Season 4 | Ep. 5 - Researcher/Social & Behavioral Scientist received $349,000 in gov. grants her first year of business

Dr. Lauren Josephs is a Social/Behavioral Scientist and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Visionary Vanguard Group, Inc. –a consulting firm which uses research, evaluation, training & technical assistance to help organizations eliminate disparities and achieve equitable outcomes. Her work has been done on the national level for both private corporations and governmental entities.

In previous roles, she was a Health Disparities Researcher at the Center for Health Futures at Florida Hospital (now AdventHealth) where she was responsible for research, and evaluation of culturally appropriate community initiatives designed to improve the health of underserved, underinsured, and minority populations. Dr. Josephs started her career as a Mental Health A counselor working with juvenile-justice-involved youth. She has been a Florida-licensed psychotherapist, and a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) for over two decades.

Dr. Josephs has worked collaboratively to address health and healthcare disparities, gender inequities, childhood trauma, as well as other issues impacting minority and under-resourced communities. Her work has been presented at the International Family Violence and Child Victimization Research Conference, the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare, the Florida Health Disparities Conference, the National Youth at Risk Conference, Georgetown Institutes, Baylor University, and numerous others.

Dr. Josephs obtained master’s and Specialist Degrees in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Florida (UF). She earned a Ph.D. in Public Affairs, an interdisciplinary program drawing from the fields of public administration, social work, health management & research, criminal justice, governance, and public policy, from the University of Central Florida (UCF). She is currently a member of the Collaborative Community Council, a subcommittee of the AdventHealth Orlando Board of Trustees. She also serves on the boards of Embrace Families Solutions, and Passionate Heart Ministries. She previously served on the executive committee of the boards of Healthy Start Coalition of Orange County, Central Florida Partnership on Health Disparities, and Community Health Centers.

Dr. Josephs has received several awards for her work including the Orange County Public Health Equity Heroes Award from the Florida Department of Health in Orange County, in 2016 and the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Doctoral Program in Public Affairs at UCF, in 2017. She was born on the island of Jamaica and currently resides in Orlando, FL.

Follow Dr. Lauren Josephs on IG for all tips and gems about her experience in #GovCon:

https://www.instagram.com/drlaurenjosephs/

Learn more about VV Group Inc and the work they do:

vvgroup.net

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