The Program for Pet Health Equity (PPHE) recently announced that Dr. Claire Schuch has joined the team as Associate Director of Research. In this new role, Schuch will lead efforts to deepen understanding of how pets impact families’ lives and how lack of access to veterinary care affects communities, families, and animal care professionals.
Schuch brings over a decade of experience as a community-engaged researcher, evaluator, and educator with a strong focus on community health and the social drivers of health. Her diverse background spans public education, public health, academia, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector.
Prior to joining PPHE, Schuch served as a Senior Researcher at Decision Information Resources (DIR), where she led culturally responsive, equity-centered projects funded by federal agencies and major philanthropic organizations. She also previously held the role of Director of Planning for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, overseeing demographic analysis, enrollment projections, and boundary planning.
Her past research portfolio includes work funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in areas such as affordable housing, primary care access, domestic violence, nutrition, workforce development, immigrant inclusion, college and career readiness, civic engagement, and substance use prevention.
Schuch holds a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a B.A. in Geography, International Studies, and Community and Global Health from Macalester College. She is multilingual, speaking English, Dutch, and Spanish.
“We are thrilled to welcome Claire to the PPHE team,” said Dr. Michael Blackwell, Director of the Program for Pet Health Equity. “Her background in health equity, paired with her commitment to community-centered research and animal well-being, will be instrumental in advancing our mission.”
The PPHE team looks forward to the insights and leadership Schuch will bring as the program continues to build solutions that ensure pets and their people can stay together, even when veterinary care is out of reach.
About PPHE
The University of Tennessee College of Social Work’s Center for Behavioral Health Research supports The Program for Pet Health Equity (PPHE), which exists to improve access to veterinary care for pets and their families not adequately served by the current system. PPHE promotes and facilitates national collaborations and public policy development to remove barriers to veterinary care. Activities include education, community service, and social and public health research.
About the UT College of Social Work
The UT College of Social Work is committed to advancing the mission of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville as the state’s flagship land-grant university to provide a quality public education for the citizens of Tennessee and beyond through exemplary teaching, research, and service. The college provides a professional social work education program that prepares bachelor’s and master’s-level students for social work practice and doctoral-level graduate students for social work research and academia.