Staff

Renée Boynton-Jarrett, MD, ScD Founding Director

Renée Boynton-Jarrett, MD, ScD Founding Director

Renée Boynton-Jarrett is a practicing primary care pediatrician at Boston Medical Center, a social epidemiologist and the founding director of the Vital Village Networks. Vital Village works to improve community capacity to promote child wellbeing and advance equity through dedicated collaborative partnerships, research, data-sharing, and community leadership development in Boston and nationally through the NOW Forum and CRADLE Lab. She joined the faculty at Boston University School of Medicine in 2007 and is currently an Associate Professor of Pediatrics. She received her AB from Princeton University, her MD from Yale School of Medicine, ScD in Social Epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health, and completed residency in Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her scholarship focuses on the role of early-life adversities as life course social determinants of health. She has a specific interest in the intersection of community violence, intimate partner violence, and child abuse and neglect and neighborhood characteristics that influence these patterns.
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Ronda Alexander, MA Director of National Partnerships - Project NOW

Ronda Alexander, MA Director of National Partnerships - Project NOW

Ronda Alexander is a native Detroiter dedicated to working with communities to reach their desired goals by aligning and leveraging their resources. Ronda joins us from the United Way for Southeastern Michigan where she served as the Director of Corporate and Community Alignment on the organization’s College and Career Pathways team. In her role at United Way Ronda worked to help external corporate partners find meaningful ways to engage with both students and educators; as well as worked across teams within the organization to align and leverage resources. Prior to joining United Way Ronda worked on the premier education initiative of Ford Motor Company Fund – Ford Next Generation (Ford NGL) for nine years. While at Ford Fund Ronda served a variety of roles including Professional Development/Technical Assistance Specialist and Program Manager for STEM initiatives. In all of her roles with Ford Fund Ronda worked with and supported multiple communities across the country as they worked to transform their communities through education.
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Yusuf Ali Senior Network Coordinator

Yusuf Ali Senior Network Coordinator

Yusuf Ali grew up and has worked professionally in the communities of Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan over the last 8 years. Yusuf graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from Florida A& M University in 2008. Yusuf is passionate about holistic healthy lifestyles and has focused his work towards empowering and providing families & individuals with resources in the areas of access to wealth, food access, and civic engagement.
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Keith Arnold Community Mobilization Coordinator VISTA

Keith Arnold Community Mobilization Coordinator VISTA

Keith Arnold (he/him) grew up in Southeast Michigan and graduated from the University of Michigan in 2021 with a B.S. in Neuroscience. During college, Arnold worked as a direct care provider for a severely cognitively disabled boy for four years while also working in a pharmacology research lab. On his journey to medical school, he is dedicated to serving the Boston community and is passionate about early nutrition education, LGBTQ equity, and addressing social injustices.
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Diana Austria Rivera, MSW, MPH Program Manager - Project NOW

Diana Austria Rivera, MSW, MPH Program Manager - Project NOW

As a public health social worker, Diana is committed to advancing racial, economic, and health equity ensuring that our most vulnerable communities thrive in healthy communities of opportunity and are at the forefront driving policy and systems-level change. Born in the Philippines and raised in Houston, Texas, she graduated with a BA in Human Biology from Stanford University in 2008 and a dual Masters in Social Welfare and Public Health from University of California, Berkeley in 2015. Prior to joining the Vital Village team, she engaged in research, capacity building, and policy advocacy to build equitable food systems and inclusive health workforce policies at PolicyLink. Diana also brings experience in school-based health research, health career pathway programs, youth leadership development, community engagement, and immigrant health.
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Milan Chuttani Data Analyst

Milan Chuttani Data Analyst

Milan Chuttani is a public health professional focused on spatial analytics, data visualization, and web development. Milan graduated from Dartmouth College in 2018 with a B.A. in Government and a minor in Computer Science. Prior to joining Vital Village Network, Milan completed a fellowship at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, developing web applications and GIS tools to support the COVID-19 pandemic response and public health initiatives for globally mobile populations. Milan enjoys transforming spatial, qualitative, and quantitative data into compelling narratives that promote health equity.
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Marisol De Ornelas, MSPH Research Associate - CK Ready Study

Marisol De Ornelas, MSPH Research Associate - CK Ready Study

Marisol De Ornelas has a Master of Science in Public Health at Boston University School of Public Health. Marisol’s passion for public health began while growing up in her home country, Venezuela, and experiencing first hand the devastating consequences of health inequity. She is passionate about the development, evaluation, and dissemination of public health interventions that focus on early childhood development and education. More broadly, her public health interests include environmental justice, translational research, public policy, Latinx communities, nutrition, and child and maternal health.
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Emma Dubinsky Evaluation and Participatory Research Coordinator VISTA

