Donn Cousan

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT DONN COUSAN

Malcolm X once said, “There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.”A graduate from the University of Central Oklahoma and The University of Alabama, Donovan holds a Bachelor of Science in Community/Public Health and a Master’s of Public Health with a Health Education and Promotion concentration. Donovan currently works in Washington, DC, as a Health Equity, Manager for the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD). NASTAD is a leading non-partisan, non-profit association representing public health officials who administer HIV and hepatitis programs in the U.S. Their singular mission is to end the intersecting epidemics of HIV, viral hepatitis, and related conditions. Donovan supports NASTAD’s internal and external health equity, anti-racism, and anti-stigma activities, including technical assistance, training coordination and facilitation, event planning, and resource development.Before NASTAD, Donovan was a graduate research assistant for the College of Human Environmental Sciences at The University of Alabama. Additionally, he interned with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation through the Project Imhotep program at Morehouse College.Alongside his ongoing efforts to work with communities, Donovan has devoted time to research that aims to improve and sustain the lives of those living in Black communities addressing topics of social determinants of health, medical mistrust and anti-racism. His mission is to change the narrative by helping communities avoid preventable diseases, improve health literacy, restore quality of life, and create avenues of opportunity for communities with poor socioeconomic status, historical exclusions, and disparities in health navigation.