Dr. Flora Cohen
Dr. Flora Cohen is a researcher, clinician, and teacher. With a PhD from Washington University in St. Louis, and a Masters degree from Columbia University, she has specialized in international social work. Drawing from her education and extensive experience living and working with conflict-affected communities, Flora enjoys collaborating to support community-based mechanisms for holistic healing. Currently, she directs a mental health program for refugees living in Indonesia utilizing an apprenticeship model for service delivery. She recently led a USAID funded study to investigate the implementation of a caregiver mental health intervention for for refugees displaced in Uganda, primarily from South Sudan.
Dr. Cohen’s research aims to investigate culturally congruent mental health interventions in low-resource settings. She utilizes participatory designs to engage service users in the development, implementation, and evaluation of interventions. Dr. Cohen is particularly interested in global mental health, especially interventions with forcibly displaced populations.
Dr. Tara Powell
Dr. Tara Powell is a researcher and advocate for behavioral health interventions in disaster-affected communities. With a dual master’s in social work and public health from Tulane University and a PhD from the University of Texas, she explores the impact of behavioral health interventions in the US and abroad. Drawing from her experience living in and working with disaster-affected communities, Dr. Powell has actively collaborated with local communities and global humanitarian organizations to develop, research, and distribute behavioral health interventions for individuals, families, and communities affected by collective traumas. Her experience spans a range of contexts, from communities impacted by conflicts like the Syrian Crisis to those who have experienced pandemics and climate-induced disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes. Dr. Powell is currently the principal investigator of a multi-state randomized control trial to examine the impact and implementation of the Journey of Hope intervention (1R01MH131248). Dr. Powell is also a co-investigator on the “Reducing Disparities in Disaster-Related Mental Health Burden” study that uses a community-based participatory research approach to adapt and test the efficacy of a community-based mental health intervention in the Gulf Coast (NASEM 2000013444; PI: Jennifer Scott).
Disaster Intervention Research Lab 