Meet Our Team

Ijeoma Opara

Our Director

Ijeoma Opara, PhD, MSW, MPH., studies strengths-based approaches to sexual health and youth substance use prevention for youth of color, strengths-based strategies for Black girls, and community-based participatory research.

Core Team

Dr. Sitara Weerakoon

Associate Director of Research

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Beatriz “Betty” Duran-Becerra, MPH

Project Director

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Kimberly Pierre, MPH, CHES

Associate Director of Community Outreach

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Dr. Sandy Cayo

Associate Director of Clinical Initiatives

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Cristina Pagen, LCSW

Associate Director Of Community Mental Health Initiatives

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Kennedy Anderson

Lab Administrative Assistant

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Emmanuella Asabor, MPhil

Research Assistant, MD/PhD Student, Yale University

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Dr. Jaleah Rutledge

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

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Catherine Mwai, MPH

Post Graduate Associate

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Nimisha Srikanth

Graduate Research Assistant

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Shreya Jadhav

Graduate Research Assistant

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Olivia Francis

Graduate Research Assistant

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Funcia Jean-Louis

Social Media Specialist

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Alyssa Makena

Undergraduate Research Assistant

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Hailey Valles

Graduate Research Assistant

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Jasmin Brooks Stephens, MA

Graduate Research Assistant
Mental Health Consultant

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Raquel Rose

Incoming Post-Doctoral Research Fellow

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Monique Joseph

Parent Liaison

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Dr. Chioma Ogechi Egekeze

Research Consultant

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