2024 Featured Speaker

Founder, Indigo Strategic Health Advisors LLC
Former Associate Director, Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Engagement Award Program

As the Founder of Indigo Strategic Health Advisors LLC, I am dedicated to supporting clients in the areas of authentic community engagement, strategic partnership development, and applying for federal and philanthropic funding. With a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree and over 20 years of experience in public health, I have a deep understanding of the health needs and challenges of diverse and vulnerable populations, especially in the areas of health equity/disparities, maternal and child health, and the social determinants of health. I also specialize in facilitating and/or moderating meetings, as well as serving as a presenter/speaker at events.
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My overall mission in this work is to facilitate and empower the involvement of patients and other stakeholders in healthcare research in order to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities.

Additionally, while at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), I helped shape and expand its Engagement Award program’s philanthropic investment strategy from a concept to a $25 million/year funding mechanism to build stakeholder capacity and and support their engagement as partners in patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER). I also co-led and oversaw a PCORI organization-wide workgroup dedicated to addressing maternal morbidity and mortality (MMM)-related health and healthcare issues, especially for the most vulnerable groups of women in the U.S. This effort has supported the creation of more inclusive stakeholder engagement strategies, as well as research funding priorities and opportunities specifically aimed to improve maternal reproductive healthcare outcomes and promote health equity in this country.