Graves, Neasha
Neasha Graves
Neasha Graves is dedicated to helping vulnerable communities. She has particularly focused on adult literacy and environmental health in her work. She is the UNC Institute for the Environment’s Center for Public Engagement with Science community outreach and education manager. Graves coordinates environmental health outreach programming aimed at helping the public understand environmental health issues and collaborates with community partners who serve at-risk populations affected by these environmental health conditions. Graves has had several positions in state government and organizations where she has advocated for improved health of her community and environmental education.
“Every single day, I see my past work in adult literacy affect how I say something to a layperson, how I convey information, or how I type an email. I’m careful to make sure that the lay audience understands what we’re saying.” – Neasha Graves (from NIEHS, 2023)
Allicock, M., Graves, N., Gray, K. and Troester, M.A., 2013. African American women’s perspectives on breast cancer: Implications for communicating risk of basal-like breast cancer. Journal of health care for the poor and underserved, 24(2), p.753.
Allicock, M., Gray, K., Graves, N., Makowski, L., Allport, S.A., Freeman, K. and Troester, M.A., 2017. What Health Care Providers Know and How They Communicate Breast Cancer Risk to Patients. Medical Research Archives, 5(7).
Gray, K. and Neasha Graves, M.P.A., 2016, October. Building Capacity for Impacted Communities to Understand and Respond to Well Water Contamination in North Carolina. In APHA 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo (Oct. 29-Nov. 2, 2016). APHA.
Rodgers, M., Graves, N., Hughes, M. and Gray, K., 2016, October. Vehicles for Change: Stimulating Healthy Homes Initiatives through Environmental Health Training. In APHA 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo (Oct. 29-Nov. 2, 2016). APHA.
Graves, N., Gray, K., Troester, M. et al. 2014. Understanding How to Communicate Breast Cancer Risk Information to Young African American Women. Conference: 142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition 2014.
Neasha Graves grew up in a little township called Moncure in North Carolina. Her father was a farmer, and her mother was a teacher and daughter of farmers. Graves grew up understanding the hard work needed for farmers to attend college—something many people do not think about today. Graves attended Northwood High School in Pittsboro and later returned to teach at this school.
She grew up in a very supportive community surrounded by people who didn’t have much but were very loving. She was part of a church community that provided her with a scholarship to help her go to college and complete her degree. She deeply loves the community she grew up in and still enjoys visiting her childhood home. To her, it is a beautiful community.
Graves completed a bachelor’s degree in history from Meredith College in Raleigh in 1993. She attended North Carolina Central University in Durham and graduated with a Master of Public Administration in 2000.
After college, Graves taught social studies at her alma mater, Pittsboro High School. Collaborating and teaching with her former teachers was extremely rewarding and influenced her approach to education. She was then a project coordinator for the Community Outreach and Engagement Core (COEC) of the NIEHS-funded Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility (CEHS). Graves’ first foray into environmental education was as a North Carolina Governor’s Public Management Fellow in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
While pursuing her master’s degree in public administration at North Carolina Central University, Graves was selected as one of the North Carolina Governor’s Public Management Fellows. During her fellowship, she served as a statewide coordinator for the NC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. She conducted training and education to empower health professionals, laypeople, and parents in preventing lead exposure and poisoning in young children and promoting healthy homes.
In 2006, Graves joined the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, as the Project Coordinator for the Community Outreach and Engagement Core (COEC) of the NIEHS-funded Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility (CEHS). The COEC, under the guidance of Kathleen Gray, translates research findings into actionable knowledge on subjects such as asthma, air quality, breast cancer, obesity, shale gas, and skin cancer, focusing on improving public health. Graves has contributed to articles related to effectively communicating breast cancer risk to lay audiences.
Now, Graves is the Community Outreach and Education Manager for the University of North Carolina Institute for the Environment’s Center for Public Engagement with Science. In this multifaceted role, she is pivotal in coordinating environmental health outreach programs designed to enhance public understanding of environmental health issues. Her collaborative efforts extend to working closely with community partners dedicated to serving at-risk populations affected by these environmental health conditions. Within the UNC-Chapel Hill Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility, Graves leads the charge in community engagement initiatives.
With over two decades of professional experience, Graves’ expertise spans diverse sectors, including public schools, state government, nonprofits, and academia. Her primary focus areas include secondary education, adult literacy, environmental education, and environmental health.
Beyond her role at UNC, Graves contributes significantly to environmental education and advocacy. She actively serves on the board of the Environmental Education Fund and chairs the Environmental Committee for the Asthma Alliance of NC. She is also a board member for Reinvestment Partners, a North Carolinian nonprofit supporting economic and social improvements.
