Dr. Shalewa Noel-Thomas joined the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities in February.  Dr. Noel-Thomas has extensive experience in public health leadership, health disparities, community-based participatory research, program development, social service delivery and workforce development and training. She received her MPH and PhD degrees in Public Health from the University of South Florida. Prior to relocating to Maryland, she served as a manager with Hillsborough County Social Services. She also served as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral Science and Community Health at the University of Florida. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Florida, Dr. Noel-Thomas served as the Center Coordinator and Outreach Core Co-Director for the Tampa Bay Community Cancer Network (TBCCN), an NCI-funded Community Network Program Center at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa Bay. She is committed to using community-based approaches to address health disparities and developing public health solutions for medically underserved and never-served populations.