My Work
My Work
Embedded Files
The following highlights projects, initiatives, and contributions from over a decade of public health practice in Greater Springfield. This work has been done in partnership with residents, community-based organizations, nonprofit partners, municipal departments, technical assistance providers, and regional partners; always with the goal of creating conditions where people can thrive.
Food Access & Food Systems
Springfield FRESH
Food Access & Food Systems
Springfield FRESH
I led the Springfield Food Retail Environment Survey for Health (FRESH) initiative, conducting an in-depth assessment of healthy food access across 71 stores in four zip codes. Working with interns and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, this project quantified the ways in which corner stores and small food retailers are (or are not) serving as viable sources of healthy food in low-income neighborhoods.
The project generated a comprehensive report with policy recommendations, an interactive mapping tool, and sparked meaningful conversations about what 'food access' really means in communities facing food insecurity. FRESH remains a resource for advocates, planners, and partners working to improve food environments in Springfield.
Healthy Retail
Beyond Springfield FRESH, I've championed healthy retail work by:
I led the Springfield Food Retail Environment Survey for Health (FRESH) initiative, conducting an in-depth assessment of healthy food access across 71 stores in four zip codes. Working with interns and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, this project quantified the ways in which corner stores and small food retailers are (or are not) serving as viable sources of healthy food in low-income neighborhoods.
The project generated a comprehensive report with policy recommendations, an interactive mapping tool, and sparked meaningful conversations about what 'food access' really means in communities facing food insecurity. FRESH remains a resource for advocates, planners, and partners working to improve food environments in Springfield.
Healthy Retail
Beyond Springfield FRESH, I've championed healthy retail work by:
Conducting site visits at food retailers and small/medium/large grocers across the city.
Supporting store owners and managers in stocking healthier products, and connecting them with programs that can help with refrigeration, lighting, and small business technical assistance.
A comprehensive approach to healthy retail considers physical space and curb appeal, community perception, workforce development, SNAP and WIC compliance, public safety, accessibility, and product mix. This systems-level thinking helps move beyond individual behavior change toward creating environments where healthy choices are easier for everyone.
Hunger Relief Policy Advocacy
I've consistently advocated at the local level for hunger relief policies and programs including SNAP, WIC, and the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP). These programs directly increase the buying power of low-income residents. Hunger relief work includes supporting local food pantries in adopting client choice models that respect dignity and cultural preferences, and working to strengthen our emergency food system.
Springfield has the highest SNAP participation rate in Massachusetts, making this advocacy critical to the wellbeing of nearly half the city's population.
Learning from the Grandparents
In partnership with The Springfield Food Policy Council and New North Citizens Council, I co-facilitated intergenerational storytelling events at two senior centers in different neighborhoods of Springfield. At the Raymond Jordan Senior Center and North End Senior Center, elders shared memories of cooking, gardening, farming, and food traditions with visual scribes from Dpict capturing their stories in real time.
A comprehensive approach to healthy retail considers physical space and curb appeal, community perception, workforce development, SNAP and WIC compliance, public safety, accessibility, and product mix. This systems-level thinking helps move beyond individual behavior change toward creating environments where healthy choices are easier for everyone.
Hunger Relief Policy Advocacy
I've consistently advocated at the local level for hunger relief policies and programs including SNAP, WIC, and the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP). These programs directly increase the buying power of low-income residents. Hunger relief work includes supporting local food pantries in adopting client choice models that respect dignity and cultural preferences, and working to strengthen our emergency food system.
Springfield has the highest SNAP participation rate in Massachusetts, making this advocacy critical to the wellbeing of nearly half the city's population.
Learning from the Grandparents
In partnership with The Springfield Food Policy Council and New North Citizens Council, I co-facilitated intergenerational storytelling events at two senior centers in different neighborhoods of Springfield. At the Raymond Jordan Senior Center and North End Senior Center, elders shared memories of cooking, gardening, farming, and food traditions with visual scribes from Dpict capturing their stories in real time.
The North End event was conducted entirely in Spanish, honoring the cultural and linguistic heritage of our Latino seniors. A hot Puerto Rican lunch from El Sazón Criollo set the tone for dignity, celebration, and connection. These events strengthen community bonds and center the wisdom of those who have lived these food histories.
Built Environment & Active Living
Walk Audits
Built Environment & Active Living
Walk Audits
I planned and led walk audits across Springfield to assess pedestrian safety, walkability, and neighborhood infrastructure quality. In partnership with Walk Boston and Walkbike Springfield, we engaged residents to record observations and recommendations using '8 to 80' design principles.