Emma Dubinsky Evaluation and Participatory Research Coordinator VISTA

Emma Dubinsky (she/her) graduated from Carleton College in 2022 with a degree in Sociology/Anthropology. Previously, she has worked as a clinical research aide at the SPOT at the Washington University School of Medicine and as a student assistant in the health promotion office at Carleton College. She hopes to get degrees in public health and medical anthropology. She is excited to join the team as an AmeriCorps VISTA to gain experience and knowledge about community-based participatory research.
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Suzeth Dunn-Dyer, MS, MA Community Impact Associate

Suzeth Dunn-Dyer, MS, MA Community Impact Associate

Suzeth Dunn-Dyer has 20 years of experience in the planning and executing of trauma-informed community development initiatives in the city of Boston. She helped develop and led the planning and execution of community wellness programs for more than 3000 low income families in Roxbury and lower South End, in the areas of Youth Development, Workforce Development, Education,Community Wellness & Public Safety.
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Addison Grimm Community Mobilization Coordinator VISTA

Addison Grimm Community Mobilization Coordinator VISTA

Addison Grimm grew up in a small town in Washington state. Being raised in an ever-growing community nestled into the Pacific Northwest gave her the opportunity to thrive and grow. After High school she felt overwhelmingly compelled to assist in making sure every child has the same opportunities she did when she was younger. Through University she was fortunate enough to be a member of the COVID-19 vaccine and PPE distribution team for Yamhill County, Oregon. Although Addison only recently graduated from Linfield University with a bachelor’s degree in Public Health: Health Promotion, she is excited for the journey ahead and the opportunity to work alongside Vital Village to promote healthy community change through growing partnerships.
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Nina Ham Evaluation and Participatory Research Coordinator VISTA

Nina Ham Evaluation and Participatory Research Coordinator VISTA

Nina Ham (she/her) graduated from Dartmouth College in 2022 with a B.A. in both Biological Sciences and Economics. She spent over two years working on a clinical research study focused on opioid use disorder recovery at the MGH Recovery Research Institute and served as the Co-Director for the Dartmouth Coalition for Global Health. She has also worked as a research intern for the Institute for Technology & Global Health, exploring social behavior and decision-making during public health crises. Nina is looking forward to serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA member to learn about improving child wellbeing through community-based research and advocacy.
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Desiree Hartman Senior Program Coordinator

Desiree Hartman Senior Program Coordinator

Desiree (Desi) Hartman is currently pursuing her Master of Social Worker (MSW) at Boston University and graduated from Colorado College in 2016 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Global Health. During college, Hartman conducted field research on infant attachment in multiple caregiver settings and cultivated a GlobeMed partnership with the Western Organization for People Living with HIV/AIDS (WOPLAH) in Kenya. Desi is passionate about early childhood development, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), child rights, maternal child health, migration and working with local leaders in the pursuit of justice, dignity, and health equity for all children and families.
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Alexandria Jones Program Manager

Alexandria Jones Program Manager

Alexandria Jones is a relationship and mission-driven professional with a focus on systems thinking and its intersection with human-centered cultures and outcomes. Prior to Vital Village, she worked in higher ed administration and philanthropy, and has years of experience in the cultivation, coordination, and management of events, programming, and teams. As an alumna from Berklee College of Music, majoring in Music Therapy, she is passionate about music’s ability to empower others.
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Thao Le, MS Community Mobilization Coordinator VISTA

Thao Le, MS Community Mobilization Coordinator VISTA

Thao Le graduated from Texas A&M University with a master’s in Geospatial System Engineering in August 2020. She works virtual from Houston, Texas. She has experiences in Data Research and Evaluation, collects, aggregates and analyst demographic, crime, education, investment, and other data. She loves Math, GIS, mapping, Web Apps and visualizing data online. She loves to help people if she has a chance. She enjoys learning new things and building experiences every day!!!
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Jei Laura Food Systems Program Coordinator

Jei Laura Food Systems Program Coordinator

Jei is a herbalist, mixed media artist, earth tender, and community organizer, dedicated to centering decolonial ways of relating with one another, the land, and our more-than-human kin in order to build liberated futures. Their work in food justice began during their time pursuing their BA in Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. Since then they’ve gone on to continue this work at the grassroots and institutional level as an educator, gardener, cook, and facilitator for social change. Jei currently resides on unceded Muh-he-con-neok (Albany, NY), where they’re spending their time documenting the legacies of Black and Brown community members and organizing a free dinner series for a collective of QTBIPOC+ folks in the area.
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Hassan Lubega Research Coordinator - CK Ready Study

