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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