Category: Post-baccalaureate Health Equity Ambassadors

Mandy Emery is a Master’s in Bioethics student at Wake Forest University. As a recent graduate of Wake Forest University with a degree in History, her academic education and extracurricular activities have been both multidisciplinary and international. Additionally, her current academic pursuits include how incorporate existing interests with patient advocacy and bioethics as a whole. Her desire for working as an intern in the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity has been based upon learning more about health equity needs for both communities and individuals. In the future, she hopes to bridge her degree in Bioethics with History to continue supporting her affinity for the humanities and people.

As a Salem College graduate, Chastity Sapp currently uses her educational background of cross-disciplinary studies of Teaching, Schools and Society to advocate for and enhance her community. Through mentorship and consistent volunteerism, Ms. Sapp displays a commitment to educating underprivileged women across the state in ways to successfully navigate adolescence. Her humble beginnings in Statesville, NC have rendered her a compassionate and engaged citizen of Winston-Salem as well as a passionate activist for healthy behavior and holistic-living. Chastity plans to share the joy of wholeness by pursuing opportunities that allow her to practice in the field of public health while teaching at the collegiate level.

Marissa Dixon is a graduate from Winston-Salem State University where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. During her undergrad she watched her passion for the science of psychology blossom and decided to pursue her PhD in Clinical Psychology. Marissa now trains under Dr. David Mount and is gaining an insightful knowledge and experience in theories and methodology of research. Since accepted under Dr. Mount’s mentorship her awareness in minority health and health disparities has deepened. She aims to bridge the gap in social determinants of health. Marissa has attributes to attend graduate school to pursue her doctorate degree while educating others on how to be in control of their health in the near future. Some of her common interest is mental health, mind-body relationships, chronic diseases, neuropsychology, and counseling.

Gregoire Sinclair Martin is a graduate of Winston-Salem State University with a degree in Psychology. During his tenure at Winston-Salem State University, he was a member of Psychology club and Psi Chi Honors fraternity. Gregoire’s goal is to achieve his master’s degree in School Counseling. Currently, he is honored to be engaged in research with Dr. David Mount at the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, where he is gaining experiences in health- based research on disparities. He plans to use this knowledge to further his research experience and provide awareness of growing problems that are affecting the Winston-Salem community.

Darin Johnson, an African American male, received both a B.A. Psychology and B.S. in Rehabilitation Studies degrees from Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. While being mentored by Dr. David L. Mount, Darin successfully completed a prestigious Biomedical Research training program that consolidated approximately 5 years of research and professional development training, academic enhancement, and GRE preparation into a 12-month time frame. Mr. Johnson also served an ad hoc advisor function to Dr. Mount’s Health Equity Scholars to Health Equity Ambassadors program in the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity before enrolling in to a Clinical Psychology graduate program in Durham, North Carolina. “Excellent exposure; great training; and great interprofessional, team-based learning experiences!” Johnson said, when asked about his experience in Dr. Mount’s lab. In the meantime, Darin utilizes lessons learned in Dr. Mount’s lab to successfully perform competing tasks as the Acquisition and Growth Manager for LifE KiT Lifestyle Company in Durham, North Carolina. At LifE KiT Lifestyle Company Darin manages key aspects of the research and development division. This fall, Darin M. Johnson is slated to participate in the semester-long Integrative Health Coaching and Training Certification program at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Kara Morrison is an African American female, originally born in Troutman, North Carolina where she attended South Iredell High School. After high school Ms Morrison continued her education at Winston Salem State University and received her B.A. in Psychology and Minor in Sociology. In the fall of 2012 Kara began a prestigious Biomedical Research training Program (PREP), which consolidates approximately 5 years of research and professional development training, academic enhancement, and GRE preparation into a 12 month time frame. Throughout this program Kara will was also engaged in “hands-on” Laboratory/ Clinical Research, under the direction and Mentor-ship of Dr. David Mount. Upon completion of the PREP Program, Kara will begin pursuing her PhD in Clinical Psychology, with a focus in Psychoanalysis. She is also currently a Post-Bach Health Equity Ambassador at the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity. Her interest are working within, serving, and giving back to the community. As a Health Equity Ambassador Kara’s goals are to help shrink the gaps in the quality of health and health care for minorities.

First of her family to attend and graduate from college, Miss Tameshia Blackwell, was born and raised here in Winston Salem, North Carolina. In May 2011, she graduated Cum Laude from Shaw University in Raleigh North Carolina with a Bachelors of Science in Biology. While attending Shaw University, she was granted many opportunities that lead to her success in the Math and Science field. She participated in three Emerging Researchers Conferences held in various destinations and was selected to study overseas in a prostate cancer research internship in Jamaica for two summers. She is a lifetime member of the Alpha Chi National College Honors Society, Beta Kappa Chi Scientific Honor Society and a member of Shaw University branch of the Minority Association for Pre Health Students (MAPS). Currently, she is continuing her efforts to serve the community as a Health Equity Ambassador under the mentorship of Dr. David Mount in the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity until she starts graduate school in the spring of 2013.

A native of the South, Anna Queen is a 2011 graduate from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke’s Esther G. Maynor Honor’s College. While obtaining a dual bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry, Anna worked as a RISE Fellow for three years in the Microbiology Department. Anna has also had internships at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. In the fall of 2010, Anna spent three months in Tanzania, East Africa working on a public health initiative involving HIV. Since 2008, Anna has presented her various projects at ten different regional and national conferences. In her most recent conference, she won the second place John Dereiux Excellence in Research Award. Anna aspires to obtain an MD/PhD degree in the interest of health disparities among minorities. Her work in Dr. David Mount’s lab involves promoting healthcare educational outreach, long-term statistical studies, and relating chronic health issues to the patient’s citywide environment. Her intent and motivation for the work in Dr. Mount’s lab is to improve minority health and promote training and health disparities research. Anna is particularly interested in Neurology, specifically the pathology of movement disorders such as Parkinson Disease.

Maria Isabel Rego, a native from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, graduated from Salem College in North Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a minor in Psychology in 2010. During her undergraduate and current training with Dr. David Mount, Maria Isabel gained insightful knowledge and experience in the research field of minority health and health disparities. This experience greatly increased her awareness on minority health issues and the importance of diversity in any setting. After graduation she was hired into Dr. Mount’s team as a data coordinator II/research assistant, a position which she continues to exert today. In 2011, she presented at Winston Salem State University’s 1st Health Disparities Conference and co-authored with Dr. Mount and other colleagues a journal article called “Preliminary Findings Exploring the Social Determinants of Black Males Lay-Health Perspectives” and a book chapter called “Addressing Risk Factors for Neurocognitive Decline and Alzheimer’s disease Among African Americans in the Era of Health Disparities.” In the near future Maria Isabel plans on attending graduate school and helping to reduce the gaps in health disparities while also empowering and educating her patients to take on preventive measures for their health. Her interests range from chronic diseases, health equity, oral health, mental health, psychology, human behavior, leadership, health care management, health education, health promotion, mind-body relationships, quality and equal access to healthcare, among many others.