Danielle DeCosta is a Senior Manager at AcademyHealth where she is responsible for managing projects to enhance the impact and relevance of health services research, applying the tools of human-centered design to drive innovation in the research enterprise and supporting a number of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grantmaking initiatives. In this role, her responsibilities include project management and strategy, qualitative research and analysis, proposal review, and impact evaluation. Her past projects have also included a workshop to explore states’ usage of disadvantage indices to advance health equity in their COVID-19 vaccination efforts, the development of rapid-cycle research priorities to inform health systems in their pandemic response, and qualitative analysis of state-based maternal health data infrastructure needs.

Prior to joining AcademyHealth, Danielle worked for the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, providing communications, policy advocacy, and other technical assistance to the foundation's grantmaking program to improve the system of care for children with special health care needs. Danielle also previously supported a program that aims to expand contraceptive access in metropolitan hubs in Asia and Africa through the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health, consulted on a USAID community-building initiative in Jamaica, and interned with the Alameda County Public Health Department. Danielle holds an M.P.H. from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with a concentration in health systems and policy and a B.S. in biology from Stanford University.

Authored by Danielle DeCosta, M.P.H.

Blog Post

Singapore’s Health System: Familiar Challenges and Innovative Solutions in a Unique Context

In this final installment of a 3-part series sharing takeaways from the 2023 AcademyHealth/Commonwealth Fund study tour, Michael Gluck and Danielle DeCosta reflect on the unique attributes of Singaporean society, the country’s rapid development, and the potential relevance of Singapore’s health care system for the United States.
Blog Post

Addressing Inequities in Affordability of Care to Promote a Culture of Health

Community organizations co-lead four new studies examining affordability of care for historically marginalized communities, awarded under the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Research in Transforming Health and Healthcare Systems program, managed by AcademyHealth.
Posted By Danielle DeCosta, M.P.H.
Blog Post

Australia, Leading in Outcomes Thanks to Universal Health Care and Individual Innovation and Activism, Now Turns Attention to "Closing the Gap"

AcademyHealth Senior Manager Danielle DeCosta highlights key takeaways from the AcademyHealth and Commonwealth Fund study tour, including ways the Australian health system has worked to address health inequalities and improve health outcomes.
Posted By Danielle DeCosta, M.P.H.