The schedule presented here is subject to change as the agenda is finalized.
2 sessions found.
Maranda C. Ward, EdD, MPH
Dr. Maranda C. Ward is an Associate Professor and Director of Equity in the Department of Clinical Research and Leadership in the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. In this role, she designs, evaluates, and teaches health equity curriculum for student and faculty learners. Her teaching excellence was recognized with the highest teaching honor at GW- the 2021 Morton A. Bender Teaching award.
Dr. Ward is an expert in advancing anti-racism efforts within health professions education and in designing curricula to enable students and faculty to competently promote health and racial equity in practice. Her research focuses on diversity, equity, inclusion, justice and antiracism educational interventions as well as stakeholder-engaged community-focused studies on HIV, Black women's health, and youth identity. As a member of the DC Center for AIDS Research (DC CFAR), she is the principal investigator on Two in One: HIV and COVID Screening & Testing Model that allows her to lead a national research-based educational intervention for primary care practitioners to routinize screenings for HIV, PrEP/PEP, and the COVID vaccine. This research will lead to a set of policy recommendations for overall practice-based changes for all patients and culturally responsive messaging for racial, ethnic, sexual and gender minoritized patients. She is also skilled in the application of participatory action research methods.
As an affiliate faculty for the GW Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service, she translated her participatory action research on youth identity into a youth-led canvas-based mural on preserving D.C. legacy. Dr. Ward's research is further converted into practice as the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Promising Futures - a youth development pipeline for D.C. youth ages 11-24 that integrates a social justice approach to positive youth development using edu-tainment to invite youth to explore their civic and social identities, social inequities, and health seeking behaviors. When she is not teaching or serving on-campus, she is engaged in DC in a range of capacities. For instance, she is on the board of trustees for the Washington School for Girls and founding board member of Girls Rock DC. She also serves on the Sibley Memorial Hospital & Johns Hopkins Medicine advisory board for wellness projects in wards 7 and 8. The DC Mayor, Muriel Bowser, appointed her to fill an advisory board seat on the Mayor's Commission on Health Equity.
EmpowHERed Resilience is a transformative storytelling experience and institute for Black women to gather, reflect, and heal. Through a four-part video series, participants engage with lived stories across HIV prevention, care, and long-term wellness, uplifting sexual health and honoring the full spectrum of Black women’s experiences. This session fosters connection, affirms lived wisdom, and builds supportive networks, empowering Black women to move forward with strength, purpose, and possibility.
While a myriad of health education and prevention programs exist in the community and on HBCU college campuses, most women are unaware of these resources and, most importantly, the availability and effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), despite being at greater risk of HIV. Black Women and HIV: Empowerment through Engagement, Education, and Enrichment (“Empower”) is an HBCU led, collaborative, multi-year initiative committed to advancing HIV prevention and sexual health among Black women by implementing culturally responsive education and community engagement.
Information on credits offered to SYNC participants for attending institutes, sessions, and plenaries — live or in-person — is available here.
Commercial Support Acknowledgement
This conference is supported, in part, by independent educational grants from ineligible companies. A full list of supporters is available here. All accredited content has been developed and delivered in accordance with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence and the criteria of Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education™, and is free of commercial bias.
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