KELLY PALMER, Ph.D.
Kelly Palmer is a native of Akron, Ohio. She earned a BS in Microbiology and a BS in Natural Science from the University of Akron, a Master of Science in Health Sciences from Indiana University, and a Ph.D. in Health Behavior Health Promotion from the University of Arizona. Dr. Palmer is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Promotion Sciences at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and the Associate Director of the UAHS Center for Health Disparities Research.
Dr. Palmer spent more than a decade managing studies translating the evidenced-based diabetes prevention program and has extensive experience with lifestyle modification interventions for cardiometabolic disease risk reduction.
She has demonstrated success with community outreach and engagement and strategies for effective participant recruitment and retention. Broadly, her research seeks to understand sociocultural influences on health behavior and to design and implement culturally informed interventions to achieve health equity for vulnerable and underserved populations.
MORDECAI CARGILL
Mordecai Cargill is a co-founder and chief creative officer of the ThirdSpace Action Lab, a grassroots research, strategy & design cooperative, dedicated to prototyping creative place-based solutions to complex socioeconomic problems. Mordecai’s key roles & responsibilities include (but are not limited to): Research, Analysis & Evaluation; Storytelling, Insights & Content Creation; and Creative Direction & Brand Management.
Prior to starting this exciting venture, Mordecai served as the Director of Strategy, Research & Impact at Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP), a community development funding intermediary committed to fostering inclusive neighborhoods of choice and opportunity throughout the city of Cleveland.
AMANDA PARKER
Amanda Parker is a mother, attorney, and graduate of The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business and Moritz College of Law. Raised in Akron along with her two sisters, and extended family, Parker’s family instilled in her a strong sense of community service.
Parker stays engaged with her community as a volunteer for community legal aid, a church trustee, a mentor, and a member of the Kent Area Chapter Links, Incorporated. Her legal practice currently focuses on representing a public utility in federal regulatory proceedings. Parker also spends her time as a baseball mom, cheering for her son Jackson.
LAMAR R. HYLTON, Ph.D.
Lamar R. Hylton, Ph.D. currently serves as the Senior Vice President for Student Affairs at Kent State University. In this role, he provides vision, executive leadership, oversight, and direction for over 25 units that comprise the Division of Student Affairs. He also represents Student Affairs on several institutional committees and work groups.
Utilizing experiences drawn from his dissertation research, and as a first-generation college graduate three times over, Dr. Hylton is personally invested in giving back to the students he serves. He works towards impacting academic achievement, college satisfaction, and student success.
