As an equity-driven public health professional at the Urban Institute, I am fueled by the challenge of tackling complex issues head-on, leveraging data-driven strategies and collaborative approaches to drive meaningful change in our communities and truly elevate the debate.
Lizzy Ferrara is a policy analyst in the Research to Action Lab at the Urban Institute. Her work focuses on such topics as vaccine equity, upward mobility from poverty, the intersection of housing and health, and economic development for tribal nations.
Before joining Urban, Ferrara was a public health consultant, assuming a leadership role in coordinating public health coalitions involving 16 decentralized local public health departments. She played a pivotal role in driving the development of shared services arrangements, implementing emergency planning initiatives, and overseeing projects and grants management as part of the Massachusetts Public Health Excellence initiative.
Ferrara graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree in public health and a minor in health and human values. She holds a master’s degree in public health from Boston University School of Public Health. As a contributor to the COVID-19 State US Policies team, she researched state-level policy responses and racial data metric reporting to advocate for increased monitoring and reporting of American Indian and Alaska Native health data.
