Savannah Diaz

Savannah is a Senior Behavioral Designer at ideas42. In this role, she applies and synthesizes insights from behavioral science and related fields to help public and private sector clients address complex challenges in the areas of public health, economic justice, and systems change.

• Conducting field research and landscape analysis to analyze the impact of staffing requirements on quality care, delivering actionable recommendations for amending the Health Code (ongoing).
• Developing a practitioner’s toolkit (ongoing) to scale successful interventions across NYC Public Schools by conducting landscape analysis, qualitative interviews, focus groups, and convening stakeholders to bolster adoption of evidence-based interventions across NYCPS.
• Identifying gaps and barriers in service uptake by NYC caregivers to inform NYC Dept.for the Aging’s targeted interventions for its respite and financial support programs to improve enrollment via mixed methods research (ongoing).
• Conducted a mixed-methods analysis to identify barriers to library card sign-up and renewal among Brooklyn residents, including analyzing 15 million records of membership data and conducting 30+ qualitative interviews, resulting in a final 40+ page recommendation report to increase sign up and renewal.
• Designed and led a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to shift harmful poverty narratives among human service providers in Detroit, achieving a statistically significant reduction in harmful narrative endorsement and increase in counter-narrative endorsement.
• Applied methods in behavioral science to redesign service delivery systems, such as intake protocols for community health workers in NYC’s Health Justice Network, resulting in standardization across CBO sites in New York City.
• Conducted 50+ stakeholder interviews and analyzed 100,000+ patient and vendor data points to identify barriers to uptake of In-Home Well-Being Assessment (IHWA) Program, co-authoring final recommendations report to improve program participation.
• Co-led qualitative research to identify barriers to Gardasil 9 vaccine uptake among adolescents, conducting parent interviews and analyzing segmentation data to inform client’s communication strategy.
• Led literature and landscape analysis to contribute actionable insights for Navajo Nation’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts, synthesizing evidence on vaccination behavior and communication strategies. Contributed to 5 thematic reports on vaccination behavior and communication strategies, including “Anti-Vaccine Attitudes” and “Pediatric Vaccination,”.

Master of Public Health, Social Behavioral Sciences | New York University

Bachelor of Arts, Microbiology | University of Kansas