Meet Our Team

Kephi Public Health is a qualitative research firm focused on health equity and community-engaged approaches. Led by Andrea Mantsios, the Kephi network consists of trusted independent consultants with expertise across a variety of topics and methodologies to meet the needs of each client and project. 

  • Founder and Principal Consultant

    Andrea has 20 years of experience as a public health practitioner and researcher. Her career has included working in government, academia, and healthcare institutions in settings around the world including the U.S., Latin America, Africa, and Europe. 

    Before launching Kephi Public Health (formerly Phia Consulting), Andrea was on faculty at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society. Prior to that, she served as the Director of Jurisdictional HIV Testing Initiatives at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Andrea’s experience includes program planning, implementation and evaluation; academic research; on-the-ground community mobilization; and establishing interagency and community partnerships. She has designed and conducted research studies of varying sizes and scopes utilizing both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Andrea serves as Kephi’s principal consultant and oversees its portfolio of projects.

    Andrea received her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Master of Health Science (MHS) degrees from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and is fluent in Spanish. She has published extensively on her work, including 3 book chapters and over 25 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Click below to see her complete list of publications.

    See Publications →

    See Past Projects →

  • Dana is an independent consultant who has worked in the areas of public health and medicine for the last 20 years. In that time, she has served in various roles contributing to international and domestic health research with hospitals, government, and academic institutions. 

    For several years, Dana has worked on projects for the CDC, USAID, WHO, and National Institute of Chronic Disease Directors, as well as academic institutions and hospitals in public health research. She has served as Director of Post-Doctoral Research at NYU Langone-Brooklyn for oral health. Over her career, her research experience has included a broad range of topics with an international and domestic focus, such as HIV prevention, gender-based violence, water sanitation, oral health, cancer, and chronic disease. She has presented at international conferences and authored several publications on these topics. 

    Dana received her PhD in Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Master’s in Public Health from Brown University School of Public Health. 

  • Jenné is an independent consultant with nearly 20 years of research experience. Her research focuses on the application of intersectionality to public health and health equity research with marginalized communities. Her areas of expertise with community engagement, community health, translation of research to policy, an intersectional framework and photovoice lend to qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods research. In addition to varying senior level research positions within academia, Jenné is the founding Deputy Director of the Intersectionality Research Institute and a Commissioner and Chair of the DC Department of Health Regional Planning Commission on Health and HIV (COHAH) and Community Engagement and Education Committee (CEEC), respectively. 

    Jenné completed her doctorate in Public Health at Drexel University’s Community Health and Prevention Department. She also holds a Master's in Sport Psychology from Temple University and B.A.s in Psychology and Exercise and Sport Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is currently a Faculty Senior Research Associate in Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Department of Mental Health.

  • Amy is a freelance writer and administrative professional based in New York City. She is passionate about helping health-focused researchers and advocates connect their work with their intended audiences.

    Amy brings a decade of communications experience to her consulting practice, including expertise in developing messaging and strategies to effectively communicate research and policy findings to non-expert audiences.

    In addition to supporting her amazing clients, Amy writes and produces musical theater. Across all areas of her work, Amy uses clear and engaging storytelling to connect people and drive change.

  • Lynnette is an independent consultant who has worked as an educator and teacher trainer for over 20 years. Her research focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion practices of educational institutions (PreK–16) and large-scale organizations in urban settings. Lynnette's participatory and asset-based approach to research utilizes both qualitative and visual methods when engaging with national and international communities. Lynnette received her Ph.D. in Urban Education from Temple University. She is the Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Academic Initiatives and Professor of Urban Education at Rutgers University-Newark.

    Lynnette’s work with Kephi Public Health focuses on community-engaged qualitative research to inform more equitable programming and policy in clinical settings.

  • Stefanie is an independent consultant with over 15 years of experience in population health, underserved populations, healthcare access, and the social determinants of health. As a consultant, she has worked closely with primary care associations, federally qualified health centers, and safety net hospitals, bringing an equity lens to program and project development and evaluation, strategic and operational planning, and revenue development. Stefanie previously served in the Population Health Department at NYU Langone School of Medicine as the Senior Program Director for HealthyHearts NYC, a three-year research project funded through AHRQ’s EvidenceNOW Program, and as the Senior Director of Operations at the Community Health Care Association of New York State.

    Stefanie completed her Doctor of Jurisprudence at St. John’s University School of Law and is a member in good standing of the New York State Bar. In addition, she holds a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago, and a B.A. in Journalism (Print) from New York University College of Arts and Science.