On Worthington Street, we examined crosswalk visibility and traffic concerns. At Amore Road and Blunt Park, a community-driven audit emerged from residents in the Bay Area Neighborhood Council who raised safety concerns about a pass-through area. Findings from the Blunt Park audit informed a CDBG funding application, developed in partnership with the Parks Department, to improve the space.
Complete Streets & Infrastructure Advocacy
As an active member of Springfield's built environment committee, I advocated for equitable distribution of Complete Streets funding and pushed for urban planning that prioritizes pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure. This work focuses on ensuring that investments in sidewalks, crosswalks, streetlights, curb cuts, and bike lanes reach neighborhoods that have historically been underserved to create safer, more accessible streets for all residents.
Safe Parks & Open Gyms
For several years, I secured mini-grants from Health New England and helped select sites to sustain Safe Parks and Open Gyms programming.
I planned and led walk audits across Springfield to assess pedestrian safety, walkability, and neighborhood infrastructure quality. In partnership with Walk Boston and Walkbike Springfield, we engaged residents to record observations and recommendations using '8 to 80' design principles.
On Worthington Street, we examined crosswalk visibility and traffic concerns. At Amore Road and Blunt Park, a community-driven audit emerged from residents in the Bay Area Neighborhood Council who raised safety concerns about a pass-through area. Findings from the Blunt Park audit informed a CDBG funding application, developed in partnership with the Parks Department, to improve the space.
Complete Streets & Infrastructure Advocacy
As an active member of Springfield's built environment committee, I advocated for equitable distribution of Complete Streets funding and pushed for urban planning that prioritizes pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure. This work focuses on ensuring that investments in sidewalks, crosswalks, streetlights, curb cuts, and bike lanes reach neighborhoods that have historically been underserved to create safer, more accessible streets for all residents.
Safe Parks & Open Gyms
For several years, I secured mini-grants from Health New England and helped select sites to sustain Safe Parks and Open Gyms programming.
Safe Parks engaged youth in summer activities at parks throughout Springfield including park cleanups, park audits, design charrettes, and end-of-summer presentations in partnership with the Parks Department, YMCA, and MOCHA.
Open Gyms keeps school gymnasiums open for recreational activities during winter months (December through April) when outdoor options are limited. The program proved so successful that the city committed $10,000 from the general fund to continue it; transitioning the program from grant dependent to institutionally supported.
Community Engagement
Resident Health Advocates
Community Engagement
Resident Health Advocates
I've facilitated two cohorts of the Resident Health Advocate (RHA) program, an initiative that empowers Springfield residents to provide meaningful input on local health priorities. Through monthly meetings, capacity-building workshops, and hands-on projects, RHAs develop skills in advocacy, data literacy, and civic engagement. The program has partnered with technical assistance providers like MAPC for Data 102 training and HRIA for specialized sessions. RHAs have contributed to walk audits, grant applications, and ongoing conversations about what healthy neighborhoods should look like.
Neighborhood Council and Public Engagement
I regularly attend Bay Area Neighborhood Council meetings, C3 community policing meetings in the North End and Forest Park neighborhoods, and New North Citizens Council events such as coffee talks, national night out, and network nights. These connections have led to resident-driven projects like the Blunt Park walk audit and helped expand Mass in Motion's visibility and reach.
I've facilitated two cohorts of the Resident Health Advocate (RHA) program, an initiative that empowers Springfield residents to provide meaningful input on local health priorities. Through monthly meetings, capacity-building workshops, and hands-on projects, RHAs develop skills in advocacy, data literacy, and civic engagement. The program has partnered with technical assistance providers like MAPC for Data 102 training and HRIA for specialized sessions. RHAs have contributed to walk audits, grant applications, and ongoing conversations about what healthy neighborhoods should look like.
Neighborhood Council and Public Engagement
I regularly attend Bay Area Neighborhood Council meetings, C3 community policing meetings in the North End and Forest Park neighborhoods, and New North Citizens Council events such as coffee talks, national night out, and network nights. These connections have led to resident-driven projects like the Blunt Park walk audit and helped expand Mass in Motion's visibility and reach.
