PHD Student, Management, Policy, and Community Health
FOCUS
Public health programs, policies, and research have been historically proscriptive, excluding marginalized communities and often denying them the agency to define their health needs and solutions. Alane’s research interests center on addressing health disparities in underserved communities in a way that promotes equity, inclusion, and cultural humility. Her research focuses on elucidating the characteristics and experiences of vulnerable populations, specifically the health and wellness needs of individuals with experiences of homelessness, substance use, incarceration, those engaged in sex work, and sexual/gender minorities. Alane’s goals are to address such issues by way of community-driven, collaborative research that looks to develop new community programs, strengthen existing programs, and make adequate policy recommendations. Alane envisions her research integrating health and social services in order to remove stigma and better serve disenfranchised populations.
MORE ABOUT ALANE
Having been born and raised in New York City, with nine years of her childhood spent in the Dominican Republic, Alane brings a multicultural and multidimensional perspective of community health based on both personal and secondhand experience. She knows firsthand the detrimental effects of systemic exclusion and marginalization, limited public health programming, and poverty. She comes with more than 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, including experience in program management, advocacy, and community organizing. Her research looks to move away from top-down research models, and shift the power dynamic between academics and the communities they work with to promote trust and collaboration.