

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

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, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
Director, Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs
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).
As Faculty Director of the Walter Rand Institute, Dr. Allred marshals the academic and intellectual resources of the university to help fulfill Rutgers’ foundational obligation to civic and community engagement. To do this, she fosters partnerships between academic researchers, WRI staff, and community stakeholders. Dr. Allred enjoys delving into complex data sets and working with staff to extract from the data content that will be meaningful for South Jersey.
RURCBOG Leadership & Staff

Dana Redd, MAHS
Rowan University / Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors
Bio
In this role, Ms. Redd is responsible for overseeing agency operations, as well as, the construction and management of a 95,000-square-foot Joint Health Sciences Center located at Broadway and MLK Boulevard in Camden. The building is designed around the spirit of collaboration and shared spaces in order to deliver interdisciplinary education and training opportunities to a new generation of health care providers while also providing world-class research space for Rutgers, Rowan and Camden County College faculty developing innovations in the biosciences and allied health. Additionally, Ms. Redd is charged with developing programmatic and policy initiatives which reflect the Board’s mission and overarching objectives of education, economic development and civic engagement. Dana completed the Master of Arts in Human Services (MAHS) Program at Lincoln University, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Rutgers School of Business – Camden.

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.
staff

Kristin Kelly
Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs at Rutgers – Camden
Bio

Crashell Allen, M.Ed
Rowan University / South Jersey Institute of Population Health
Bio
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
Rowan University / Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors
Bio
In this role, Ms. Redd is responsible for overseeing agency operations, as well as, the construction and management of a 95,000-square-foot Joint Health Sciences Center located at Broadway and MLK Boulevard in Camden. The building is designed around the spirit of collaboration and shared spaces in order to deliver interdisciplinary education and training opportunities to a new generation of health care providers while also providing world-class research space for Rutgers, Rowan and Camden County College faculty developing innovations in the biosciences and allied health. Additionally, Ms. Redd is charged with developing programmatic and policy initiatives which reflect the Board’s mission and overarching objectives of education, economic development and civic engagement. Dana completed the Master of Arts in Human Services (MAHS) Program at Lincoln University, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Rutgers School of Business – Camden.

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.