Alison Mcclay Email & Phone Number

Growing up in and later teaching in the same rural community in North Carolina left me wanting more from the sexual and reproductive health education available to adolescents and young adults in my hometown community. The realization that I cared more about supporting my student's overall development and addressing the social determinants of health at play in my 8th grade math classroom led me to pursue my Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health from Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.I want adolescents and young adults—especially those who face systemic barriers—to be equipped with supports and resources they ask for and to be empowered by the adults who work with them to pursue their dreams, goals, and passions. My previous work experience as a classroom educator, out-of-school time practitioner, and volunteer community health educator have only added to my passions for applied, multidisciplinary research that supports and promotes optimal adolescent health and positive youth development. While I have rigorous training in quantitative and evaluation methods, my work at Child Trends increasingly focuses on the effective use of mixed methods data to understand program impacts. I'm committed to helping practitioners learn about and use up-to-date research findings and identify ways to incorporate and better use data in their continuous quality improvement efforts; and I love being able to connect with staff who routinely partner, serve, and work with youth through technical assistance projects.

Listed skills include Public Speaking, Event Planning, Community Development, Community Outreach, and 43 others.