Emily Wallace Heard

With an educational background in psychology, public health, and ethical leadership, Emily is currently a second year MPH student at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health. Originally from Tennessee, Emily was acutely aware of the role that social cohesion and social determinants of health affected the post disaster resilience of her community. Furthering her interests in disaster behavioral health, Emily has served as a crisis counselor and has conducted psychological research on coping dimensions during COVID-19. A long-time dancer, her academic interests also include the embodiment of trauma and the psychotherapeutic role of dance and movement therapies for affected communities. Her focus on child development and the life course approach to public health has informed her work in a variety of early childhood development settings in Tennessee, Washington, D.C, and Denmark. She is also a member of the International Association of Emergency Managers Children and Disaster Caucus. Emily has worked in government roles in the Mayor’s Office of Nashville as well as in DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (DCHSEMA). During her time with DCHSEMA, she was detailed to Building Blocks DC- Gun Violence Prevention Emergency Operations Center where she served as key operational planning support for efforts emphasizing gun violence as a public health crisis. Invigorated by the integration of research to practice, since moving to New York Emily has also aided in implementation science research for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Programming for refugee and migrant women in South America. In addition to her role as the co-president of TFYNC-SAG, Emily is currently a graduate research assistant with the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia Climate School and is the incoming 2023-2024 John D. Solomon Fellow for American Red Cross of Greater New York.