Community Engagement

As an anchor institution in West Baltimore, UMB is committed to serving the community. Our experts in this area provide services and research and help develop important policies related to community and public health, pediatric health and development, patient-centered research, and a broad range of community-based social work outreach.

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Laura Allen, MA, MS, RN

Community and Public Health Nursing

Laura Allen oversees the Community and Public Health Environmental Initiative (CPHEI), a collaborative effort with the Maryland Family Network that provides health and environmental oversight for children from birth through age 5 and their families who are served by Baltimore City Early Head Start (EHS) and Head Start (HS) centers. Each semester, more than 25 students from the School of Nursing’s (SON) Bachelor of Science in Nursing, RN-to-BSN, entry Master of Science in Nursing, and Community/Public Health Nursing master’s specialty programs participate in CPHEI under her guidance. Allen also leads CPHEI’s growth, including overseeing the facilitation of health screenings and well-child exams for children in EHS and HS centers by SON advanced practice nursing students and clinical faculty. She is a governor-appointed board member of Maryland's Children's Environmental Health and Protection Advisory Council.

Sarah Dababnah, PhD, MPH, MSW

Autism

Developmental Disabilities

Parenting

Sarah Dababnah, PhD, MPH, MSW is an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Social Work (United States), a Faculty Affiliate at Yonsei University School of Social Welfare (South Korea), and a recent US Fulbright Scholar at the American University in Cairo (Egypt). She specializes in practice, policy and research related to the health and well-being of families of individuals with intellectual and developmental differences. Dr. Dababnah’s research focuses on family-centered, community-engaged and culturally relevant strategies to address racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in autism services. Dr. Dababnah received specialized training in early childhood and disability practice, research, and policy at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (Chapel Hill, NC), the Kennedy Krieger Institute (Baltimore, MD), the Columbia University National Center for Children in Poverty (New York, NY), and the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health (Washington, DC). She earned advanced degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Johns Hopkins University.

Crystal DeVance-Wilson, PhD, MBA, PHCNS-BC

Nursing Workforce

Community/Public Health

Black Men's Health

Dr. DeVance-Wilson is a board-certified public health clinical nurse specialist with 30 years of experience working in acute and community settings with diverse populations. She is an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, where she teaches in the graduate and undergraduate programs. Dr. DeVance-Wilson is the vice chair of the University of Maryland School of Nursing at the Universities at Shady Grove and also serves as the director of the Maryland Nursing Workforce Center, through which she and her team work to address issues affecting Maryland nurses, nursing students, schools of nursing, and health care organizations. Dr. DeVance-Wilson has also held leadership positions in several community organizations and is currently the immediate past chair of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Commission on Health.

Lori A. Edwards, DrPH, BSN, RN, CNS-PCH, BC, FAAN

Public Health and Public Health Nursing

Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity

Community Engagment and Community-Based Participatory Research

Dr. Edwards is the associate dean for the Master of Science in Nursing program at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. She is also an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Health. She is a leader of University-wide community engagement initiatives and has extensive experience working in local and global communities. Her research has focused on community-based participatory and engagement efforts focused on occupational health with immigrant workers. She teaches courses on health equity and social determinants of health, program planning, and leadership. She has served as the president of national organizations and boards of community agencies. Dr. Edwards earned her BSN from University of Maryland School of Nursing and her MPH and DrPH degrees from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is board certified as a clinical specialist in public health nursing.

Jodi J. Frey, PhD, LCSW-C, CEAP

workplace

behavioral health

suicide prevention

Dr. Jodi J. Frey, PhD, LCSW-C, CEAP is a full Professor with tenure at University of Maryland, School of Social Work. She serves as Associate Dean for Research and chairs the Social Work in the Workplace & Employee Assistance Sub-specialization. She is the Founder and Faculty Executive Director of the Behavioral Health and Well-Being Lab (BHWell Lab). For 10 years (until 2022), she chaired the Financial Social Work Initiative. Dr. Frey’s research focuses on adult and emerging adult behavioral health and well-being with an emphasis on suicide prevention, mental health, substance use and the workplace. She has published over 100 articles, books and book chapters, in addition to presenting research at international conferences and receiving numerous awards for her research and teaching. Dr. Frey co-chairs the Workplace Suicide Prevention and Postvention Committee where she is working to disseminate the National Guidelines for Workplace Suicide Prevention.

C. Daniel Mullins, PhD

Pharmacoeconomics

Comparative Effectiveness Research

Health Disparities

Dr. Mullins’ research and teaching focus on community-engaged, patient-centered comparative effectiveness research to advance health equity. He has received funding as principal investigator from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Food and Drug Administration (through its CERSI initiative), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), various pharmaceutical manufacturers, patient advocacy organizations, and the insurance industry. In addition to his faculty appointment, Dr. Mullins is executive director of The PATIENTS Program at the School of Pharmacy and director of the Community & Collaboration Core for the UMB Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, as well as editor-in-chief for the journal Value in Health.

Julia Scott

Diversity

Equity

Anti-Racist Frameworks

Julia Scott develops diversity and inclusion-focused education, programs, and events for the School of Social Work’s faculty, staff, and students and the local community. She also works with Baltimore Racial Justice Action (BRJA), which collaborates with individuals and organizations to fight racism and other forms of institutional oppression. With BRJA, she serves as an Advisory Board member, primary trainer, and “13th of the Month” event co-coordinator. Her interest revolves around using anti-racist and anti-oppression frameworks to approach community building and leadership programming. Scott earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature from Morgan State University.

Wendy Shaia, MSW, EdD

Positive School Climate

Community Outreach

Wendy Shaia, Clinical Associate Professor and Executive Director of the Center for Restorative Change, is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Social Work. Wendy obtained her Doctor of Education in Human and Organizational Learning from The George Washington University. She has more than 20 years of experience developing, implementing, and leading organizations and programs. In New York, she developed and operated a shelter for homeless pregnant and parenting young women in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and built transitional and affordable housing in East New York, Brooklyn. She provided technical assistance to community organizations for the Enterprise Foundation, and conducted the summative evaluation of the Red Cross’ long-term recovery effort after hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Most recently, Wendy worked as a strategic planner for the Department of Defense, where she led change management efforts, and developed strategies around Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity. Wendy is also the co-founder of the Positive Schools Center at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. Her work focuses on creating positive school climate and reducing the disproportionate suspensions and expulsions of children of color and children with disabilities from Maryland schools, particularly where children, families and school staff have experienced, complex, secondary and vicarious trauma. Wendy has been trained in restorative practices by the International Institute for Restorative Practices and in mindfulness by the Center for Mindful Awareness. She is passionate about issues related to poverty, social justice and oppression. Wendy is on the Board of Directors of the Community Law Center.