Education and public speaking
University Guest Lecturing
Education and public speaking
University Guest Lecturing
I've been invited to guest lecture at universities and colleges throughout the region on a range of topics including:
Public health 101: foundational public health concepts
Food systems and food access work
Social determinants of health
Policy systems and environmental (PSE) change
Built environment and infrastructure advocacy
LGBTQ+ health, advocacy, and prevention work
These talks use frameworks like the socio-ecological model, 8 to 80 design thinking, root cause analysis, and the groundwater effect to help students understand how structural and systemic factors shape health outcomes. Interactive exercises, like the Tree Exercise for exploring social determinants, help make abstract concepts concrete and actionable.
Youth Engagement at Springfield Honors Academy (SHA)
In 2025, I launched a pilot youth engagement program at Springfield Honors Academy, introducing sophomore students (age 15) to public health concepts over a six-week curriculum. I developed the full curriculum in collaboration with SDHHS and SHA leadership, adapting Resident Health Advocate materials to be more engaging for a younger audience. Technical assistance providers including HRIA led specialized sessions. This pilot opens possibilities for ongoing intergenerational collaboration between youth and adult community health advocates.
Intern & Student Supervision
Over many years, I've supervised and mentored interns at both the graduate and undergraduate level, providing hands-on learning experiences in community health practice. This includes guiding students through projects like the Springfield FRESH assessment, supporting their professional development, and helping them connect academic learning to real-world public health challenges.
These talks use frameworks like the socio-ecological model, 8 to 80 design thinking, root cause analysis, and the groundwater effect to help students understand how structural and systemic factors shape health outcomes. Interactive exercises, like the Tree Exercise for exploring social determinants, help make abstract concepts concrete and actionable.
Youth Engagement at Springfield Honors Academy (SHA)
In 2025, I launched a pilot youth engagement program at Springfield Honors Academy, introducing sophomore students (age 15) to public health concepts over a six-week curriculum. I developed the full curriculum in collaboration with SDHHS and SHA leadership, adapting Resident Health Advocate materials to be more engaging for a younger audience. Technical assistance providers including HRIA led specialized sessions. This pilot opens possibilities for ongoing intergenerational collaboration between youth and adult community health advocates.
Intern & Student Supervision
Over many years, I've supervised and mentored interns at both the graduate and undergraduate level, providing hands-on learning experiences in community health practice. This includes guiding students through projects like the Springfield FRESH assessment, supporting their professional development, and helping them connect academic learning to real-world public health challenges.
Crisis response
COVID-19 Emergency Food Distribution
Crisis response
COVID-19 Emergency Food Distribution
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I coordinated emergency food delivery in collaboration with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). When contact tracing nurses identified patients in isolation or quarantine who needed food assistance, I signed families up for delivery and maintained a database of client information. I coordinated logistics with the Hampden County Sheriff's Office and Probation Department to ensure safe, timely deliveries that followed social distancing protocols. Household sizes ranged up to 16 people in multigenerational homes, underscoring the scale of need and the importance of responsive local coordination.
Vaccination Celebration & COVID Remembrance
I served as lead planner on two significant COVID-19 public events. The Vaccination Celebration was a community-centered event designed to encourage vaccination uptake by creating a welcoming, joyful atmosphere complete with free food trucks, ice cream trucks, vendors, live music, a DJ, and public health nurses administering vaccines. Later, I planned the COVID-19 Remembrance Ceremony on the steps of Springfield City Hall, honoring those lost to the pandemic.
These both involved securing city approvals and permits, coordinating speakers and the agenda, managing budget and cost concerns, securing vendors, working with our graphic design team on outreach materials, and managing day-of logistics to ensure a successful event.
SNAP Crisis Response
When significant SNAP benefit delays threatened food security for Springfield residents in November 2025, I responded with urgency. I developed clear, accessible one-pagers explaining what was happening with benefits and where residents could find emergency food including the Food Bank of Western Mass food finder, 413Cares, the HIP vendor map, and Project Bread's hotline. These resources were posted on the City of Springfield website and the internal employee intranet. I also created action step recommendations for SDHHS leadership outlining short, medium, and long-term strategies, and began building a municipal coalition and task force around SNAP and food security vulnerabilities.
