Natasha D. Williams, a third-year Family Science doctoral student, is one of 60 scholars who was recently accepted to the 2020 cohort for Health Policy Research Scholars, a training and leadership program led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation’s largest philanthropy dedicated to health.
Williams, a licensed marriage and family therapist and LGBTQ mental health researcher, is part of the UMD Prevention Research Center team, which is working to address gaps in the understanding of LGBTQ+ mental health and health care access, particularly for sexual and gender minority people of color.
The Scholars program, which announced its 2020 cohort on Oct. 1, will allow Williams to use her doctoral research to advance health equity through policy change.
“My passion for LGBTQ mental health equity is a marriage of my lived experiences as a queer woman of color and my background as a marriage and family therapist,” she said.
“A hallmark of public health is equity for the most vulnerable among us. It is so important to me that I use my skills to improve the lives of people who look and love like me,” she added.
Jessica Fish, a Family Science assistant professor and Williams’ advisor, said she couldn’t think of a better program to help elevate Williams’ research, which is a critically understudied area, according to Fish.
“Tasha has a strong foundational knowledge in this area, but her opportunity to join the RWJF Health Policy Scholars Program will help provide her with the tools and training needed for her to be a top researcher in this area,” Fish said.
“I feel very fortunate to be her advisor and to join her on this journey with the RWJF.”
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