Ciara Zachary is an assistant professor at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Prior to coming to NC Child, Ciara worked as a policy analyst on the Health Advocacy Project at the NC Justice Center and as health program director at NC Child. In addition to research and analysis, she worked with statewide partners and coalitions to protect and strengthen the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Through this work, Ciara began working with NC AIDS Action Network to fully implement the ACA by expanding Medicaid. She also has experience as a public health researcher focusing on injury prevention. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Ciara relocated to the Triangle in 2015. Ciara received her doctorate from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, her Master’s from the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Public Health, and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.