APE/Thesis Opportunities, Open Hand Atlanta

Our team works closely with Open Hand Atlanta to evaluate their food security and nutrition programs in metro Atlanta and across Georgia.  We are looking for enthusiastic and outgoing Atlanta-based data collectors/evaluators to support in person qualitative and survey data collection, data management and analysis as well as report writing across several of these projects. This opportunity can serve to fulfill practicum requirements or provide data or other activities to fulfill a thesis. There will also be opportunities for abstract/manuscript and conference presentation submissions through these projects with Open Hand support. 

Job Description 

Our team has several paid GRA positions available with our Open Hand Atlanta Evaluation partnership. GRAs can choose from several evaluation projects and be involved in different types of program evaluation activities including M&E plan development, tool development / revision; data management; qualitative data collection and analysis, survey data collection and analysis, support with grant writing, report writing, developing infographics, etc. As students develop a relationship with a particular project, they will be able to take on leadership and management activities as well. This is a great opportunity to develop skills, work with Atlanta communities and a great community partner and get paid! I am prioritizing first year MPH and MSPH  students. Students that succeed in this work have strong interpersonal skills, take initiative, are flexible and able to work independently. Oftentimes there is a need for students to work across projects and assist with data collection, meaning that there is opportunity to be involved in multiple projects even if you are more interested in taking a leadership role for one. 

The different Open Hand projects are detailed below: 

Produce Prescription (PRx) Programs — this program works with healthcare partners in metro Atlanta and hospital systems in south GA to provide fresh produce boxes, interactive cooking and nutrition education, and social support to reduce food insecurity, enhance nutrition and mitigate chronic disease risk over the course of 6-months. Seeking — 1 GRA with reliable access to transportation to support survey and qualitative data collection, data analysis and report writing for ongoing PRx classes. Metro Atlanta travel required; travel to south GA optional. Availability based on class schedule but classes generally take place between 10am-2pm on either Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. All other work can be done remotely. This would be an excellent practicum / thesis opportunity!  

Kids and Teens Nutrition Education – our team manages the state-wide data for Open Hand’s children and teen nutrition education programming, which empowers youth with interactive cooking, food literacy and nutrition education. Seeking – 1 GRA to take over from a current second year. GRA manages all data entry, data management, analyses and annual reporting to Open Hand. This student also creates site-specific outcome reports at the end of each fiscal year (September/October) to be shared with community organizations who hosted programming. This work can be done remotely, attending Metro-Atlanta area classes to help with data collection is optional and can be scheduled with Open Hand’s program manager if of interest to student.  

WIC – Cooking Matters + Social Marketing and Policy, Systems, & Environmental Change work – provides interactive cooking and nutrition education sessions in Women, Infants, & Children (WIC) clinics in Georgia’s Public Health District 4. Current nutrition education evaluation activities involve management and analysis of data and report writing. Open Hand also carries out a variety of social marketing campaigns throughout the clinics and this student would assist with rolling these out and helping to plan future work. This position would also entail helping Open Hand SNAP-Ed staff continue a literature review and plan for upcoming policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change work. There is a lot of opportunity for program design in this role as many new opportunities with the WIC clinics are forthcoming. Seeking – 1 GRA to support data management, analysis and reporting, social marketing design/evaluation, and PSE research/design. All activities are currently remote  

MARTA markets – Market Evaluation + Social Marketing Design/Evaluation – Emory is the evaluator for the MARTA markets program implemented by Open Hand, Common Markets, and MARTA. Seeking: 1 GRA to support tool refinement, data collection, data management, data analysis and report writing from July-October. There is also the opportunity to analyze data from previous years for the purpose of producing a thesis or manuscript. All data collection activities occur at MARTA stations across the city so GRAs must have reliable access to transportation or MARTA.  Other GRAs from the team will likely be trained on the survey and assist with data collection as needed. This opportunity would also involve working closely with Open Hand staff to redesign and evaluate all MARTA Market social marketing materials throughout the summer, which promote the markets and their acceptance of SNAP benefits. 

Year- End Community Partner Impact Reports – Open Hand believes in giving data classes back to community members and community-based organizational partners that they work with throughout the state of Georgia. To do this, partner-specific outcome reports and/or infographics are created at the end of each fiscal year (October) to give back to partner organizations and demonstrate program impact within their populations throughout the year. Seeking: 1 GRA to complete these reports, beginning in September 2024 and ending in December ‘24/January ’25. This is an excellent APE for anyone looking to complete their practicum during the beginning of their second year instead of over the summer. There is also an opportunity to gain experience working directly with community-based organizations and potentially presenting data to them if interested.  

Public Health Competencies: 2. Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context, 3. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software as appropriate, 4. Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice, 7. Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities’ health, 9. Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention, 11. Select methods to evaluate public health programs, 18. Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors, 19. Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation, 21. Perform effectively on interprofessional teams 

If interested, please send your CV to both of the following individuals:

Julie Gazmararian, PhD, MPH – jagazma [at] emory [dot] edu

Katie Leite, MPH, Cooking Matters Program Manager – kleite [at] openhandatlanta [dot] org