Dara D. Méndez, Ph.D., MPH

YWCA Greater Pittsburgh’s 2025 Heroine Award goes to Dara D. Méndez, Ph.D., MPH. Dr. Méndez is a nationally recognized scholar dedicated to advancing racial and socioeconomic equity, justice, and well-being across the life course, particularly in pregnancy, birth, and women’s health. At the University of Pittsburgh, she is Associate Professor of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health and Associate Director of the Center for Health Equity. She has received funding from organizations including the NIH, CDC, Kellogg Foundation, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She is a founding member of the Black Equity Coalition, a former member of the Pennsylvania Maternal Mortality Review Committee, and co-founder of the EMBRACE Maternal Health Research Center of Excellence. Dr. Méndez earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology from Spelman College, her MPH in maternal and child health, and her Ph.D. in maternal and child health and epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the mother to 3 beautiful children and partner to Dr. Jason Méndez.