People

Project Director

Professor Margaret McGladrey:

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy at the University of South Florida and serve as the faculty co-lead of the Criminal Legal System Workgroup and Photovoice site lead for the HEALing Communities Study-Kentucky. I specialize in participatory health research and community engagement processes supporting interdisciplinary team science conducted in partnership with a wide variety of public and private agencies, such as K-12 schools, performing arts education nonprofit organizations, local public health departments, cooperative extension, county and regional jails, probation and parole offices, treatment courts, pretrial services, and recovery community organizations.

While serving as Assistant Dean for Research at the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Public Health from 2012-17, I contributed as a co-investigator to interdisciplinary research projects sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Kentucky Department for Public Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and other funders, resulting in 20 publications, 8 of which are first-authored.

My dissertation used objectification theory to evaluate the effectiveness of a media literacy and performing arts education program called The Girl Project (TGP) as an early intervention for middle- and high school-aged students to prevent and disrupt internalization of media ideals. Eight alumni of and 11 participants in TGP served as my co-researchers investigating the outcomes of the program through a participatory evaluation process in which they designed the research questions and data collection strategies, analyzed the data we gathered, assisted with transcription and coding, presented findings in a panel discussion, and co-authored a peer-reviewed article resulting from the project.   
 
In 2018-19, I was a postdoctoral scholar of civic studies with the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life and Department of Sociology at Tufts University before joining the child welfare nonprofit Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) at the local and state levels in Kentucky and leading direct service, community outreach, evaluation, and capacity-building activities. In 2020, I began a position as the Project Director and now am faculty co-lead for the Criminal Legal System Team of the NIH/Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s HEALing Communities Study (HCS) award to UK. This role involves working with state-level agency leadership and the local-level staff of courts and Department of Corrections as well as county-specific coalitions that identify high-risk populations in their areas to implement evidence-based practices to reduce opioid overdose deaths.

I also am the Kentucky site lead for the HCS Photovoice project, designing and facilitating this participatory action research method with 10 different groups in coordination with the Massachusetts and Ohio HCS sites. Partnerships formed during the HCS Photovoice project led to the Clark County Health Department contracting with me to facilitate Photovoice to inform their 2022-23 community health assessment and community health improvement processes. 

Education  
BA, Journalism, University of Oregon 
MA, Communication, University of Kentucky 
PhD, Sociology and Gender and Women's Studies, University of Kentucky 
Postdoctoral, Sociology/Civic Studies, Tufts University