marygrace sharp, MPH | program manager, chronic and infectious diseases

MaryGrace received her bachelor’s degree in Biostatistics and Health Management at Saint Louis University. After graduating, she joined the Teach for America corps for two years in St. Louis, Missouri as a Special Education teacher and case manager. At her placement high school MaryGrace taught a wide range of subjects from Pre-Algebra to AP Statistics, and every mathematics class in-between. Through her TFA experience, she came to recognize and understand the many ways health outcomes and education were interconnected and decided to return to her public health roots. MaryGrace moved back to Chicago to pursue her Master of Public Health with an Epidemiology concentration at Northwestern University and was inducted into the honor society, Delta Omega. While obtaining her MPH, she created evidence-based recommendations based on gaps in dementia care practices and wrote a manuscript to better understand antidepressant dosages that are optimal for pregnant mothers and their babies with specific gene sequences.

As a Program Manager for the Chronic and Infectious Diseases team MaryGrace works to promote healthcare education, community engagement and linkage of care for Asian, Pacific Islander, African, and other communities of color throughout the Chicagoland area. She serves as a liaison and resource to community-based partners working to increase vaccine confidence and preventative measures for hepatitis. She also analyzes data from the Chicago Asian Health Survey to highlight the health disparities that are more apparent once Asian data is disaggregated by ethnicity.

In her free time MaryGrace loves to be with family and friends. She also enjoys trying out new restaurants, walking on the lake path, playing piano, and listening to music or podcasts.