Senior Research Associate
mackenzie.whipps@vanderbilt.edu
Mackenzie is a Senior Research Associate with the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center. In her role, she conducts rigorous policy and program evaluations to expand the existing evidence base for policies and scalable programs that promote the health and wellbeing of children and families.
As a Community Health Scientist, she combines formal training in Community Psychology, Human Development, Political Science, and Maternal-Infant Health with more than a decade of experience as a birth worker (including clinical experience as a childbirth educator, birth and postpartum doula, and Certified Lactation Counselor). A major focus of her research to date has examined the system-level determinants of health and wellbeing for families with infants in the United States, primarily during the ‘childbearing year’. Her research aims to shift the conversation around positive infant development, maternal mental health, and family wellbeing to center the voices and experiences of those who are vulnerable to structural inequities, using innovative qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method analytic techniques to best tell their stories.
Mackenzie holds a doctoral degree from New York University’s Steinhardt School, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She resides in Walnut Creek, California with her husband and two children. In her spare time, she enjoys biking, reading spy novels, and bird watching.