Focus Carolina: Sarah Verbiest
Through her work in developing programs for new mothers and ensuring her research includes racial equity and cultural diversity, she champions Carolina’s service mission.
Sarah Verbiest is committed to improving care for children and families in North Carolina. Through her work in developing programs for new mothers and ensuring her research includes racial equity and cultural diversity, she champions Carolina’s service mission.
A public health social worker, she is a clinical associate professor and director of the Jordan Institute for Families in the UNC School of Social Work. She is the executive director of the Collaborative for Maternal and Infant Health in the UNC School of Medicine.
Through these roles, she promotes engaging families at each stage of life and advocates for partnering with communities and diverse stakeholders in identifying problems and their solutions.
Verbiest was one part of a team that developed the Fourth Trimester Project, a collaborative at Carolina that includes the Schools of Medicine, Social Work, Information and Library Science and the Gillings School of Global Public Health. The team developed a website, newmomhealth.com, that provides information new mothers and their families need and was developed based on research with community partners and families. “We’ve engaged with new moms over time and really brought their voices into the work,” she said.
A Spanish-language version of the site recently launched and includes input from women and families, with specific ways for new mothers to connect.
Through these roles, Verbiest promotes engaging families at each stage of life and advocates for partnering with communities and diverse stakeholders in identifying problems and their solutions. Her work in research, training and implementing evidence-based programs focuses on inclusion, bringing in voices from racially and culturally diverse populations and centering equity in practices and policies that affect families.
Verbiest is a triple Tar Heel, earning a master’s and doctorate in public health from the Gillings School of Global Public Health and a master’s in social work from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Every day, faculty members at UNC-Chapel Hill engage in groundbreaking research, innovative teaching and public service that makes an impact in our community and the state, nation and the world.
Tune in to Focus Carolina during morning, noon and evening drive times and on the weekends to hear their stories and find out what ignites their passion for their work. Focus Carolina is an exclusive program on WCHL, sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can listen to WCHL at 97.9 FM or 1360 AM.
Read a transcript of this interview.
Read a transcript of this interview.
