06/03/2024
During the course of Minerva Francis’ studies, she became a member of three national honor societies, Kappa Delta Pi, Eta Sigma Gamma and Chi Alpha Epsilon, and her published articles have informed the fields of social work, drug treatment counseling, and corrections, including probation and parole.
Nominator Mechthild Nagel described Francis as a “pioneer” and “amazing ambassador” for Cortland’s Kenyan student exchange program.
After graduation with a B.S. in international health from Cortland, she earned a master’s in community health from Brooklyn College, an advanced certificate in project management from the CUNY School of Professional Studies and a doctorate in health education and behavioral science from Columbia University.
She went on to New York University as a pre-doctoral fellow behavioral scientist from 2018 to 2021. There, at one of the country’s oldest and largest behavioral science research and career training grant programs, Francis developed her knowledge and skills in drug use research.
Francis became the managing director for New York City Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, recruiting more than 50 volunteer faculty mentors and 125 undergrads for STEM fields.
Since 2022, she has had a post-doctoral fellowship for the Partnership to End Addiction, a New York City program that provides physical and mental health services. While there, Francis has served as a project director and managed the budget and hiring processes for the initiative.
A certified health education specialist, she is a board member of SUNY Cortland’s Sophia’s Garden Institute, which seeks to introduce philosophy concepts to young students.
Active professionally and in the community, her memberships include the New Jersey Association for Gifted Children, the National Black Child Development Institute, Academic Consortium on Criminal Justice Health, the NIH HEAL Justice Community Opioid Intervention Network, the American Public Health Association, New York Academy of Medicine and the American Psychological Association.