Jessica Haughton began working at IBACH as a Research Assistant in 2010. Since then, she has worked on three large community-based research studies focused on improving nutrition and physical activity behaviors in the Latino communities of San Diego. Currently, Ms. Haughton is the Project Manager for Fe en Acción, a randomized controlled trial that aims to increase the physical activity of churchgoing Latinas while improving the built environment in the surrounding neighborhoods. In this capacity, she is responsible for managing a large research team, including more than 30 promotoras (community health workers) who lead either physical activity classes or cancer prevention workshops in churches across San Diego County.
Jessica is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego where she majored in Sociology and minored in Literatures of the World and Social Issues of Health Care. Jessica received her Master’s degrees in Public Health and Latin American Studies from San Diego State University. Her Master’s thesis explored the barriers to healthcare access for low-income Latina women in San Diego.
Born and raised in San Diego, Jessica is bilingual in Spanish and English. She has more than ten years of experience working with Latino populations in San Diego, California and Baja California, Mexico. Her experience includes community organizing and advocacy work, non-profit management, grant writing, public speaking, and leading short-term volunteer trips to Southeast Asia and Mexico. Jessica is passionate about empowering low-resource communities to advocate for themselves and make positive changes in their lives and in their neighborhoods. Her research interests include qualitative methods, research ethics, physical activity and nutrition, cancer knowledge and beliefs, and the impact of culture on health and medicine.
Email: jhaughton@mail.sdsu.edu
Current Research Project(s)