Corey B. Welcher

Throughout my 15 year career at the NIH, my administrative and project management and analysis roles helped to "facilitate science" by supporting NIH leadership. I am proud of my work and the people I was lucky to work alongside at NIH. I am now really enjoying life on the other side, as a researcher.

Fall Goals- Research Analysis, Strategy and Conferences!

SEPTEMBER- In my role with RECIPES at Morgan State I am the project manager of a small team wrapping up our project focusing on food recovery volunteers. I completed training on a qualitative data analysis software (MAXQDA) and have used it to code and analyze recorded interview transcripts. My experience with database building and modifying made the process of learning a new system very fun! I've gone back to grad school a bit researching methods of transcript analysis that make the most sense. I've enjoyed reading Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke's book on thematic analysis and it fits well with our project and the tool we chose.

OCTOBER- I'm looking for a new role once this project wraps up at the end of 2025 which means, job searching for public health-related roles focused on food systems and food policy. Ha! In Washington, DC area...in this economy? Motivation to apply for positions along with hundreds of people is very low so I sought out some help and applied for the Food Policy Pathways program and was accepted as a candidate. So far it's been a great help to my confidence and strategizing my next move. I'm rounding out the month at the Food Tank and George Washington University's First Annual Food and Agriculture Policy Summit. Looking forward to seeing old friends and discussing possible options for navigating what's next in food for the US.

NOVEMBER- This month I'm attending my first APHA conference and really excited to attend two pre-conference sessions on public health models to address climate action from a state and local level, and one on decolonizing public health, hearing strategies from an Ingenious perspective.

I will also be presenting my first scientific poster at the 2nd Annual Greater Baltimore Climate Summit! More on that on later :)

Check out what I'm up to -->

My favorite personal values

CURIOSITY I prefer to stay curious about the world around me and enjoy asking questions. I strive to process what I learn into wisdom for myself and my community. This character trait has drawn me to explore physical and educational trainings and pursuits that bring me a lot of joy- including some listed here:

Studying the German language for 20 years and passing as a native speaker during my travels
Studying and teaching Yoga
Applying systems thinking approaches to data-system design/UAT, program and project design
Completing my graduate work in environmental health sciences focusing on environmental and social justice impacts to our food system
Chairing the Advisory Council for the site director of a local food recovery organization-Food Rescue US- DC

CONNECTING WITH OTHERS- I genuinely enjoy creating and nurturing my connections with others and bringing ideas and people together. The most lasting example of this is the German speaking group I started in the city for myself and friends which has grown into a large community of new and old speakers. The community we've built is supportive and encouraging, which is needed when keeping up language skills.

hand of white woman holding three heirloom tomatoes in her left hand towards the camera

Food Justice & our shared Environment

In 2024, I completed my graduate studies for my Master of Health Science in Environmental Health and Engineering at Hopkins as a part-time student while working full-time. As a long time volunteer in soup kitchens and anti-hunger fundraising, I began to wonder about the underlying conditions bringing people to soup kitchens or needing food assistance.

I chose my program because I could focus on understanding the connections between environmental health and the food system. During my time there I focused my research on food system planning and long-practiced environmental justice approaches to addressing inequity, and how using those tools and practices could promote food system resilience.

Achieving food justice would require that all people have access to affordable housing, food, health care, fair wages, reliable transportation and live in a healthy environment.

In my work as a research scientist and as a citizen, I try to stay involved in conversations around local policies and programming that acknowledge inequity in social determinants of health and seek to find a community-designed solution.

Corey B.Welcher

Corey B.Welcher

Research Scientist, Food Systems

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My favorite personal values

Food Justice & our shared Environment

Corey B.Welcher

Corey B.Welcher

Research Scientist, Food Systems

Click card to send email 📧

My favorite personal values

Food Justice & our shared Environment

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