leadership & staff
SJIPH is led by two distinguished faculty members of Rowan University and Rutgers University-Camden. Together, they bring more than four decades of research excellence and community-based, collaborative investigation into some of our region’s most complex challenges. Both have published in their respective areas of focus, and led other academic-community partnership funding initiatives of varying scales.
co-leads
Naomi R. Marmorstein, Ph.D.
Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs
Professor, Department of Psychology
Rutgers University-Camden
Bio
Naomi Marmorstein, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology and Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs at Rutgers University-Camden. Prior to her faculty position, she earned a B.A. in Psychology from Yale University and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Minnesota. Previous administrative positions have included her roles as department chair and associate dean within the College of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers-Camden.
Dr. Marmorstein’s research focuses on mental health and substance abuse among youth. She has served as PI on over 1.1 million dollars in funding from the National Institutes of Health to support her research. She enjoys teaching a variety of courses such as Research Methods, Abnormal Psychology, Developmental Psychopathology, and Careers in Psychology and is a past recipient of the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
As Interim Co-Lead for the South Jersey Institute for Population Health, Dr. Marmorstein is interested in contributing to the Institute’s mission of advancing community-engaged research that promotes health equity in southern New Jersey. A key part of this is supporting the development and maintenance of partnerships among community organizations, Rutgers-Camden researchers, and Rowan researchers. She particularly enjoys supporting research teams in finding collaborative partners and assisting those teams through the entire funding cycle, from proposal through research completion.
(Interim for Cycle 2)
Nicole A. Vaughn, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Health and Exercise Science
Rowan University
Bio
Dr. Vaughn has BS in psychology from Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD and a MS and PhD in medical/health psychology from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences’ F. Hebert School of Medicine in Bethesda, MD. Dr. Vaughn was selected for the prestigious Ford Foundation Fellowship as a pre-doctoral scholar. Additionally, she completed a 1-year postdoctoral fellowship in cardiovascular behavioral medicine and led a family-based intervention on health in Washington, DC. She also completed a 2-year MT-DIRC fellowship in dissemination and implementation with Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Vaughn has taught high school, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students across her long career in higher education. She worked as part of a small team of faculty to develop the Public Health & Wellness undergraduate degree program at Rowan University and teaches upper-level courses in program planning and leadership, public health methods and interventions and US Healthcare Systems.
Over the years, Dr. Vaughn has received awards for her community engaged work in Philadelphia, PA and Southern New Jersey. Recently, she was part of a team that received the 2020 Best Collaborative Award from the Non-Profit Development Center of Southern New Jersey. She received the 2019 Unsung Hero in Public Health Award from the National Community Based Organization Network and was named as 1 of 4 finalists for the 2021 Remarkable Woman initiative for PHL 17 News. Dr. Vaughn’s current research involves engaging with multi-sectoral community partners on research focused to address food access and food insecurity for adults and families in New Jersey. She enjoys working with communities and researchers to design mutually beneficial quantitative and qualitative research projects that can provide data as well as direct impact to improve health and wellness for populations in the region.
Sarah Allred, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
Director, Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs
Sabbatical June 2022 – August 2023
Rutgers University-Camden
Bio
Sarah Allred, PhD, is Associate Professor in Psychology at Rutgers University – Camden, and came to the University in 2009 after three years of postdoctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Allred earned her Ph.D. in Neurobiology and Behavior from the University of Washington. She also holds a BS in Applied Physics with minors in mathematics and philosophy from Brigham Young University in Utah.
For her primary research on the relationship between visual perception and memory, Dr. Allred received the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award. She also teaches courses on research methods, experimental psychology, and perception and evolutionary psychology; she is a past recipient of both the Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence and the Presidential Teaching Award.
Broadly, Allred’s academic research approach is to find sensible and useful interpretations of large and noisy data sets through computational and statistical modeling techniques. This includes research projects: (1) Bayesian modeling of publicly available local area health data (funded by RWJF and UW-Madison ); (2) Predicting an individual’s health from objective and subjective measures of neighborhood quality; (3) How population vs county-based analysis of data affects the utility of Community Health Needs Assessments; (4) Leveraging big data to benefit small communities (funded by RWJF).
RURCBOG Leadership & Staff
Dean D’Astuto
Dean D’Astuto
Chief Operating Officer
Rowan University / Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors
Bio
Corey Hoffman
Rowan University / Rutgers – Camden Board of Governors
Bio
Corey received his master’s degree in public administration from the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania in 2020 and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Virginia Tech in 2011.
SJIPH staff
Shania Terry
Operations and Research Coordinator
South Jersey Institute of Population Health
Bio
Shania Terry graduated from Rowan University in 2021 with a BA in Psychology and a BA in Anthropology. At Rowan, Shania was involved with two research teams. The R.O.A.D. Lab, located within the Psychology Department, explores how clinical psychology PhD programs use their websites to recruit diverse students and the use of self-help methods, such as mobile apps, for depression and anxiety. In addition, she joined a research team in the Department of Health and Exercise Science to explore how students who experience food insecurity manage to academically succeed. Thus, Shania has a deep interest in exploring the contextual factors that affect individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds and how this information can inform prevention, treatment, and policy.
In joining the South Jersey Institute for Public Health (SJIPH), Shania assists with coordinating and organizing materials relating to research funding. In addition, she helps to plan, facilitate, and lead both virtual and in-person functions such as the annual Sandbox event.
