Tara Rava Zolnikov, PhD, MS, MS

Dr. Tara Rava Zolnikov focuses on aspects of culture in a global health setting. Dr. Zolnikov earned a Ph.D in Developmental Science from North Dakota State University and an M.S. in Environmental Health from Harvard School of Public Health and a second M.S. in Industrial Hygiene from Montana Tech of the University of Montana and is currently studying her third MS degree in Sport Psychology at NorthCentral University and is expected to graduate in 2024. She also earned a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from Montana Tech of the University of Montana. She was also recently accepted as a fellow of ultra elite The Explorer's Club.

Dr. Zolnikov’s research primarily focuses on global health issues in low and middle-income countries, including Kenya, Ghana, India, Colombia, and Brazil. She has worked with the Kenya Red Cross on a variety of public health projects, ranging from infectious diseases (E.g. Ebola and HIV/AIDS) to access to water projects.

She is primarily a qualitative researcher and concentrates on providing vulnerable populations with a voice; she uses autoethnographic, ethnographic, and phenomenological perspectives to understand or live through these experiences in order to recreate them for a widespread audience. Additionally, Dr. Zolnikov is the vice president of a nonprofit organization, Water 2 Schools, which focuses on providing access to water to Maasai communities around Narok, Kenya.

Dr. Zolnikov has published extensively in some of the world's most renowned public health and global health journals, including the American Journal of Public Health, AIDS and Behavior, Science of the Total Environment, and many more. She has also written and published two books, which focus on qualitative research and environmental health, and is currently writing her third book. She is also the editor of Elsevier's Dialogues in Health journal.

Please visit the Doctor of Health Science program page to learn about curriculum, faculty, program options, and more!