Dr. Laird's service to the BSMH team includes system-wide: coordination of community benefit review/analysis; understanding local community initiatives; creation of metrics/outcomes; and research-related activities for community health. Dr. Laird also serves as a subject matter expert on health equity, health disparity reduction, and social drivers of health (SDoH) across BSMH teams. Prior to joining BSMH, Dr. Laird served as a Program Officer for the Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Awards at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), responsible for strategic decision-making and high-level management and monitoring of the program, its funded projects, and program activities that advanced PCORI's Engagement mission. She has also served as a senior advisor in the Office of Legislation of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). As a liaison between HRSA and members of Congress and their staff, her work included advising office, agency, and department senior leadership on legislative analysis, policy, and programmatic activities. She has worked in academic settings, conducting qualitative and quantitative research related to disparities in health and healthcare, and presented results to technical and non-technical audiences. Dr. Laird received a Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County as a Meyerhoff Scholar. She earned an Masters in Public Health (MPH) in international health policy and management from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Laird has also earned a PhD in health behavior and society, focused on health communication, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.