Keila Marlin
40 Under 40 Class of 2023
Charlotte, North Carolina
Community Health Worker Initiative Program Manager
Mecklenburg County Health Department
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I plan to contribute to more community-based participatory research efforts as a vehicle to build trust within marginalized communities and to train up the next generation of community-led researchers with a passion for equity.
Three words to describe me:
ambitious, innovative, outcomes-driven
The best part of my job:
serving as a conduit for my community and peers to strengthen and improve race and health equity, in systems and beyond
Something that would surprise others about me:
I am terrified of any bug or reptile that crawls or slithers, but absolutely love being immersed in nature. I enjoy hiking, biking, and anything that allows me to be one with the natural environment.
Keila Marlin is a community impact strategist with over 10 years of interdisciplinary experience in public health and healthcare. As the Community Health Worker (CHW) Initiative Program Manager at the Mecklenburg County Health Department, she directs and implements innovative policy and systems-level change strategies to improve and strengthen the CHW workforce in Mecklenburg County. Keila also manages the Health Department’s first maternal child health CHW program aimed to reduce perinatal disparities in Mecklenburg County.
Keila also lends her expertise in other spaces as a servant leader by championing race and health equity, where she recently coauthored an APHA policy statement in 2022 aimed to address racism and violence as public health priorities by advancing community health worker policies. Keila holds a BS in Biology and Chemistry from Wingate University, an MPH from UNC-Charlotte, and is currently a doctoral student and is currently a doctoral student at East Carolina University.
