Maranda C. Ward, Ed.D, Mph Email and Phone Number

Dr. Maranda C. Ward is an Assistant Professor and Director of Equity in the Department of Clinical Research and Leadership in the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. In this role, she designs, evaluates, and teaches health equity curriculum for undergraduate students that integrates her #EquityMatters podcast. Her teaching excellence was recognized with the highest teaching honor at GW- the 2021 Morton A. Bender Teaching award.Dr. Ward is an expert in advancing anti-racism efforts within health sciences education and in designing curricula to enable students and faculty to competently promote health and racial equity in practice. Her research focuses on JEDI and antiracism educational interventions as well as stakeholder-engaged community-focused studies on HIV, Black women's health, and youth identity. As a member of the DC Center for AIDS Research (DC CFAR), she is the principal investigator on "Two in One: HIV and COVID Screening & Testing Model" that allows her to lead national research-based educational intervention for primary care practitioners to routinize screening and testing HIV, PrEP, and the COVID vaccine. This research will lead to a set of policy recommendations for overall practice-based changes and culturally responsive messaging for LGBTQI and BIPOC patients. She is also skilled in the application of participatory action research methods.When she is not teaching or serving on-campus, she is engaged in DC in a range of capacities. For instance, she is on the board of trustees for the Washington School for Girls and serves on the Sibley Memorial Hospital & Johns Hopkins Medicine advisory board for wellness projects in wards 7 and 8. The DC Mayor, Muriel Bowser, appointed her to fill an advisory board seat on the Mayor's Commission on Health Equity. The National Minority Quality Forum recognized her as one of the 2019 "40 Under 40" Leaders in Minority Health and the Leadership Center also added her as a 2019 “40 Under 40” honoree among young leaders in the metropolitan DC area as well as their DMV Diversity and Inclusion Fellow. She also received the 2021 Stigma Warrior Award during the 12th Annual International Conference on Stigma for going above and beyond in her field to fight discrimination among historically marginalized populations.Maranda earned her Doctorate in Education from GW, her Master's in Public Health from Tulane University, and her Bachelor's degrees in Sociology and Anthropology from Spelman College. She enjoys learning from youth, traveling, and brunch.For more information, visit www.marandaward.com