Crashell A. Allen, M.Ed, M.S., CF-SLP
Public Health Analyst
Rowan University / South Jersey Institute of Population Health
Bio
Crashell Allen, M.Ed., M.S., CF-SLP is a Speech Language Pathologist Clinical Fellow. She works as an Speech Pathologist for Burlington County Special Services School District full time. She currently holds two master degrees in Speech Language Pathology and Higher Education. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Speech Language Hearing Science in 2018 and a Master of Education in Higher Education with a concentration in Leadership Development in 2020 from Temple University. And received her Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology from Baylor University in 2022. She has 3 years’ experience in event planning, budget management, supervisory experience, food bank management, and website development.
Ms. Allen serves as a part-time Public Health Analyst at Rowan University with the South Jersey Institute of Population Health (SJIPH). In this role, she supports the Co-Leads in coordinating and organizing materials for the research funding initiative. She coordinates, meets and works with appropriate personnel and community stakeholders. Ms. Allen helped organize and plan the Sandbox event that supports project groups with their proposals.
oversight committee
The oversight committee plays an integral role in establishing and leading the inaugural funding cycle of SJIPH by providing key support to the co-leads in the call for proposals, evaluation process, and dissemination efforts. The committee brings diverse expertise and invaluable local and regional perspectives that are vital to this initial funding process.
Darrin W. Anderson, Sr., PhD, MS, CSCS
New Jersey YMCA Alliance
Bio
Darrin is the former chair of the US Regional II Health Equity Council; serves on the NJ Governor’s Taskforce for Cancer & Chronic Disease Prevention and a board member of the Advocates for Children of New Jersey. His research interest is in pedagogy, exercise science, health policy and equity. He has a professional interest in non-profit leadership, fund development, youth development and community engagement.
Carly Melchert
Meals on Wheels of Salem County
Bio
Carly holds a bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion and Fitness Management form Rowan University.
Sheila Roberts
Cooper Lanning Civic Assocation
Bio
A lifelong Camden resident, Mrs. Roberts volunteers her time by contributing to food banks and homeless shelters, and providing clothing for the needy. In addition, she is a committed community partner for the Camden Cooper Lanning Promise Neighborhood Initiative, which focuses on creating opportunities for children and families, who live within the Cooper Plaza and Lanning Square communities.
Dana Redd, MAHS
CEO / President
Camden Community Partnership, Inc.
Bio
Dana Redd is President/CEO of Camden Community Partnership, Inc. a private nonprofit organization whose mission is to serve as the catalyst for the preservation and growth of a vibrant Camden. In this role, Ms. Redd is the key management leader responsible for implementing the strategic plan and managing a diversified special project portfolio, including neighborhood initiatives, public infrastructure, and business development.
Dana has worked in various positions from local government to the New Jersey State Senate, most recently serving as CEO of the Rowan University/Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors. As former CEO, Ms. Redd was responsible for board operations, construction, and management of a 95,000-square-foot Joint Health Sciences Center. Ms. Redd worked to develop programmatic and policy initiatives that reflected the Board’s mission and overarching objectives of education, economic development, and civic engagement.
While serving as Mayor of Camden, she successfully transitioned the city from state takeover to local control. Camden emerged as a national model for urban recovery in America during her tenure. Redd rallied a coalition of citizens, community organizations, faith-based leaders, businesses, universities, healthcare providers, state officials, and local government entities to improve the quality of life for Camden residents.
Dana Redd is a graduate of Rutgers: The State University of New Jersey (Camden Campus) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Studies. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Human Services Administration from Lincoln University.
Megan Sheppard, MPH
Cumberland County Department of Health
Bio
Megan combines her health and wellness and public health experience when working to achieve healthier outcomes and lifestyles for Cumberland County residents. She holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a Bachelor of Arts in Health and Exercise Science from Rowan University. In addition to being a licensed New Jersey Health Officer, Megan is a Certified Health Education Specialist through the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing.
Tysha Saffold, MSN, RN, PhD
Rutgers School of Nursing – Camden
Bio
Dr. Saffold’s program of research is health disparities in urban populations; prevention of both social and racial injustice; impact of poverty on health; and improving the health of vulnerable populations. Dr. Saffold has been a nurse for 18 years, with clinical expertise in the areas of cardiac care, community health, geriatrics, and leadership. Currently, her research centers on social determinants of health; particularly health disparities, social injustice, racial injustice, and inequalities in healthcare.
Robert R. Weaver, PhD
Rowan University, School of Health Professions
Bio
A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Dr. Weaver has taught numerous classes in Sociology and the Health Sciences and Community Health, and has engaged in a variety of public health and healthcare research projects using a variety of research approaches – quantitative, qualitative, and community-based. His main interest lies in examining how social conditions shape individuals’ health and well-being, and most recently has examined the prevalence and dimensions of food insecurity among university students.
Anthony Welch, MBA
Cooper University Health Care
Bio
Prior to joining Cooper, Anthony served as Director of Policy and Strategic Planning for the New Jersey Department of Health. Previously, Anthony served as a senior policy advisor in the Office of Governor Chris Christie. He has also served as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Newark Now, a community organization co-founded by Senator Cory Booker. In addition, he has served as a program officer at The Nicholson Foundation, as a project coordinator at Rutgers University, and as President of the national youth leadership organization Do Something, Inc. Anthony received his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Rutgers University – New Brunswick, and a MBA from Rutgers University – Newark.
Open Positions
Position: Operations & Research Coordinator (Part-time)
About SJIPH:
The SJIPH, established in 2018 through a state grant received by the Rowan University / Rutgers – Camden Board of Governors, supports collaborative research aimed at addressing health disparities among underserved populations in both rural and urban communities in New Jersey’s southern counties.
SJIPH is currently in the process of awarding their third annual round of grant funding, during which $500,000 will be made available to community-based research teams. The institute awarded $230,000 to 11 projects in cycle 1 and $387,000 to 11 different projects in cycle 2 in the South Jersey region.