Center for Community Engaged Evaluation Team

Jessica Presley leads the evaluation team in managing the Office of Community Health and Research’s portfolio of program evaluations. She received her Master of Public Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. She has worked in research and program evaluation over the last ten years. She has served as evaluator for a wide range of social, educational, and community health programs. She brings a unique perspective for understanding the complex and historical contexts in which programs are implemented. She empowers individuals served by community initiatives through a participatory approach. With more than ten years of experience working within university and medical campus settings, she brings depth of knowledge to her work with UAMS. In her current role, she evaluates the implementation and impact of federal and foundation funded community health initiatives across the state of Arkansas. Her expertise in qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis includes the use of methodologies such as social network analysis, GIS mapping, and bibliometric analysis. She has culturally diverse experiences that enrich the landscape of her work. She is a member of both the Diné and Osage Tribes and lived in Japan teaching English in public high schools with the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) program. She is committed to advancing social and health equity in communities across Arkansas.

Email: JPresley@uams.edu

Shani Worrell holds a doctorate in education from The George Washington University. She has almost two decades of experience designing, implementing, and managing evaluations for federal, state, local government, and non-government clients. She works closely with these clients to design tailored and rigorous evaluations that meet their needs and is aligned with their resources. In her current role at UAMS, she oversees the design and implementation of internal and externally funded program evaluations. She applies a culturally responsive and equitable lens to these evaluations with the goal of eliciting and disseminating lessons that are reliable, valid, and actionable; so that application of these lessons will accelerate the pace of change and maximize benefits to individuals and communities.

Email: SWorrell@uams.edu

Matt Gannon joined the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus as a research writer in 2020. He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Northern Kentucky University and his doctorate in psychology from the University of Arkansas. Matthew is involved in program evaluation and planning, instrument development, data collection and analysis, and communicating evaluation results.

Email: MAGannon@uams.edu

Alex Jauregui-Dusseau is an evaluation specialist with the UAMS Office of Community Health and Research. Ms. Jauregui-Dusseau holds a doctorate degree in health science with a concentration in global health from A.T. Still University and has eight years of health care experience. Alex is involved in evaluation of community programs and execution of internal and external evaluation projects. It is Alex’s career goal to improve access to health services and reduce health disparities through a team-based and culturally informed approach.

Email: AAJaureguidusseau@uams.edu

Luis Marin received his doctorate in English from the University of Arkansas, where he studied multi-ethnic literature of the U.S. He was an instructor of writing studies and literature for five years before joining Arkansas Immigrant Defense as a COVID coordinator in October 2020, addressing the basic needs of clients through food, rent, and utility assistance in addition to distributing accurate public health information during the pandemic, and now serves as an evaluator for programs in the Office of Community Health and Research. As a first-generation undocumented Mexican immigrant, he grew up in a low-income family in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and he sees members of his family and his parents in the clients that he serves as both a case manager and a community health specialist linking immigrant families to services and to public health programming.

Email: LPMarin@uams.edu

Katerina Noori is a research assistant with the Office of Community Health and Research at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus. In May of 2021, they graduated with a Master of Public Service degree from the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. Katerina has experience analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, evaluating community programs, and facilitating and evaluating deliberations. At the Office of Community Health and Research, they hope to use evaluation to increase access to programming that improves health outcomes in the community.

Email: KNoori@uams.edu

Andrea Nunez-Garcia is a research assistant in the Office of Community Health and Research at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus. She earned her masters of public health from Washington University in St. Louis, and received her certification in public health in May 2021. Prior to joining UAMS, Andrea worked as a research assistant at Washington University in St. Louis. Ms. Nunez-Garcia has experience in qualitative and quantitative data analysis.

Rosario Silva is an evaluation specialist with the Office of Community Health and Research at UAMS. She holds a master’s degree in public health from Saint Louis University and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University in community health and ethnic studies. Previously, Ms. Silva was employed with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services evaluating chronic disease programs, specifically CDC-recognized lifestyle change programs. In this role, Ms. Silva developed evaluation data indicators and oversaw the evaluation of the 1815 CDC Cooperative Agreement to ensure successful program implementation and data dissemination. Ms. Silva studied public health to improve the health of minority communities and contribute towards a more equitable society.

Email: RSilva@uams.edu

Marissa Spear received her bachelor’s degree in health equity studies with a minor in public health from Goucher College and holds a Certificate of Professional Achievement in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University. Marissa currently serves as a research associate I in the Center for Community Engaged Evaluation at the Office of Community Health and Research at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus. She has four years of program evaluation experience in both informal learning environments and community health settings. She has extensive experience conducting evaluations using qualitative methods, mentoring others to develop their qualitative skillset, and writing manuscripts for publication. Marissa is a resolute advocate for awareness of chronic pain and firmly believes that chronically ill and disabled individuals are the experts of their own bodies and should be the bearers of their own stories. Through her work, Marissa hopes to reduce health disparities by decentralizing medical expertise and privileging the voices of those most neglected by the health care system.

Email: MSpear@uams.edu

Tanvangi Tiwari is a research associate with the Center for Community Engaged Evaluation in the Office of Community Health and Research. She holds a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering from BITS-Pilani, India, and master’s degree in public policy, with an emphasis on quantitative and qualitative policy analysis, from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. Prior to UAMS, she worked as a policy associate for the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, and as a quantitative data analyst with nonprofits in Washington, D.C. Her work focuses on equitable growth, especially to facilitate intergenerational socioeconomic mobility in communities of color. Through her work, Tanvangi hopes to create knowledge systems that decentralize health education and empower communities to impact public policy.

Email: TTiwari@uams.edu