Graves’ high school teaching and adult literacy education background influences her unique perspective on environmental health education Graves combines her distinct insights with a profound passion for equipping vulnerable individuals with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed. She designs training workshops and materials tailored to educate children, parents, and professionals about critical environmental health issues.
As an educator, Graves finds immense fulfillment in leveraging her drive and the resources at UNC to deliver essential environmental health education to a broad audience. The COEC serves as a vital bridge between researchers and the community, translating complex research into accessible materials for lay audiences, including parents facing health concerns, often with varying literacy levels in mind. Graves understands the importance of making information accessible to individuals who may lack a background or awareness of the impact of environmental factors on their health.
Her work extends to developing programs, materials, and hands-on activities tailored to professionals who may not be fully aware of environmental exposures and their associated health risks. For instance, the COEC provides training on environmental asthma triggers, primarily aimed at nurses and social workers. This training includes tactile kits containing real-life examples of household asthma triggers, providing professionals with a powerful hands-on tool for their interactions with parents, children, and groups. As Graves highlights, the COEC has a profound impact on building capacity in terms of understanding environmental health issues. By providing health professionals with train-the-trainer modules and practical tools like the asthma trigger kit, they are successfully disseminating environmental health education to a diverse range of individuals across North Carolina.
Graves derives immense satisfaction from witnessing the “light bulb” moments when professionals armed with trigger kits gain a deeper understanding of environmental health issues. Graves consistently receives feedback that highlights the impactful nature of her hands-on educational tools, surpassing the effectiveness of traditional brochures or flyers.
Furthermore, Graves plays a pivotal role in coordinating outreach activities for the NIEHS-funded UNC Breast Cancer and Environment Research Program (BCERP). Collaborating with project co-leaders Melissa Troester, Ph.D., and Liza Makowski, Ph.D., who study environmental influences on basal-like breast cancer in Black women under 50, Graves and her colleagues developed an interactive website called “My Breast Cancer Risk.” This platform helps young Black women understand their risk factors for breast cancer.
Graves understands the value of having mentors, especially for children and young adults of color. Most of her aunts and uncles, as well as her mother, are educators. She considers her mother her first mentor. She was Graves’ first teacher and the first to encourage her to see her potential as an educator.
Graves taught social studies at the same school she graduated from. Her fellow high school teachers have also been tremendous mentors and friends for her. As many of her colleagues were also her former teachers, “It was wonderful to learn from and teach with them,” she says (2023). The director of the faculty support of the student government association at the high school she taught at has been another wonderful mentor for Graves. She worked with him in supporting the student government body.
Further into her career, Graves became more involved with environmental health. She worked with environmental specialists who would go door-to-door, teaching people about environmental health. Graves considers them her mentors and educators as well.
Graves’ current supervisor and mentor, Kathleen Gray, also inspires Graves. Gray ensures that they follow an equitable approach while mentoring people in science communication.“ It is a beautiful thing to provide people with experiences to make them think outside the classroom,” Graves says (Survey, 2023).
Before her first formal teaching career, Graves mentored young people in programs such as Outward Bound and other youth training programs. She has never stopped mentoring. In her current role, Graves works with both undergraduate and graduate interns. Stressing the importance of having mentors that we associate ourselves with, Graves says, “Often, with young people like myself, we don’t often see Black southern women involved in health education” (Survey, 2023).
Graves advises young people to think outside the box. She shares how, despite not having a degree in science, she plays a crucial role in science education, specifically in environmental health. Her experience in community outreach and engagement helped her succeed in her roles.
Graves initially thought she would be an attorney, but as she became more involved in education, she fell in love with it. She had a scholarship that supported her four years of college education at Meredith College. She enjoyed teaching, learning, and doing community outreach, which changed her career path.
“Do not ignore any opportunities.”, says Graves (Survey, 2023). When her supervisor shared with her a job posting for a science educator position, she initially ignored it, thinking that because she did not have a science degree, the role was not for her. However, when her supervisor asked her to read the job description, she learned how the role entailed a lot of community engagement and outreach duties, and she immediately got excited about the position.
“Do not ignore opportunities—internships, jobs, or anything that may actually interest you. You just never know. You should not turn a blind eye on opportunities that people share with you” (Survey, 2023).
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. 2023. 2014 Grantee Highlights. Retrieved July 10, 2023 from https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/translational/peph/grantee-…
Survey and interviews conducted by Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative staff. 2022-2023. Yale University-School of the Environment. New Haven, Connecticut.
UNC. n.d. Neasha Graves. Retrieved July 10, 2023 from https://ie.unc.edu/people/graves/.