Sarah Collins

Dr. Sarah L. Collins is the Community Health Program Director and Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Kansas. Dr. Collins earned her Bachelor of Public Health, Master of Public Health in Social and Behavioral Sciences and PhD in Public Health, Social and Behavioral Sciences from the University of Florida. Her research interests reside in public health curriculum, instruction, and pedagogy, where she focuses on utilizing qualitative research methods to explore diversity, equity, inclusion and antiracism within higher education. Additionally, Dr. Collins has held a variety of community-based positions such as working at Suwannee River Area Health Education Center as a Health Insurance Marketplace Navigator and later transitioning to the role of Health Educator & Special Projects Coordinator. As the Health Educator & Special Projects Coordinator, she managed a Florida Department of Health, Office of Minority Health grant that sought to educate ethnic and racial minority senior adults living in Bradford and Union counties on their oral health. Dr. Collins continued her community work with the Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition, educating and engaging with mothers and fathers in the local Jacksonville, Florida community about maternal and child health. Within the classroom, it is Dr. Collins position to celebrate the values of human diversity and pledge to co-construct and co-sustain an inclusive learning environment that empowers students to engage in safe and brave conversations regarding diversity, social justice, lived experiences, and critical action to achieve health equity for all populations. In having these conversations, she aims to prioritize, empower, and amplify the voices of the diverse student body that she has the privilege of educating, as well as the community members and partners we engage and serve.