"I chose UMD because I had a wonderful experience as an undergraduate Terp and fondly remembered the faculty in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health (formerly Community Health)... Without the opportunities that the Graduate School provides to graduate students, I would not have been able to present at a national conference, I would not have been provided instrumental guidance on writing an academic CV, and I would not be the recipient of the 2014 Spencer Award."
Erica Blue Roberts BA ’06 is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health in the School of Public Health and the 2014 recipient of the Dr. Mabel S. Spencer Award for Excellence in Graduate Achievement.
“What an amazing gift this award has been,” Roberts said as she accepted her award. “It has been vitally important to my dissertation, allowing me to pursue an area that is personally and professionally important to me, and hopefully, one that contributes to the reduction of health disparities among Native Americans … When I am in a space where I can provide for others, I will be sure to give another young female researcher this type of support so that she too may pursue her passion.”
Roberts’ dissertation entitled, “A Sequential Mixed Methods Approach to Identifying and Understanding Indigenous Ways of Evaluating Physical Activity programs,” focuses on developing culturally-driven ways to improve the success and sustainability of Native American public health programs. As someone who is Native American herself and who has worked in tribal public evaluation, Roberts seeks to give back to her community through her research by identifying and providing tools for conducting culturally-driven evaluation to Native Americans so that they can sustain and improve public health programs.
While completing her dissertation, Roberts is interning at the National Cancer Institute in the Office of Planning and Assessment. Prior to this position, she worked as a research assistant on a community- based participatory research study examining the perspectives of health and physical culture among urban American Indian female youth. Before starting the doctoral program, Roberts served as a research analyst at JBS International Inc. and as a Public Health Programs Assistant at the National Indian Health Board.
Roberts holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland and a Master of Health Science from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She plans to graduate in December 2015 and pursue a career in capacity building for research and evaluation in tribal communities.
Learn more about Roberts in the interview below:
Why did you choose to UMD to pursue your doctoral degree?
I chose UMD because I had a wonderful experience as an undergraduate Terp and fondly remembered the faculty in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health (formerly Community Health). It was also important for me to be close to my family and my boyfriend at the time (now husband) who works at UMD.
What has contributed to your success as a doctoral student?
The continued support that I have received from the Graduate School and my academic department; my advisor, Dr. Kerry Green, who has spent countless hours helping me prepare for the qualifying exam, guiding me through the development and proposal of my dissertation research, and assisting me in applying for funding to support this study; and my husband, Andrew, who has been with me through all of the ups and downs of a doctoral program.
Also – networking! Through the doctoral program I have had the opportunity to meet so many experts in Native public health and evaluation, which has made a profound impact on my success in the program and will continue to impact my professional success in the future.
How has the Graduate School supported your education?
Without the opportunities that the Graduate School provides to graduate students, I would not have been able to present at a national conference, I would not have been provided instrumental guidance on writing an academic CV, and I would not be the recipient of the 2014 Spencer Award.
Why did you choose this topic for your dissertation?
Before starting the doctoral program I worked in a professional capacity as an evaluator on a national American Indian/Alaska Native health-related initiative, and in that role I saw the need for supporting local capacity to do evaluation that is meaningful and useful to the community that the program is serving. So, throughout the doctoral program I have always stayed committed to the professional mission of improving public health program evaluation in tribal communities, and I really believe that building capacity for tribes to conduct evaluation that is meaningful to their communities and the funding agency will make a substantial difference in the success and sustainability of public health programs in Indian Country.
How has receiving the Spencer Award impacted your research?
Receiving this award has made my dissertation research possible. It has provided funds to support research-related costs. It provided tuition remission and support for living expenses so for the first time ever in my graduate education – both the Master’s and Ph.D. program – I did not have to take out a student loan.
And this allowed me explore work opportunities that would also support me financially but did not need to be full time, which is ideal, as I didn’t want to derail the progress on my dissertation. And so, I was able obtain a part time internship through the American Evaluation Association.
This award has allowed me the freedom and the opportunity to do my research and I could not possibly be more thankful to the Spencer Family – for believing in me and believing in my research.
What is the status of your research?
To date, I have successfully proposed my dissertation and have completed the first stage of data collection, which involved in-depth interviews with Native Americans working on grant-funded physical activity programs, exploring their existing and desired methods of evaluation and their barriers to doing evaluation that is meaningful to their communities and their funding agency.
The findings will inform the creation of a survey, which will further explore these topics amongst a broader sample of Native Americans working on grant-funded physical activity programs.
And after the study is completed – ideally this summer – I will defend my dissertation [and] create a report based on the research findings that will go out to tribal communities to provide ideas or resources for evaluating physical activity programs.
What are your plans after graduation?
I am beginning to explore postdoctoral and professional opportunities, specifically around Native American obesity and diabetes prevention, and evaluation capacity building.