Máiréad Deacy
Johns Hopkins University
Public Health Trainee
Máiréad Deacy is a graduate student and a Wendy Klag Center (WKC) scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Heath, where she is studying to get a Master’s in Public Health. Máiréad’s interest in people with disabilities was piqued through her experiences working in a psychiatric hospital, where she noticed a gap in the quality of mental health services at accommodating individuals on the autism spectrum. Additionally, as she became a caregiver for her father when he came disabled, she continued to learn more about the inequities, and became interested in advocacy for individuals with disabilities and their caregivers/ families. She hopes to gain practical experience across the disciplines and embrace the opportunities for learning new skills towards her public health career during her internship at the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities (MCDD). She has many multidisciplinary interests, particularly with research, epidemiological approaches, behavioral health, improving health literacy, working between different sectors, and patient/ family advocacy. After her Master’s in Public Heath, Máiréad looks forward to being equipped for a public health career where she can come up with innovative solutions to help ensure better health outcomes for all people.
Linna Kuang
University of Maryland
Public Health Trainee
Linna Kuang is an undergraduate student at University of Maryland, College Park majoring in Public Health Science. Linna developed an interest in people with disabilities from her previous volunteer work. She hopes to gain a well-rounded exposure and learning opportunities during her internship at the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities (MCDD), and is looking forward to learning how to translate scientific evidence into practice and effectively advocate for individuals with disabilities while building on her knowledge of public health. After completing her undergraduate degree, Linna plans to attend school of medicine where she can continue to work and advocate for people with disabilities and their families.
Diogo Fortes
Johns Hopkins University
Public Health Trainee
Diogo Fortes is a second-year doctoral student and a Wendy Klag Center (WKC) scholar in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience at the University of Virginia and worked as a research assistant for three years at the Yale Child Study Center. As the younger sibling of an autistic adult with high support needs, he is particularly interested in studying and promoting the impact, coordination, and sustainability of long-term services and supports for adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. Through his work with the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities (MCDD) Diogo aims to learn how to translate academic research into actionable advocacy efforts for self-advocates, families, and policymakers. He also hopes to better understand legislative priorities for state and local disabled advocates to inform more community-responsive research topics.
Eunice Ok
University of Maryland
Public Health Trainee
Eunice Ok is a third year undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park studying Public Health Science. She has developed an interest in people with disabilities while growing up in a household with an individual with disabilities and seeing how the lives of the family as well as the individual can be affected. During her internship at the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities (MCDD) under the supervision of Dr. Mirian Ofonedu, Eunice hopes to gain well-rounded exposure and learning opportunities. She is looking forward to build on her ability to review scientific evidence for translation and application to advocate for those with disabilities. After completing her undergraduate degree, Eunice hopes to continue her studies through a MPH in Biostatistics in order to advocate for underrepresented communities through the analysis and presentation of data.