Karishma Furtado, PhD, MPH is the Data and Research Catalyst and a founding staff member of Forward Through Ferguson. In this position, she leads the use of human-centered data, research, and reporting to facilitate accountability, measure impact, deepen understanding, and imagine what’s possible on the path to Racial Equity. Prior to her role with Forward Through Ferguson, Karishma served as staff to the Ferguson Commission. She has completed a doctoral degree in public health sciences, and her research at the intersection of race, racism, and health is in the service of closing the school discipline gap, or the disproportionate rate at which Black students are suspended from school and pushed out of the classroom. She has published articles in the leading public health and health policy journals on the Ferguson Commission, the role of public health in advancing the mission of Racial Equity, and operationalizing a commitment to health equity in applied public health spaces. She teaches graduate level courses in biostatistics and epidemiology. She’s also a big fan of baking and DIY home renovation and design.

At the heart of Karishma’s work is a profound belief in the ability of people to accomplish the incredible. She embraces the opportunity to use a community-centered approach to research and analysis to leverage the combined power of data and storytelling to catalyze change.