Gianna is originally from Melrose Park, Illinois but moved to Arizona with her family at the age of 8. She spent 10 years in Phoenix before heading to Tucson in 2012 to begin her undergraduate career at the University of Arizona. At the U of A, she studied public health and graduated with her BS in 2016 before continuing into the MEZCOPH master’s program with a focus in Epidemiology. During her 8 years of education, Gianna has worked extensively on public health and prevention efforts in the city of Tucson.
Cooper’s fun fact: Cooper’s full name is Special Agent Dale Cooper, named after his favorite character in his favorite show, Twin Peaks.
Since graduating with her MPH in December of 2019, Gianna has taken time to strengthen her research and data analysis skills. She was originally hired at Amistades as the Lead Epidemiologist in 2022. Since her start at the organization, Gianna has moved up through the organization to Epidemiologist and Evaluator, and now holds to title of our Evaluation Manager. She manages the internal evaluation of all agency programs, and conducts any necessary research or analysis required for new grants. Additionally, she will design and implement rigorous evaluation frameworks to assess program impact, conduct research to identify health trends and disparities, and provide actionable insights to inform programmatic decisions and strategic planning