PECaD welcomed Amy Ayala, MPH, a Public Health Research Coordinator, in February who will be working for PECaD part time. Amy’s past work experience has been focused on community nutrition education and public health programming. Amy moved to Arkansas after being born in Los Angeles, where she’s spent time working for University of Arkansas extension offices and their SNAPed program with Head Start families focusing on healthy eating. She has also worked for the Arkansas Health Department and their Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) program. Throughout her time at WIC, Amy worked with a diverse group of participants from different cultural backgrounds and counseled them on various nutrition topics. Prior to joining PECaD, Amy had been volunteering at Hope Cancer Resource, an organization that helps cancer patients with their finances, transportation, and other needs. While volunteering there, Amy recognized the importance of cancer prevention in our communities. Amy earned her bachelors in dietetics at the University of Arkansas for undergrad and then returned to school and completed her Master in Public Health degree at Saint Louis University.