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Hire Peter B.

United States

USD 50 /hr

Public health researcher specializing in participatory & qualitative research, evaluation, and data-driven improvements

Profile Summary

I am a public health researcher with 15 years of experience leading qualitative and mixed-methods studies in clinical, community, and international settings. My work centers on participatory approaches that elevate lived experience, transform qualitative insights into measurable outcomes, and guide policy and program design for health equity. At Boston Medical Center, I led strategy improvements to the data-driven engagement across 16 coalitions for the NIH-funded HEALing Communities Study, helping communities identify more than 100 needed services to prevent fatal opioid overdose. I developed a participatory sub-study that recruited 50+ individuals with substance-use history to surface barriers to recovery, later adopted in 19 communities across three states. Previously, at the University of North Carolina, I managed a 1,500-participant clinical and behavioral trial in Tanzania, collaborating on qualitative and quantitative instruments, training field teams, and establishing a process-evaluation framework to monitor fidelity and improve reach. I have also partnered with Black farmers and rural youth on community-led food-access initiatives and mentored staff to publish and present findings nationally. My expertise spans qualitative research design, focus groups, Photovoice, interviews, survey development, program evaluation, data visualization, and stakeholder facilitation. I regularly translate research into reports, dashboards, and manuscripts for academic, community, and policy audiences. I am passionate about helping organizations capture authentic community perspectives and use data to inform strategy and impact. I collaborate effectively with clients seeking grounded, ethical, and actionable qualitative insights to strengthen research, evaluation, and program development.

Subject Matter Expertise

• ☆ Data Analysis
• ☆ Data Processing
• ☆ Data Exploration
• ☆ Data Visualization
• ☆ Data Collection
• ☆ Data Management
• ☆ Data Manipulation
• ☆ Data Cleaning
• ☆ Knowledge Management
• ☆ Information & Knowledge Management
• ☆ Health Policy
• ☆ Bioethics & Medical Ethics
• ☆ Cultural Studies
• ☆ Educational Administration
• ☆ Student Affairs
• ☆ Evaluation Methodology
• ☆ Higher Education
• ☆ Science Education
• ☆ Asian Languages
• ☆ Excel
• ☆ SAS
• ☆ Public Health
• ☆ Epidemiology
• ☆ Food Security
• ☆ Global Health
• ☆ Community Health Services
• ☆ Quality of Life Assessment
• ☆ Rural Health
• ☆ User Research
• ☆ Qualitative User Research

Services

• Research
• Consulting
• Data & AI

Research Market Research, User Research, Meta-Research, Feasibility Study, Technology Scouting, Gap Analysis, Gray Literature Search, Scientific and Technical Research, Systematic Literature Review, Secondary Data Collection

Consulting Scientific and Technical Consulting

Data & AI Data Visualization, Data Cleaning, Data Processing

Work Experience

Associate Director, Informatics

Boston Medical Center

June 2020 - March 2025

Project Manager

Tufts University

October 2019 - June 2020

Program Manager

University of North Carolina

February 2013 - July 2019

Program Officer, Knowledge Management

FHI 360

October 2010 - February 2013

Education

MPH

University of North Carolina

August 2008 - June 2010

Bachelors

Swarthmore College

August 1994 - June 1998

Certifications

• Good Clinical Practices

  NIDA

  July 2025 - July 2025

Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Peter Balvanz, Timothy Hunt, Carrie B. Oser, Peter D. Friedmann, Nicole Mack, Bridget Freisthler, Redonna K Chandler, Karli Hochstatter, Daniel R. Harris, LaShawn Glasgow, et al. (2025). Overdose education and naloxone distribution in jails: Examining the impact of the Communities That HEAL intervention in 4 states . Health & Justice.

Balvanz P, Olvera RG, Booty M, McSwiggan J, Damato-MacPherson C, Ellison S, Farmer A, Klingler K, Kuntz A, Lewis N, et al. (2025). A participatory photovoice investigation of community assets, barriers, and opportunities to curb the opioid epidemic . Journal of substance use and addiction treatment.

Peter Balvanz, Louisa Gilbert, Rouba Chahine, Redonna Chandler, Daniel J. Feaster, Erin Kim, Arnie Aldridge, Sarah Bagley, Soledad Fernandez, Peter Rock, et al. (2025). The effectiveness of the communities that HEAL intervention on reducing non-fatal opioid overdoses: A prespecified secondary analysis of a waitlist cluster control randomized controlled trial . International Journal of Drug Policy.

Peter Balvanz, Margaret L. McGladrey, Marisa Booty, Ramona Olvera, Hilary L. Surratt, Shannon Matthews, Susannah Stitzer, Owusua Yamoah, Sylvia Ellison, Kevin Campbell, et al. (2025). Using photovoice to define “community” in substance use disorder research engaging service users, providers, and policymakers . SSM - Qualitative Research in Health.

Peter Balvanz, Marisa D. Booty, Ramona G. Olvera, Carrie B. Oser, Alexandrea Shouse, Margaret McGladrey (2025). ‘I'm Not a Bad Mom, I'm a Sick Mom’: Using Photovoice to Examine Parental Recovery Narratives Given Institutional Constraints . Sociology of Health & Illness.

Peter Balvanz, Naleef Fareed, Ramona G Olvera, Yiting Wang, Michael Hayes, Elizabeth Liz Larimore, Ronald Langley, Corinna A Noel, Peter Rock, Daniel Redmond, et al. (2024). Lessons Learned From Developing Dashboards to Support Decision-Making for Community Opioid Response by Community Stakeholders: Mixed Methods and Multisite Study . JMIR Human Factors.

