Lauren Kennedy

Lauren Kennedy

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Pronouns:
She/Her/Hers

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Degrees:
Ph.D.  Human Nutrition, Foods & Exercise, Virginia Tech
B.S.     Psychology, Virginia Tech

Dr. Lauren Kennedy is an Extension Specialist in Community Behavioral Health with the MSU Extension Health and Nutrition Institute. She has a range of content expertise in public health, including mental health and suicide prevention, chronic stress management, substance use, and community nutrition. Her role includes building Extension’s capacity to improve health equity in our communities by contextualizing individual health behaviors and outcomes within broader socioecological systems and structures. She studies and develops ways that traditional Extension delivery models and practices can be enhanced through use of implementation science frameworks, critical race theory, and authentic community engagement. She brings more than 10 years of experience in developing, implementing, and evaluating community health programming to MSU Extension.