Hassan Lubega Research Coordinator - CK Ready Study

Hassan Lubega graduated from Boston University in 2020 with a bachelor's in science in Behavior & Health from the Sargent College of Health Sciences and Rehabilitation. He particulary focused his studies on minority health disparities, and he values the importance of bringing an intersectional lens to healthcare. After working on the CK-Ready Team as a research intern, he joined the permanent staff and is excited to have the opportunity to continue to work with the study.
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Michelle Ramiz Communications Intern

Michelle Ramiz Communications Intern

Michelle Ramiz (she/her) graduated Boston University in 2021 with a Bachelors degree in Middle Eastern and North African Studies, as well as a minor in Spanish. She is fluent in Russian and Spanish, as well as proficient in Arabic and Persian. She is passionate about linguistic accessibility and early childhood wellbeing, and previous to Vital Village was an intern at the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Advancement, as well as a team member at the Child Witness to Violence Project.
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Sarah X Rojas-Rogalewicz, MS Research Associate - CK Ready Study

Sarah X Rojas-Rogalewicz, MS Research Associate - CK Ready Study

Sarah X. Rojas-Rogalewicz is a healthcare professional with research interests that focus on the relationship of race and ethnicity to language, cognition, and health-related quality of life. She previously worked in diverse capacities in pediatric neuroimaging research, EEG research, and social work services outside Philadelphia. Most recently, Sarah assisted in multiple MRI studies including (ECHO) Environmental Influences on Childhood Outcomes at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Born in Colombia and raised in Miami, Florida, she received her MS in Neuroscience at Columbia University, and BS in Communication Science Disorders from Pennsylvania State University. Her experience and passion for language justice is multifaceted involving advocacy, multilingualism, cultural awareness, and interpretation. Currently, Sarah is a Master of Speech Language Pathology candidate at Boston University with a commitment to helping marginalized populations with limited resources and accessibilities.
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Amy Sanchez Community Partnerships Program Coordinator

Amy Sanchez Community Partnerships Program Coordinator

Amy Sanchez (she/ella) was born and raised in the Dorchester & Roxbury community. She received a BA in Latin American studies and Educational Policy & Practice from Mount Holyoke College. Amy has brought her relationship centered approach through her work with various community organizations and companies including SquashBusters, UWander Inc. & Chica Project. From communities in Boston to Dominican Republic, Amy advocates for the impact on communal healing, youth leadership & storytelling. She is passionate about multicultural studies, promoting sexual health & advocacy, and addressing social injustices.
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Ishaan Shah Medical Student Research Intern

Ishaan Shah Medical Student Research Intern

Ishaan Shah graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2020, with a degree in Political Science. In the past, he has worked for California’s Department of Healthcare Services, the Odom-John Lab at Washington University School of Medicine, and Kol Rinah Early Childhood Center as a teacher’s assistant. He previously worked for the CK-READY Study through Gephardt’s Civic Scholars program in an effort to better understand the social, financial, emotional, and physical barriers that mothers and their families during the postpartum period. In 2020, he rejoined the study as a full-time Americorps VISTA, allowing him to learn more about community-based participatory research, civic engagement, and children’s and family advocacy. Ishaan is currently a medical student at the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine.
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Clare Viglione, MPH, RDN Research Manager - CK Ready Study

Clare Viglione, MPH, RDN Research Manager - CK Ready Study

Clare graduated from Columbia University in 2013 with a Masters in Public Health. At Columbia, Clare worked in the Population and Family Health Department on the Getting Ready for School project and on SKIP!, the toddler physical activity intervention in Early Head Start. She has held research positions with Harvard Prevention Research Center, Boston Medical Center, and New York University in addition to health education roles with Harlem Children’s Zone and the New York City Department of Health. She also completed a Dietetic Internship at Harvard Medical School/ Brigham and Women’s Hospital to become a Registered Dietitian and has practiced primary care clinical nutrition focused on diabetes and women’s health. Clare is pursuing a Doctorate in Public Health at San Diego State University & UC San Diego with plans to develop equitable, cost-effective familial interventions targeting social-emotional development and childhood obesity.
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Hailun Wang, MS, MPH Data Analyst

Hailun Wang, MS, MPH Data Analyst

Hailun Wang is a Master of Public Health candidate with a focus on Community Assessment, Program Design, Implementation, and Evaluation, at Boston University. She has diverse experiences in integrating Geographic Information System (GIS) into program design and evaluation, such as urban planning, disaster response, and health education. She is passionate about helping people live a healthier life by implementing health programs in less privileged communities. With this goal and the strengths and skillsets that she has obtained from her previous experiences, she is committed to increasing access to healthcare in under-resourced settings through community empowerment and mobilization.
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