About Us

Dr. Rice is a social and behavioral scientist with 15 years of experience. Her work is steeped in social justice, health equity and community health. She completed training in public health with an emphasis on health equity at the University of South Florida and University of South Carolina. Her postdoctoral work in behavioral science and cancer control was completed at the Medical University of South Carolina where she also served as an Assistant Professor. In addition to being the Founder and CEO of Synergy, she is an adjunct professor at Liberty University Online and a behavioral scientist at Johnson & Johnson. 

Dr. Carlos is a Primary Care Pediatrician who completed her training at the Medical University of South Carolina. Prior to entering her medical training, she obtained a Masters of Public Health with a focus in health disparities, community health, infant mortality and other maternal and child health topics. Since beginning her medical training, she has pursued opportunities to bridge the gap between tradition medicine and public health. She is a National Health Service Corps participant and has professional affiliations with American Academy of Pediatrics and National Medical Association.

 Ms. Wilson is an English Language Arts Supplemental Interventionist in Elementary Education. Her passion and love for teaching students, especially those at Title I Schools, has spurned a desire to see a change in educational equity. A Georgia Teaching Fellow and a TNTP alumna, who has served as a teacher leader in Fulton County Schools as an Irreplaceable Teacher and as a Teacher Support Coach with Limited Resources Teacher Training in India. Ms. Wilson’s passion to close the achievement gap and to see equity in education fueled a deeper resolve for quality education for students and teachers. Ms. Wilson received her BA in English Literature from Georgia State University, along with an M.A. in Religious Studies from Liberty University and an M.Ed in Educational Leadership from Grand Canyon University. She is a highly-effective, Georgia certified teacher with a coaching endorsement, and a Texas certified teacher. 

Dr. Askew completed her Ph.D. in Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has worked as the Director of Assessment Operations for a non-profit organization, where she oversaw end-to-end test development and maintenance activities for licensure and certification exams delivered nationwide. In addition, Dr. Askew has worked collaboratively with educators and students on operationalizing, and measuring the extent to which, culturally responsive teaching strategies are used in the classroom. 

Dr. Hood is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI. She holds a doctorate in Health Promotion from the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences.  Dr. Hood has extensive training and experience in community-engaged health equity research funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).  Dr. Hood completed a two-year NCI-funded postdoctoral fellowship in Cancer Health Disparities at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Dr. Hood’s research  has a strong emphasis on addressing inequities in chronic disease development. She focuses on identifying mechanisms and developing culturally appropriate  communication strategies.  Dr. Hood utilizes mixed-methods approaches in her work.