Anya Dehkam

Biography

Anya Dehkam was born on October 30th, 1987, in Frankfurt, Germany to immigrant parents from Iran. At a young age, she was very interested in taking care of others.  Following high school, she received a nursing degree in 2010, followed by a B.A. in health education in 2016, and concluded her studies with a M.S. in Public Health Education and Promotion from Marymount University in 2020.

Early on, she served as a pediatric nurse for 5 years. After her B.A. degree, she worked as a Health Educator for diverse populations with chronic and acute health conditions, as well as individuals struggling with mental health disorders.  She was also a Substance Abuse Counselor and had the opportunity to work with the underserved population at Arlington County jail.  Her Current role as a Lead Coach and Training specialist, has led her to manage 11 hospitals in the Northern Virginia area, including mental health facilities in the Care Transitions Intervention Program, with outcomes that include safe transfer of patients from the hospital to the home setting. 

She collaborates with physicians and inpatient clinical hospital staff, all while maintaining accurate and timely documentation on each referred patient, as well as re-admitted patients in database systems.  Anya served as a subject manner expert and frontline resource for patients throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. 

She has been an Adjunct Professor at Marymount University since 2021, with her chief research in the stress management field, and a part-time nurse counselor at an eating disorder residential facility in Fairfax, VA. She is a USAging Leadership Institute alumni which is the national association representing and supporting the network of Area Agencies and advocating for the Title VI Native American Aging Programs. The institute helps older adults, and people with disabilities throughout the U.S. live with optimal health, well-being, independence and dignity in their homes and communities.

As an alumnus, she gathers with local leaders in aging with government experts, policy makers, business leaders, and other aging network practitioners and partners to share knowledge, insights and new directions in the field of Aging. She has been nominated to attend the USAging Leadership Institute Aging Policy and Briefing & Capitol Hill Day on April 25th and 26th of 2023.

Certifications include Care Transitions Intervention Program (2017), USAging Leadership Institute (2021), and Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic (2020), as well as other Community Health related achievements. Anya is fluent in American English and Farsi. In her free time, she loves to spend time with family, travel, exercise, read and contribute to the public healthcare sector.

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Sara Pappa

Academic Credentials

PhD, MCHES

Biography

Dr. Sara Pappa is an Assistant Professor in the Health and Human Performance Department.
She holds a BS in Health Education and Promotion from the University of Cincinnati, an MA is
Exercise Physiology from Kent State University and a Ph.D. in Health Education from the
The University of Cincinnati. In addition to teaching, she manages the regional falls prevention
the initiative, including the Northern Virginia Falls Prevention Alliance. This work is supported by a
a federal grant from the Administration on Community Living. Current research initiatives include
evidence-based falls prevention programs for older adults and professional preparation of
health educators. In previous roles, she worked in local public health departments in Fairfax
County and in Ohio. She has extensive experience in managing public health projects at the
local, regional and state levels. Her experience includes implementing and evaluating health
promotion programs and policies; conducting community health needs assessments;
developing and evaluating community health improvement plans; media outreach and public
relations; grant research, writing and administration; coalition development and leadership;
and strategic planning.

Other Information

Teaching Area

Research Interests

Publications

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Michael Nordvall

Academic Credentials

B.S., Ithaca College
M.S., Southern Connecticut State University
Ed.D., University of Northern Colorado

Biography

Other Information

Teaching Area

  • Exercise and Health Sciences

Research Interests

  • Cycling Performance
  • Genetics in Health and Human Performance

Dr. Michael Nordvall has been a member of the faculty at Marymount University since 1998. He completed his undergraduate work in Health Sciences at Ithaca College, his master’s degree in Human Performance at Southern Connecticut State University, and his doctorate in Kinesiology at the University of Northern Colorado.

Dr. Nordvall teaches several courses in both the undergraduate Health Sciences and graduate Health Promotion Management programs including Introduction to Health and Exercise Science, Honors Exercise Physiology, Applications in Human Performance, and Design of Adult Fitness Programs.

His research interests include high-altitude physiology, performance characteristics of cyclists, and the role of genetics in disease and human performance.

Dr. Nordvall was a 2008 Honors Fellow with the University’s Honors Program.

Publications

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Gwendolyn S. Roberts Francavillo

Academic Credentials

B.A., University of Maryland, Baltimore County
M.P.H., The George Washington University
Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park
Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES)
Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT)

Biography

Dr. Gwendolyn S. Roberts Francavillo is an experienced, tenured Associate Professor of Public Health in the School of Health Sciences at Marymount University. She has taught and conducted research at universities since 1998 with expertise in stress management, public health ethics, wellness, sexuality, and global health. Dr. Francavillo has an interactive teaching approach to make any topic fun and engaging! A professional endeavor of hers is to establish an interest among her students in research methods and theoretical foundation. Dr. Francavillo has a PhD and Master’s degree in Public Health, and is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). One of her passions is teaching yoga to varied populations for over 20 years and is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT). She has received funding, published findings, and presented at national conferences. Dr. Francavillo feels her calling is to help others embrace positivity, feel empowered to take responsibility for their own health, and be the best selves they can be!

Teaching Area

  • Health Psychology
  • Stress Management
  • Global Health and Culture
  • Public Health Capstone
  • Yoga

Research Interests

  • Stress Management
  • Public Health Ethics
  • Sexual Assault

Publications

  • Francavillo, G. S. R. (2021). Psychosocial Holistic Stress Management: Innovative Factors and Techniques Associated with a Reduction of Perceived Stress. Presented at the 2021 Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Public Health Association.
  • Francavillo, G. S. R. (2021). “Soul-utions” for Stress Reduction. Presented at the 2021 Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Public Health Association.
  • Francavillo, G. S. R. (2021). Health and Immigration Ethics: How Would You Decide? Presented at the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Society for Public Health Education.
  • Francavillo, G. S. R. (2021). Developing an Effective, Interactive Online Intervention to Target Public Health Issues and Risk Behaviors. Presented at the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Society for Public Health Education.
  • Francavillo, G. S. R. (2019, November). Applying an Ethical Decision-Making Framework to Case Studies Involving Public Health Issues and Risk Behaviors. Presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Public Health Association, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Francavillo, G. S. R. (2017). College Students Experience Sexual Assault Disproportionately as a Result of Disparities. Presented at the 2017 annual meeting of the National Wellness Conference, St. Paul, MN.
  • Francavillo, G. S. R. (2017). Educating vulnerable students with evidence-based sexual assault information. Presented at the 2017 Global Perspectives International Conference, Marymount University, Arlington, VA.
  • Francavillo, G. S. R. (2015). Improving prevention and response to sexual misconduct on campus: How the data help us. Presented at the 2015 annual meeting of the American College Health Association, Orlando, FL.
  • Francavillo, G. S. R. (2013). Sexual education, sexual communication, sexual assault knowledge, rape myths, acceptance, and sexual assault experience among deaf and hard of hearing college students. Presented at the 2013 Bridging the Gap Conference, Vancouver, WA.
  • Francavillo, G. S. R. (2013). Sexuality assault knowledge among deaf and hard of hearing college students. Presented at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, Boston, MA.
  • Francavillo, G. S. R. (2010). Sexuality education, sexual communication, rape myth acceptance, and sexual assault experience among Deaf and Hard of Hearing college students. Presented at the 2010 annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, Denver, CO.

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Marymount University