Colleen Staatz

Colleen Staatz uses qualitative research methods to evaluate public health interventions, especially those focused on advancing health equity.

For the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Staatz recently led a task to interview state and local health officials about their experiences implementing COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing programs. Findings from this work provided context on the range of approaches that states and localities used for case investigation and contact tracing, as well as strategies to reach populations disproportionately affected by COVID-19 through these efforts. She also led work for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to interview key informants about best practices for COVID-19 vaccination and testing, particularly for populations at disproportionate risk of COVID-19. Her other work at Mathematica has included leading qualitative components of several evaluations of public health programs for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, including the Evidence for Action program and the Data Across Sectors for Health program. Staatz also has substantial experience working on Mathematica’s evaluations of behavioral health programs, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis grant program for the U.S Department of Labor’s National Health Emergency Grants to Address the Opioid Crisis.

Before joining Mathematica in 2015, Staatz worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She holds an M.P.H. in global health from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.