We are proud to welcome Alan L. Wells to the CCPH team! Based in Macon, GA with a PhD in Community Health Science from the University of Texas, Alan will support RADx-UP and other CCPH projects as an Evaluation Specialist. We asked him a few questions about his work and what brings him to CCPH. Check out his bio to learn more.
What made you decide to join CCPH?
After many years working as a professor, I was looking for an opportunity to combine my skills with more direct service and research. I started engaging with CCPH in 2006 during my NIH fellowship in community-based participatory research at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Through the years I always checked in with CCPH as the group that “kept it real” and “got it right”. My mentor and Guru, Dr. Syed Ahmed encouraged me to apply, and the rest is recent history. I am very pleased to be here!
Tell us about the work you’ll be doing to support RADx-UP and CCPH.
I will be working as an Evaluation Specialist. This can include theory, scientific method, and practical ways to see if a project is meeting its aims and objectives. I believe that CCPH operates in the space of praxis – where we operationalize principles of (authentic) partnership in the practice of community engagement. In serving our projects, we serve the community.
How does your experience as an early HIV/AIDS activist inform your health equity work today?
My approach to research ethics and community engagement is one of vigilance. By this I mean I became credentialed because I was appalled by the way my community was treated by researchers, policymakers, and others at the beginning of the HIV/AIDS crisis. For me, vigilance is actively building community programs that not only avoid past injustice but create a better future.