Long-Term SNAP Policy Response
Beyond immediate crisis response, I've worked to understand and communicate the long-term impacts of federal SNAP policy changes under H.R. 1. This included attending trainings, conducting independent research, and consulting with policy experts like Pat Baker at the Mass Law Reform Institute. I developed detailed explainer materials for professionals; walking through each policy change, its significance, and practical implications; as well as simpler one-pagers for residents focused on action steps and available exemptions. All materials were translated into Spanish through my program associate, ensuring bilingual access for our diverse community.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I coordinated emergency food delivery in collaboration with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). When contact tracing nurses identified patients in isolation or quarantine who needed food assistance, I signed families up for delivery and maintained a database of client information. I coordinated logistics with the Hampden County Sheriff's Office and Probation Department to ensure safe, timely deliveries that followed social distancing protocols. Household sizes ranged up to 16 people in multigenerational homes, underscoring the scale of need and the importance of responsive local coordination.
Vaccination Celebration & COVID Remembrance
I served as lead planner on two significant COVID-19 public events. The Vaccination Celebration was a community-centered event designed to encourage vaccination uptake by creating a welcoming, joyful atmosphere complete with free food trucks, ice cream trucks, vendors, live music, a DJ, and public health nurses administering vaccines. Later, I planned the COVID-19 Remembrance Ceremony on the steps of Springfield City Hall, honoring those lost to the pandemic.
These both involved securing city approvals and permits, coordinating speakers and the agenda, managing budget and cost concerns, securing vendors, working with our graphic design team on outreach materials, and managing day-of logistics to ensure a successful event.
SNAP Crisis Response
When significant SNAP benefit delays threatened food security for Springfield residents in November 2025, I responded with urgency. I developed clear, accessible one-pagers explaining what was happening with benefits and where residents could find emergency food including the Food Bank of Western Mass food finder, 413Cares, the HIP vendor map, and Project Bread's hotline. These resources were posted on the City of Springfield website and the internal employee intranet. I also created action step recommendations for SDHHS leadership outlining short, medium, and long-term strategies, and began building a municipal coalition and task force around SNAP and food security vulnerabilities.
Long-Term SNAP Policy Response
Beyond immediate crisis response, I've worked to understand and communicate the long-term impacts of federal SNAP policy changes under H.R. 1. This included attending trainings, conducting independent research, and consulting with policy experts like Pat Baker at the Mass Law Reform Institute. I developed detailed explainer materials for professionals; walking through each policy change, its significance, and practical implications; as well as simpler one-pagers for residents focused on action steps and available exemptions. All materials were translated into Spanish through my program associate, ensuring bilingual access for our diverse community.
Advocacy & board leadership
CISA Board of Directors
Advocacy & board leadership
CISA Board of Directors
I serve as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA), a regional organization that supports local farms and sustainable food systems in the Pioneer Valley. In this role, I help provide strategic guidance at the intersection of public health, local food access, and environmental sustainability, ensuring that community health perspectives inform decisions about our regional food economy.
Springfield Pride
I'm a founding member of the Springfield Pride Parade Committee, having helped organize the city's first annual Pride event in 2022. Each year, I coordinate SDHHS's presence at Pride, ensuring staff participation in the parade contingent and visibility for public health resources that serve our LGBTQ+ community. Pride in Springfield represents years of advocacy for visibility, celebration, and belonging.
LGBTQ+ Health Advocacy
Beyond formal roles, I've worked to connect LGBTQ+ community members, particularly younger people, with resources for sexual health including PrEP access and HIV prevention. I've advocated for more informed clinical practices around newer prevention options and worked to ensure that LGBTQ+ health perspectives are represented in public health conversations. This advocacy is personal and ongoing.
I serve as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA), a regional organization that supports local farms and sustainable food systems in the Pioneer Valley. In this role, I help provide strategic guidance at the intersection of public health, local food access, and environmental sustainability, ensuring that community health perspectives inform decisions about our regional food economy.
Springfield Pride
I'm a founding member of the Springfield Pride Parade Committee, having helped organize the city's first annual Pride event in 2022. Each year, I coordinate SDHHS's presence at Pride, ensuring staff participation in the parade contingent and visibility for public health resources that serve our LGBTQ+ community. Pride in Springfield represents years of advocacy for visibility, celebration, and belonging.
LGBTQ+ Health Advocacy
Beyond formal roles, I've worked to connect LGBTQ+ community members, particularly younger people, with resources for sexual health including PrEP access and HIV prevention. I've advocated for more informed clinical practices around newer prevention options and worked to ensure that LGBTQ+ health perspectives are represented in public health conversations. This advocacy is personal and ongoing.
This work continues. If you'd like to collaborate, explore partnership opportunities, or connect about public health in greater New England and Western Massachusetts, reach out
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