Research

Research and evaluation are core to our organizational culture. We collect real-time data on the outputs and outcomes of our athlete trainings and our school and community-based health education programs. We are constantly analyzing data to see what we’ve done well and where we can improve. We include community-based focus groups in our research and evaluation process, and we apply that feedback to our program development.

As we aspire to scale up our programs, we also think it is critical that we share our successes and our lessons learned. For this reason, we constantly look for opportunities to speak at conferences, share our white papers, and learn from what others are doing in the public health and youth development sectors.

Thomas, D., Horne, A. (2023). Grassroots Health: Using a sports-based curriculum and college athlete volunteers to re-imagine health education and P.E. for middle school students. Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) Annual Conference. Poster Presentation.
Spencer, T., Wallis, J., McAuliffe, A., Josias Sejour, D. (2023). Grassroots Health: A Sports-Based Health Promotion Program for Middle School Students. In Sex Education Research, ed. William J. Taverner. Routledge.
Wolfe, D., Murphy, E., (2020). Tackling Stigma Through Sports: Collegiate Athletes Lead Health Programs for DC Youth. International Conference on Stigma. Poster Presentation.
Vedder, N., Hoglin, B., Bennett, C. (2020). Middle School Health Curriculum through Community Engagement of NCAA Athletes. American School Health Association. Roundtable Presentation.
Benzing-Plourde, A., Murphy, E., Collins, M., Negron, L. (2020). NCAA College Athletes Teaching Health Through Sports in Washington, D.C. American School Health Association. Poster Presentation.
Spencer, T., Longhurst, R., Brown, J. (2020). The Future for Non-Profits Post COVID-19. Atlantic Institute. Atlantic Fellows Conversations Podcast.

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Wallis, J., Mullman, M. (2013). Coaching The Community On HIV/AIDS Stigma: Getting Parents Off the Bench and Into the Game. Clinton Global Initiative University. Resolution Social Venture Challenge Poster Presentation.
Spencer, T., Fair, L., Kaufman, Z., Braunschweig, E. (2012). International Perspectives and Experiences in Sport-Based HIV Prevention for Young People. XIX International AIDS Conference. Global Village Youth Pavillion Panel Presentation.
Yunus, M. Schwab, K., Spencer, T., Rabana, R., George, M., Bowerman, N. (2012). The Future Across Generations. World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. Closing Plenary.

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Jones, M., McAuliffe, A., Wallis, J., Rose, L., Mushavi, R., Sozhamannan, S., Kamanga, L., Anderson, A., Robins, J., Spencer, T. (2019). Developing, Piloting, and Evaluating a School-Based Nutritional Health Program in Washington DC. American School Health Association. Poster Presentation.
McAuliffe, A., Kamanga, L. (2019). Strategies for Engaging Parents and Caregivers in School-Based Sexual Health Education. National Sexuality Education Conference. Workshop Presentation.
Kamanga, L., McAuliffe, A. (2019). Grassroots: NCAA Student-Athletes Promoting Sexual Health in DC Middle Schools. National Sexuality Education Conference. Workshop Presentation.
Spencer, T. (2019). Creating and Sustaining a Youth-Led HIV Prevention Organization in Washington, DC. National HIV Prevention Conference. Storytelling Session.
Spencer, T., Wallis, J. (2018). Best Practices for Optimizing School Interventions that Support Parent and Caregiver Engagement in Sex Ed. American School Health Association. Oral Presentation.

Bourie, M., Boudreau, E., Hess, M. (2015) Grassroots Jam: Building Community Connections. Clinton Global Initiative University. Commitment to Action.
Spencer, T., Nayak, P. (2013). Building Your Team: Strengthening Organizational Leadership and Capacity. Clinton Global Initiative University. Skills-Building Session.
Kaufman, Z., Spencer, T., Ross, D. (2013). Effectiveness of Sport-Based HIV Prevention Interventions: a Systematic Review of the Evidence. AIDS and Behavior. 17(3): 987-1001.

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Sozhamannan, S., Wallis, J., Mushavi, R., Spencer, T. (2018) Grassroots Fam: An Interactive Parent-Child Communication Component. American Pregnancy Prevention Conference: Strengthening Communities: Promoting Resiliency in Youth and Families. Poster Presentation.
Wallis, J., Sozhamannan, S.,Mushavi, R., (2018) Parent-Child Communication Strategies. American Pregnancy Prevention Conference: Strengthening Communities: Promoting Resiliency in Youth and Families. Round Table Discussion.
Waldorf, L., Spencer, T., Onyango, D. van Deth, L., Kaplan, M., Gunthrop, J. (2017). Supporting Community-Based Work: Myths, Realities, and Achieving the End of AIDS by 2030. Funders Concerned About AIDS: AIDS Philanthropy Summit. Panel Presentation.
Goldman, J., Gottlieb, M., Spencer, T., Ruiz, R. (2017). Normalizing Testing: Everyone Has an HIV Status (Sports as a Platform, Athletes as Influencers). United States Conference on AIDS. Panel Presentation.