Caring means we go back one more time because that is where the miracle occurs.
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-Dr. Michael Carrera
Bio
Through her practice and research experiences, Dr. Asari has been trained as an adolescent health researcher and public health practitioner for the past ten years across several cities. She has worked on and with numerous research projects, youth-serving organizations and youth development programs targeted toward youth in urban, inner-city settings.
It is her goal to bridge the gap between research and practice, placing youth and the context in which they live in at the center of her work.
She chooses to think about, study and discuss adolescents as at-promise, instead of at-risk. Her practice-based experience began at the Children’s Aid Society in New York City as a Prevention Specialist and then Manager of Evidence-based Programs, where she specialized in substance abuse prevention among at-promise adolescents and their families. Since 2017, she has served as a consultant for organizations seeking to address adolescent health topics. In her role as a junior board member for Just As I Am YOUth Empowerment in Brooklyn, New York and Genius Patch in Detroit Michigan, she has actively engaged stakeholders, developed culturally relevant and appropriate curricula for youth of color and contributed to building capacity for both organizations.
As a researcher, her experience began at the University of Michigan where she focused on mental health and health disparities. At the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH), she worked closely with the Center for Adolescent Health on community-engaged research projects focused on reengaging opportunity youth, preventing substance use and promoting positive sexual and reproductive health.
Education
PhD, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2021
MPH, Boston University, 2013
BS, University of Michigan, 2011
In addition, she collaborated with community organizations in Baltimore to evaluate the impact of their programs on youth. It is through these partnerships that Dr. Asari identified her dissertation topic which used a reproductive justice lens to explore how U.S. adolescents conceptualize pregnancy intentions. Her publications to date, awards and affiliations with professional organizations are evidence of her expertise and commitment to supporting the well-being of youth in urban settings.
She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health under the B Lab. Currently, she is a Research Scientist II at Child Trends within the Sexual and Reproductive Health program area. She is a member of the American Public Health Association, and Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine.
On a personal note, Dr. Asari is a London-born, Detroit native heavily rooted and connected to her Efik (Nigerian) culture. In her leisure time, she enjoys debriefing TV shows with her girlfriends, jammin’ to 90s R&B, and laughing with her favorite podcast “The Friend Zone”.
AWARDS/HONORS
2022 Recipient, MCH Alumnae Award for Outstanding Service to Individuals and Families in the MCH Community
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2019 Recipient, Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine Early Career Development Award
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2018 Honorable Mention, Rev. Melvin B. Tuggle Award for Community Excellence Health
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2018 Recipient, Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation, Inc.
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2016 Honoree on Brooklyn’s Philanthropy Day for commitment to volunteerism
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2016 Recipient, I-CREATE Service Award, Children’s Aid Society
For more details on Dr. Asari, see CV.