About Kiara

Kiara M. Tanta-Quidgeon, MPH [she/her/hers] is an enrolled member of the Mohegan Tribe. She is an early-career, community-engaged researcher, writer, and public health professional who champions health equity and climate resilience, particularly through strengths-based approaches that center Indigenous epistemologies and cultural engagement.

Kiara recently graduated from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health [MPH ‘24], where she studied in the Sociomedical Sciences Department and earned a certification in Social Determinants of Health. During her graduate studies, Kiara completed a Pre-Doctoral Research Fellowship at Harvard Medical School, engaging in the scholarly consideration of Indigenous traditional healing under the guidance of Dr. Joseph Gone, Dr. Rachel Wilbur, and Mona Stonefish [see Tanta-Quidgeon et al., 2024].

Kiara is also an alumna of Quinnipiac University [BSc ‘22], where she studied in the School of Health Sciences and established the university’s first-ever organization for Indigenous students and allies. As the Founder and former President of the Indigenous Student Union (ISU) at Quinnipiac, she currently serves as an Alumni Advisor on the organization’s Alumni Council, working collaboratively with ISU leaders to plan the university’s inaugural Powwow: The Dancing in the Shadow of Sleeping Giant Powwow.

Additionally, Kiara is passionate about advancing health equity and climate resilience for other historically underserved and marginalized communities, advocating for inclusive systems of care that meet diverse needs. She is a Municipal Vulnerability Grant Coordinator focused on strengthening community social resilience to climate change in the city of Medford, Massachusetts. She is also a Project Coordinator at ACBC Consulting, working on projects that support community leaders in fostering equitable and long-term social resilience to enhance health equity and climate resilience.