Join us for an engaging webinar hosted by The Washington Association of Professional Anthropologists, featuring Dr. Sheena Nahm McKinlay who has worked in a wide variety of nonprofit organizations for over 15 years. In this session, Dr. McKinlay will delve into case studies from diverse sectors, including health and education, to explore the principles of design justice and how they can be applied to support community-driven innovation. She will highlight the inherent knowledge within communities to tackle health inequities and address societal challenges. Drawing on experiences from the field, Dr. McKinlay will discuss the pivotal role of community leaders in filling gaps left by traditional sectors and how qualitative methods can support these efforts. Together, we'll explore emerging approaches and foster new modes of thinking to empower communities and drive meaningful change.
Dr. Sheena McKinlay is a cultural anthropologist who has worked in health, education and social services. She is currently VP of R&D at Health Leads. Sheena builds on over 15 years of experience at various nonprofit organizations and in academic research institutions. She leverages mixed methods within participatory research frameworks to ensure that population health interventions are being designed, governed, implemented, and assessed by communities. She has worked specifically in cross-sector settings where stakeholders range from large institutions to community-based organizations and resident leadership groups. Dr. McKinlay earned her BA in neuroscience and anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania, an MPH from Drexel University, and holds an MA and PhD in Anthropology with a Critical Theory Emphasis from the University of California, Irvine. Her areas of focus include medical anthropology, science and technology studies, and emergent networks of knowledge production.