Founder

Dr. Rhyanné McDade was born and raised in Lincoln Heights, Ohio, the First African American self-governing community north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Dr. McDade completed her undergraduate studies at the College of Mount St. Joseph, now renamed Mount St. Joseph University, where she received her Bachelors of Science in Biology in spring 2011.  Dr. McDade then went on to receive her Doctorate of Philosophy in Health Education in spring 2016 from the University of Cincinnati.  While completing her doctoral degree, Dr. McDade’s research centered on social health inequities impacting the African American Community, including teen pregnancy, in-school bullying, and adolescent marijuana use.  Her current research agenda has now expanded to include the impact of COVID-19 on collegiate learning & student mental health outcomes, and mental health stigma within African American church culture.

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Regarding post-doctoral training, Dr. McDade completed a one-year fellowship in the Leadership in Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital in 2017. In 2018, she completed a 1-year research fellowship at Cincinnati Children's Hospital in the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology.  Dr. McDade’s research foci included self-management, patient engagement and medication adherence in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease. 

 

Following the completion of her research-fellowship, Dr. McDade then went on to accept the position of Community Health Program Director at the Health Gap, where she served for two years.  Dr. McDade oversaw program evaluation for all community based health initiatives. Fall 2020, Dr. McDade accepted a teaching-fellowship with the College of Health & Human Services at Northern Kentucky University. While completing her fellowship, Dr. McDade’s current work focuses on teaching, research, service, as well as recruitment of diverse faculty and students at both the university & college level.

 

In addition to Dr. McDade’s academic achievements, she is an avid mental health advocate, and continues to strive for social equity via her active engagement in NAMI and the Mental Health Advocacy & Addiction Coalition. Dr. McDade is excited to bring Mental Health Literacy to the forefront of community conversations and looks forward to working alongside community partners to make mental health a priority.