Tara (Megan) Casebolt
Tara (Megan) Casebolt, MSW, MPH
Program Initiated: 2017
Primary Advisor: Kavita Singh Ongechi, PhD
Minor: Population Studies
Research Interests: Disability studies; International reproductive health; South Asian studies
Dissertation Research: Qualitative analysis of the experiences of women with locomotor disabilities in India when accessing family planning services
Honors/Awards: Carolina Population Center Predoctoral Fellow: 2018/19; Foreign Language and Area Studies: 2017/18
Bio: Tara’s interest in health began very early in life. Undergraduate study abroad to India and Botswana solidified her wishes to work in international development. These early experiences set her on her path towards international sexual and reproductive health. After completing Bachelor’s degrees in Social Work and Women and Gender Studies from Ohio University, Tara attended Washington University in St Louis where she completed Master’s degrees in Social Work and Public Health. During her time at WUSTL, she completed practica at MAMTA in New Delhi and Planned Parenthood in St Louis.
Tara was as a William J Clinton Fellow for Service in India with the American India Foundation where she was placed with Broadleaf Health and Education Alliance, a children’s health program based in Darjeeling. After AIF, Tara was an ASPPH/CDC Allan Rosenfield Global Health Fellow. She first spent a year in Ethiopia with the PEPFAR program on the connection between gender based violence and HIV, then a year in Zambia where she managed a PEPFAR quality assurance program. After returning to the U.S. she took a position at the Alliance of AIDS Services Carolina working as a counselor with people living with HIV.
Tara’s research interests are: reproductive health care services for women with disabilities; health policy; and international social justice and public health.
While not at school, Tara likes to cook, dance, sing, learn new languages, experience new cultures, and travel. She also Skypes with her two adorable nephews.
