Welcome community leaders and policymakers!

Through the NJHealth Study, supported by Rutgers University, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the State of New Jersey, we are working hard to build trust with diverse communities across New Jersey to capture a full picture of the state’s health and wellbeing. If you’re interested learning more about our work across the state or would be open to partnering with us, please reach out to NJCohort@ifh.rutgers.edu.

Q&A with our CAB Chair, 

Victor Murray, Senior Director, Community Engagement & Capacity Building, Camden Coalition

What’s the charge of the NJHealth Study’s Community Advisory Board?

Victor Murray: The primary charge of the NJHealth Study Community Advisory Board is to provide guidance on how to promote equitable and inclusive participation among study participants, as well as to develop strategies to ensure that the study findings are useful to the community. Engaging community members as leaders within the study ensures outcomes are culturally appropriate and responsive to the needs of their communities. Additionally, the CAB will play a role in enhancing communication efforts regarding the Study to participants and communities across New Jersey, including public policymakers.

Why is representation of diverse communities important to the success of the NJHealth Study?

Victor Murray: The representation of diverse communities is important to the success of the NJHealth Study because of the impact that cultural, socioeconomic, and environmental factors have on health outcomes. By including individuals from various backgrounds in the study, researchers can gain a deeper understanding of how these factors influence health disparities and trauma across New Jersey communities. In order to develop effective public health interventions and policies that support the entire population, we need diverse representation in studies such as the NJHealth Study.

Q&A with CAB Member 

Ivette Guillermo-McGahee, MA, ACS, LPC, Founder of Allies in Caring 

Why is the NJHealth Study important? 

Too often, systems respond to one issue at a time, missing how instability in housing, work, or relationships can quickly impact overall well‑being. The NJHealth Study is so important because it can surface those patterns and help shift us toward coordinated, community‑informed action that leads to more equitable and sustainable outcomes. Data from the NJHealth study can be used to identify cross‑cutting drivers of health—mental distress, isolation, access barriers, instability—and apply them system‑wide. By centering diverse voices and investing in trusted community partnerships, NJHealth data can help ensure solutions are grounded in what people truly need to function, heal, and thrive.

Q&A with CAB Member 

Tenisha Malcolm-Wint, Founder & Executive Director of Outdoors On Purpose 

As a proud Community Advisory Member for the Rutgers New Jersey Health Study — the largest and most inclusive health research effort ever conducted in our state — I’m especially committed to ensuring Jamaican voices and those of other first- and second-generation immigrants are heard and included in this vital research. NJ is one of the most diverse states, yet health disparities remain. This study is asking why — and digging into the real-life factors like immigration status, racism, family structure, and access to care that shape our health.