PRC Faculty & Staff Highlights
Gadea recognized as a “2021 Rising Alumni” from UMN College of Education and Human Development
Abi Gadea, MSW, MPP, HYD-PRC Deputy Director and Co-Developer of the Whole Learners© Program was awarded the 2021 Rising Alumni Award from the UMN College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). Annually, CEHD recognizes graduates from the last 15 years who have achieved early distinction in their career, demonstrated outstanding leadership, and/or shown exceptional volunteer services in their communities.
McMorris & Sieving Co-Author Article on Parent Connectedness and Sexual Health Indicators Among Transgender and Gender-Diverse Adolescents
HYD-PRC faculty Barb McMorris, PhD, and Renee Sieving, PhD, RN, collaborated with post-doctoral fellow Camille Brown, PhD, RN to explore the relationship between parental connectedness and sexual health indicators among transgender and gender-diverse youth (TGD). Their research, featured in Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, provided insights into how parent-youth relationships are linked to the sexual health of TGD and how these relationships, which are considered protective factors, can help equip health care and community service provides with tools to reduce the equity gap among TGD adolescents.
Protections at the Intersections for Queer Teens of Color (PIQTOC)
HYD-PRC Research Associate Amy Gower, PhD, is teaming up with UMN professor Marla Eisenberg, ScD, MPH (Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health), assistant professor, Nic Rider, PhD (Program for Human Sexuality), and researchers from University of Texas at Austin, George Washington University, and the University of Connecticut to conduct a 4-year, mixed-methods observational R01 study using an intersectionality framework to understand risk and protective factors among LGBTQ+ youth with different social positions (i.e., racial and ethnic groups, immigrant experiences, and native language). Findings from this study will be used to guide school and community efforts to promote protective factors and improve health equity for Black, Indigenous, and people of color LGBTQ+ youth. This study is funded by the NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
Shlafer Awarded 5-year NIH Grant to Study Pregnancy and Parenting Programs in Prisons
HYD-PRC faculty Rebecca Shlafer, PhD, was awarded a 5-year, R01 grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to conduct a multi-state study of pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting programs for women in six prisons across the country. Shalfer and team aim to provide valuable, practical, and actionable information to prisons about how to implement pregnancy and postpartum support programs to promote maternal and neonatal health. Shlafer is partnering with colleagues from the UMN, Johns Hopkins University, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and Emory University, along with community partners from the Minnesota Prison Doula Project, Alabama Prison Birth Project, Virginia Prison Birth Project, and Michigan Prison Doula Project.
UMN SAHRC and PRC Welcome New Communications Manager
The State Adolescent Health Resource Center (SAHRC) and the HYD-PRC are excited to welcome a new communications manager, Katie Pierson. Katie comes to this position with a wealth of experience after almost two decades as a strategic communications consultant. Her expertise in mission-driven projects includes work in the nonprofit, private and public sectors, including Hennepin County, NorthPoint Health & Wellness, the Women’s Foundation, and Planned Parenthood. Katie helps organizations and audiences realize shared, dynamic definitions of success, and is known for her ability to engage and align diverse stakeholders to define and advance a shared mission, help cross-functional teams sequence and implement sophisticated campaigns, build inclusive narratives, and share research-based, integrated content across digital and print platforms. Katie is well-versed in the foundations of healthy youth development, and views it “as the thin end of a powerful wedge, one that can crack our most persistent racial and economic disparities.”
Using Relational Coaching to Advance Equity in Medicine
HYD-PRC Deputy Director Abi Gadea was featured in the UMN’s Medical School Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) newsletter. Gadea, who is also the director of the Whole Learners© Program - a teacher professional program focused on implementing new knowledge and skills, improving communication, and enhancing school climate and culture - highlighted that policy changes alone are not enough to forward the progression of DEI, and that using intentional efforts – such as relational coaching and building transformational relationships – can be a catalyst for change.