We proudly welcome Ms. Tynesia Fields to the LA CaTS Center family. Ms. Fields is filling the important role of the Community Engagement and Outreach Coordinator for the LA CaTS Community Engagement Outreach Resource (CEO Core), and is housed at Xavier University in New Orleans.

Ms. Fields is a passionate advocate and change maker in the field of social health equity. Her previous work and in-depth training both focus on policy and program development, and evaluation, as well as community building and engagement. Prior to becoming the Community Engagement and Outreach Coordinator, she served as a Graduate Research Lead for the MIT Community Innovators Lab in New York City. She led research teams in community-based participatory research training and implementation to identify disparities at the root of avoidable hospitalization rates in her hometown of Brooklyn. She has implemented key engagement programming and intentional community dialogue regarding food quality and accessibility, criminal justice, and the built environment, among other health disparities within Providence, Rhode Island's local context. There she completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at Brown University. She also served as a Policy Consultant for the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty in Washington, D.C. Ms. Fields hopes to continue using these skills and igniting her passion in her LA CaTS position, by strengthening community capacity to engage with and conduct health research that will accurately capture the nuanced sources of chronic disease burden, thus influencing effective health innovations for disproportionately impacted populations and ultimately improving health equity for residents across Louisiana. Her dedication to Louisiana and the city of New Orleans began with a powerful visit dedicated to service in 2015, and this same commitment to serving communities continues to thrive in her work today.

To contact Ms. Fields or the Community Engagement and Outreach Core (CEO Core), please email Community@LACaTS.org or call (504) 520-5033.