Ashley V. Parks, DrPH, MPH, MBA, MTech is LEARN’s managing partner and head consultant. Dr. Parks has over 20 years’ of practice and research based experience working in community health and health services administration across acute, ambulatory, and managed care settings. Dr. Parks has been teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in public health and health services administration for over a decade and enjoys making “difficult concepts” accessible to students seeking to work in health services administration practice and research. Having obtained over a dozen public health and healthcare related certifications, Dr. Parks’ is passionate about teaching students how to apply key concepts in healthcare financial analysis, quality analysis and performance improvement, data reporting and information technology, health policy, health services research, and project management. 

In 2016, Dr. Parks completed her Doctorate in Public Health from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and she worked as a Research Associate for the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research from 2009-2017. Dr. Parks was awarded the Roemer Award in Social Justice and a dissertation fellowship for her work expanding access and implementing quality improvement efforts in a nationwide HIV referral network. Parks also received a Masters in Technology Management from Georgetown University as well as her Master in Business Administration from the Quantic School of Business and Technology and multiple certifications from the Harvard School of Business. Dr. Parks obtained her Master of Public Health degree and her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science from California State University, Fresno.

Dr. Parks currently serves as the Society for Public Health Education’s (SOPHE) Board Trustee for Professional Preparation where she works with faculty members across the nation to design and share curriculum and best practices for educating public health and health sciences students. Dr. Parks herself has multiple certifications in healthcare and public health including the Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES), Certification in Public Health (CPH), Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ), Certified Professional Patient Safety (CPPS), Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (CLSSBB), Project Management Professional (PMP) and more. If you have questions about specific continuing education opportunities, graduate school, or certifications, Dr. Parks would love to share her experiences and learn about your interests as a student or prospective student. Dr. Parks looks forward to getting to know each student and their unique career interests and personalities as part of our learning community.

During her time as a public health leader and health services administrator prior to entering academia, Dr. Parks worked as a director of quality in inpatient healthcare facilities and as the director of managed Medicaid and Medicare health plans for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. In her role as a Research Associate at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research from 2009-2017, Dr. Parks provided statistical analysis and grant writing workshops for the UCLA Health DATA Program and severed as a researcher and grant writer on community based participatory research projects on the topics of environmental justice, health services for older adults, and chronic disease prevention funded by the CDC REACH CORE program and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Dr. Parks has shared her research at multiple national conferences and enjoys partnering with students to prepare and submit research for presentation and publication. Her current research agenda includes healthcare quality topics such as patient experience in long term care settings, performance improvement, healthcare workforce preparation and mentorship, mental health, information technology, and telehealth. In 2023, Dr. Parks joined William Cleverley and James Cleverley as a co-author on the 9th edition of the Essentials of Healthcare Finance. Dr. Parks has also provided process improvement, data analysis, and grant writing consulting services to healthcare systems and local government organizations for over a decade. Aside from professional life, Dr. Parks enjoys spending time with her three children, traveling, running, and hiking in the Appalachian Mountains