Dionna Walters

Project Coordinator, Improving the Odds for Young Children

Dionna Walters is the project coordinator for Improving the Odds for Young Children, NCCP’s early childhood policy initiative which analyzes information about state early childhood policies and data in order to promote healthy development, and early school success for children from birth to eight.

Dionna has more than 15 years of research and practical experience in community programs focusing on health and social services needs of low-income communities. Prior to her arrival to NCCP, she served as the project manager with the Downstate New York Healthy Start project (also based at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health), a HRSA-funded project which aims to reduce disparities in infant mortality and to improve the maternal child health services delivery system.

A native of Cleveland, Dionna is a graduate of Northwestern University, and received masters’ degrees in public health from the UCLA School of Public Health, and public administration from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.