Ameena Batada is an action researcher, professor, and illustrator. She has a Doctorate in Public Health (DrPH) in population and family health sciences and health communication and a Master of Public Health (MPH) in maternal and child health. Ameena has been working for more than a decade with community organizations and members in Buncombe County, NC to conduct research to inform and influence program, practice, and policy change.  Before working with ABIPA-r, Ameena was co-director of the UNC Asheville-UNC Gillings MPH program in placed-based health, director of education, research, and outreach at Sesame Workshop India, and child health project manager at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Ameena's updated CV can be found here.

My first interaction with ABIPA was in 2007 as a result of me partnering with them to fund  access to swimming lessons at the YWCA for the children enrolled in the Fit 4 Life afterschool program I founded at my church. In 2008 I was hired as a Program Manager and in 2012 I transitioned into the Executive Director. With  25 years of business management experience, I take pride  in having the opportunity to live my life with passion and  purpose to support my community. My greatest joy comes in knowing that I have the opportunity to utilize the strengths of my organization to support community  and team members in a holistic fashion to find balance and success in their physical, mental, financial and social health.  I have innately and intentionally embodied the mantra of my alma mater Oakwood University, “Enter to Learn. Depart to Serve.”

Kelly White is the Health Education Program Manager with ABIPA where her community work began volunteering at the non-profit’s Annual Men’s Prostate event as a phlebotomist. During a school internship, she had the opportunity to take a deeper dive into community engagement and was able to take an inventory and assess what types of resources were within the community and began to think upstream about how she could assist in making a difference. With a niche for community health, she obtained a master's in public health and a master's in health education. Her most recent work history has allowed her to work mainly with a hidden population of folks who may not have the health education or everyday resources they need to begin thinking about the importance of preventative health and how it can create healthier outcomes and life of longevity for future generations.