MaryBeth Grewe, MPH

MaryBeth Grewe serves as the Program Manager for the Qualitative Research Service and a Research Specialist with the Patient and Community Engagement in Research program at NC TraCS. In these roles, she supports researchers, community partners, and other research partners conducting qualitative and engaged research and evaluation projects, leads internal research and evaluation projects, and develops and delivers trainings and capacity building activities related to qualitative and engaged research. MaryBeth received her Master of Public Health in Health Behavior at UNC-Chapel Hill.

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Ese Aikhuele, MPH

Ese Aikhuele serves as a Project Manager within the Patient and Community Engagement in Research program and a Research Specialist in the Qualitative Research Service at NC TraCS. In these roles, she supports qualitative and community-engaged research efforts by guiding researchers who want to learn more about engagement and helping research teams implement various engagement activities. Ese's experience primarily consists of qualitative data collection and analysis, community engagement, and design thinking.

Ese has a Master of Public Health in Health Behavior from UNC-Chapel Hill. In her free time, she enjoys thrifting, reading, expanding her music tastes, and visiting the Carrboro and Durham farmers markets.

Simone Frank, MPH

Simone Frank serves as a Senior Project Manager within the Patient and Community Engagement in Research (PaCER) Program and a Research Specialist within the Qualitative Research Service at NC TraCS. In these roles, she manages PaCER's contracted engagement services, leads internal engagement initiatives, supports community-engaged and qualitative research projects, and develops and delivers trainings and capacity building activities related to engagement and qualitative research. Simone's experience and training are focused on community engagement, participatory and qualitative methods, and health equity. She received her Master of Public Health in Health Behavior at UNC-Chapel Hill.

In her free time, you can find Simone biking, running, and hiking all around Durham, playing in her women's soccer league, trying every coffee and ice cream shop in town, and seeking out live music and dancing.

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Lupe C. Hernandez, MPH

Lupe Hernandez serves as a Research Project Manager for the Inclusive Science Program and a Research Specialist in the Qualitative Research Service at NC TraCS. In this role, she manages the Latine Community Review Board (LCRB) as both a study support service and internal advisory board, while also providing multilingual support for external research studies, including qualitative data collection and analysis.

Lupe is a native Spanish speaker and a certified Spanish interpreter and translator. She holds a Master of Public Health in Health Behavior from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

Milenka Jean-Baptiste, MPH

Milenka Jean-Baptiste is a doctoral candidate in Health Behavior at the Gillings School of Public Health. Whether working on a mobile HIV testing van in the Bronx or doing home visits as a Peace Corps Volunteer in South Africa, she has extensive experience as a public health practitioner implementing community-based public health programs and engaging communities while doing so. As a scholar, she values the interplay between research and practice and seeks to understand and engage individual and collective experiences to inform public health practice and programming. She has contributed to the design, data collection, and analysis of numerous qualitative studies across non-profit, academic, and private settings.

As a qualitative specialist, she helps to build the capacity of teams to develop and analyze qualitative research studies by training them in qualitative, mixed methods, and community engagement methods while also supporting teams throughout all study phases. Milenka holds a Master of Public Health from Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

Jubilo Tommy White, MPH

Tommy White is a researcher and educator with more than 15 years of experience leading research and behavioral and systems interventions with adolescent, Disabled, gender diverse, immigrant, Latine, LGBQ, and neurodiverse populations. White manages the Inclusive Science Program and serves as Co-Investigator for a Cultural and Linguistic Adaptation of a Breast Reconstruction Decision Tool for Spanish-Speaking Latina Breast Cancer Patients. Previously, White managed Building Integrated Communities at The Latino Migration Project, leading multilingual community assessments, survey and focus group design, and participatory action planning with local governments and community leaders. White has also worked locally as an adolescent and adult training facilitator for SHIFT NC and Theater Delta. White formally studied translation and holds a BA in English and Spanish as well as a Master of Public Health in Social and Behavioral Sciences.

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