Mary Parker had the desire to engage in community-level programming, evaluation measures and program analysis from an early age. At a young age before she could even articulate it, Mary was intrigued by the data collection process and health related outcomes for the African-American population. Mary marveled at how this information fed into community-level programming.

Mary's interest in effective community-level programming took on a global perspective when she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in rural South Africa and later as a Program Assistant with the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute in Kingston, Jamaica. Through these opportunities, Mary's appreciation for effective evaluation systems grew as she witnessed projects and programs purposed with well intent meet with both success and failure. Mary observed the dependence of these programs on the ability to monitor progress measures and evaluate systems used for program implementation.

Mary is passionate about all things public health. Through her current work with an HIV/AIDS non-profit, Mary assists HIV-positive individuals and families access affordable housing. Mary has a personal interest in public health disease surveillance within minority groups and marginalized communities. This is what drives her desire to strengthen her evaluation skill-set in order to create targeted programming which accurately addresses community-level needs.

Mary received her Masters of Public Health (MPH) from Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana. For Mary the city of New Orleans presented a unique opportunity wherein her knowledge attained through the pursuit of her MPH could be immediately applied into the community. The 2005 hurricane season yielded unprecedented damage to New Orleans and southern Louisiana. Mary assisted in the recovery process as she worked with state and federal agencies to assess population-level data that would ultimately provide information needed to help rebuild hospitals, health facilities and schools in rural and minority areas.

About ACCESS AIDS Care

ACCESS, AIDS Care Center for Education and Supportive Services, was formed in 2006 through a merger of two AIDS Service Organizations in southern Virginia. The mission of ACCESS AIDS Care is to promote the dignity and wellness of adults, families, youth and children affected by HIV/AIDS through quality support and prevention services so they may live healthy lives. The initial primary focus of the organization was on women and children with HIV/AIDS and providing support primarily through case management and respite services. As HIV/AIDS has changed, so have our programs. The organization provides both prevention and care services. Medical Case Management is our largest care program and HIV Testing and Prevention for Positives are our largest prevention programs. ACCESS has added permanent supportive housing for persons with disabilities since stably housed individuals will have better health outcomes. ACCESS also has an array of peer based programs. Overall, the agency provides medical case management, outreach (targeting people who know their HIV status and are not in care), HIV testing, permanent supportive housing, children’s services, individual and group level prevention interventions, transportation, benefit coordination, medication assistance, emergency rental and utility assistance, social activities for adults and youth, summer camp, and food pantry (including home delivered meals). ACCESS AIDS Care focuses on being a good community partner. As a result, ACCESS partners with non-HIV related organizations to ensure access to resources for our clients and to ensure we are not duplicating services that are already being provided elsewhere. Likewise, ACCESS receives referrals from a variety of programs throughout the region. This ensures people with HIV/AIDS have access to appropriate programs.