We’re excited to have Emily Rose Connor join Milagros, April, Bianca, Charlie Blue, Dai, Kaitlyn, and Patricia in our Innovation and Research department as a Design Coach.

Emily Rose Connor, MPH, is passionate about the power of human-centered design to make our world a healthier place. She is skilled in facilitating and coaching human-centered design to create innovative solutions for diverse public health and social sector areas. Her broad experience spans higher education, consulting, and corporate strategy. As she transitions to the adolescent sexual and reproductive health field, Emily remains committed to learning by listening and advocating for people-first solutions. 

As she transitions to the adolescent sexual and reproductive health field, Emily remains committed to learning by listening and advocating for people-first solutions.

As a Design Coach at Healthy Teen Network, Emily supports Thrivology and the In/Tend Incubator Hub. She is responsible for guiding internal and external teams in comprehending and applying human-centered design methodologies and mindsets to conceptualize, develop, prototype, and test new and existing resources. She strategically guides teams to identify the problem they are trying to solve, build empathy for end users, and translate research into actionable insights.

Through her work with Thrivology, Emily uses human-centered design to facilitate the translation of research into innovative resources to support the youth-supporting professionals who empower the next generation to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. As a part of In/Tend, Emily coaches change-makers to use human-centered design to develop innovative approaches to adolescent sexual and reproductive health.

If she could wave a magic wand and do anything to improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health outcomes, Emily would “love to live in a world where everyone has access to compassionate and informed resources and care, immediately and without limitation.”

We asked Emily what she wished she had learned in sex ed growing up but didn’t, and she shared, “I wish I had learned tools for having uncomfortable conversations. We learn content, sure, but not how to take that content out of the classroom to build deeper connections. There were so many meaningful conversations that I missed because I didn’t know the power of leaning into discomfort nor the way to really talk to people about the way they experienced the world.”

In her new role at Healthy Teen Network, Emily is most excited to “transition to adolescent sexual and reproductive health and to learn deeply about a new space. I’m thrilled to be back in public health where my passion for human-centered outcomes first began and to have the chance to learn from outstanding professionals and youth directly.” 

Outside of Healthy Teen Network, Emily volunteers as a puppy raiser for Southeastern Guide Dogs and as a Regional Collegiate Recruitment Specialist for Delta Gamma. You can find her outside, likely on the beach, on a trail, or exploring a new city by foot. She loves traveling and experiencing the favorites of locals in far-away cities and new neighborhoods in Jacksonville, FL, where she calls home.

Welcome to the crew, Emily!