Lily Ward

Biography

Lily earned her Masters in Social Work from Utah State University (USU) in May of 2022 and her Bachelors in Social Work from USU in May 2021. She has also received her Certified Social Work license in the state of Utah. Lily worked with USU Extension throughout both of her degree programs and has since transitioned to a Research Assistant role. The experiences she has had while at USU Extension has driven her educational and career pursuits to working with individuals and communities who are vulnerable, marginalized, or oppressed. Her social work practice experience includes working with children and adults in a community mental health setting and serving as a team member in both research projects and program evaluations.

In her current role as a Research Assistant with Extension, Lily works under the supervision of Extension county faculty. In her work, Lily works across the state of Utah and more specifically within rural communities. The goals of many of these projects are to increase resources and to meet the needs of community residents. Her research interests include neighborhood and community access to resources, racial disparities in accessing resources, and health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities.