster stewardship and create conditions that everyone needs to thrive together.