Jennifer Richards

Title: Assistant Professor

Tribal Affiliation: Navajo

Location: Tuba City/Remote

Biography

Jennifer Richards, PhD, MPH is Diné (‘Áshįįhi) born for the Oglala Lakota Oyate and her maternal grandfather is Taos Pueblo. Jennifer is from Tuba City, Arizona (Navajo Nation) and joined the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health in 2013. With nearly 20 years of public health experience in Southwest and Northern Plains tribes, her research focuses on reducing American Indian (AI) health inequities through family and child health (FCH)approaches and Indigenous research methodologies. Since 2013, Dr. Richards has led various FCH initiatives including: early childhood home visiting, diabetes prevention, teen pregnancy prevention, adolescent health promotion, and fatherhood empowerment. Dr. Richards’ current research focuses on the role of Indigenous doulas in promoting maternal health and improving birth outcomes in rural AI communities.

Jennifer obtained both her MPH in Maternal and Child Health (2008) and PhD in Health Behavior Health Promotion (2020) from the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona. She is also a Flinn-Brown Civic Leadership Fellow (2024) through the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership.

In her free time, Jennifer enjoys traveling with her family and friends, anything outdoors (especially running/hiking with her son and their dogs), getting immersed in a good book, and cheering on her son at his athletic events. Her favorite place to visit is Taos Pueblo, her cheii’s (maternal grandfather) homelands in northern New Mexico.

Active projects:

  • Azhe’é Bidziil (Strong Fathers): Improving Outcomes Among Rural Fathers and their Families
  • Hastiin Bidziil (Strong Man): A brief intervention to reduce substance use among young Native men
  • Amá Bidziil (Strong Mothers): Developing a full circle doula program to improve maternal health outcomes
  • Hozhó Horizons: Teen pregnancy/STI prevention
  • Family Spirit Long Term Follow-Up