Balvanz P, Olvera RG, McGladrey M, Booty M, Beard D, Ellison S, McClay C, Nouvong M, Oser CB, Yamoah O, et al. (2024). Leveraging local knowledge to contextualize the opioid epidemic within HEALing Communities Study communities: A Photovoice protocol . Journal of substance use and addiction treatment.

Walker DM, Lefebvre RC, Davis A, Shiu-Yee K, Chen S, Jackson RD, Helme DW, Oga EA, Oser CB, Stotz C, et al. (2023). Differences in perceptions of community stigma towards opioid use disorder between community substance use coalition members and the general public . Journal of substance use and addiction treatment.

Peter Balvanz, Basant Singh, Gema Mwikoko, Thespina J. Yamanis, Mrema N. Kilonzo, Donaldson F. Conserve, Marta I. Mulawa, Deus Kajuna, Lusajo J. Kajula, Suzanne Maman (2023). Development and implementation of a process evaluation for intervention quality improvement of a community-based behavioral HIV intervention trial in Tanzania . Journal of Public Health.

Balvanz P, Singh B, Mwikoko G, Yamanis TJ, Kilonzo MN, Conserve DF, Mulawa MI, Kajuna D, Kajula LJ, Maman S (2021). Development and implementation of a process evaluation for intervention quality improvement of a community-based behavioral HIV intervention trial in Tanzania . Journal of public health (Berlin, Germany).

Gangaramany A, Balvanz P, Gichane MW, Goetschius S, Sharma S, Sharma K, Mulhausen J, Noble-Campbell P, Wamoyi J, Maman S, et al. (2021). Developing a framework for cash transfer programs that foster sustained economic empowerment to reduce sexual risk among adolescent girls and young women: a qualitative study . BMC public health.

Peter Balvanz, Joyce Wamoyi, Margaret W. Gichane, Suzanne Maman, Samuel Mugunga, Esther Majani, Audrey Pettifor (2020). Decision-making and cash spending patterns of adolescent girls and young women participating in a cash-transfer intervention in Tanzania: Implications for sexual health . Global Public Health.

Peter Balvanz, Suzanne Maman, Marta I. Mulawa, H. Luz McNaughton Reyes, Mrema N. Kilonzo, Thespina J. Yamanis, Basant Singh, Lusajo J. Kajula (2020). Results from a cluster-randomized trial to evaluate a microfinance and peer health leadership intervention to prevent HIV and intimate partner violence among social networks of Tanzanian men . PLOS ONE.

Peter Balvanz, Audrey Pettifor, Joyce Wamoyi, Margaret W Gichane, Suzanne Maman (2019). Cash plus: exploring the mechanisms through which a cash transfer plus financial education programme in Tanzania reduced <scp>HIV</scp> risk for adolescent girls and young women . Journal of the International AIDS Society.

Peter Balvanz, Thespina J. Yamanis, Marta I. Mulawa, Gema Mwikoko, Deusdith Kajuna, Mrema N. Kilonzo, Lusajo J. Kajula, Sheila Leatherman, Suzanne Maman (2019). Microfinance and health interventions: Factors influencing loan repayment success with young men in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania . Global Public Health.

Kajula LJ, Kilonzo MN, Conserve DF, Mwikoko G, Kajuna D, Balvanz P, Yamanis TJ, Mulawa MI, Hill LM, Mbwambo JK, et al. (2019). Engaging Young Men as Community Health Leaders in an STI and Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Trial in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania . Global social welfare : research, policy & practice.

Peter Balvanz, Marta I. Mulawa, Thespina J. Yamanis, Lusajo J. Kajula, Suzanne Maman (2018). Structural Network Position and Performance of Health Leaders Within an HIV Prevention Trial . AIDS and Behavior.

Peter Balvanz, Marta Mulawa, Lusajo J. Kajula, Thespina J. Yamanis, Mrema N. Kilonzo, Suzanne Maman (2018). Perpetration and Victimization of Intimate Partner Violence Among Young Men and Women in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania . Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

Balvanz P, Yamanis TJ, Mulawa MI, Mwikoko G, Kajuna D, Kilonzo MN, Kajula LJ, Leatherman S, Maman S (2018). Microfinance and health interventions: Factors influencing loan repayment success with young men in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania . Global public health.

Mulawa M, Yamanis TJ, Balvanz P, Kajula LJ, Maman S (2016). Comparing Perceptions with Actual Reports of Close Friend's HIV Testing Behavior Among Urban Tanzanian Men . AIDS and behavior.

Kajula L, Balvanz P, Kilonzo MN, Mwikoko G, Yamanis T, Mulawa M, Kajuna D, Hill L, Conserve D, Reyes HL, et al. (2016). Vijana Vijiweni II: a cluster-randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy of a microfinance and peer health leadership intervention for HIV and intimate partner violence prevention among social networks of young men in Dar es Salaam . BMC public health.

Mulawa M, Yamanis TJ, Hill LM, Balvanz P, Kajula LJ, Maman S (2016). Evidence of social network influence on multiple HIV risk behaviors and normative beliefs among young Tanzanian men . Social science & medicine (1982).

Balvanz P, Dodgen L, Quinn J, Holloway T, Hudspeth S, Eng E (2016). From Voice to Choice: African American Youth Examine Childhood Obesity in Rural North Carolina . Progress in community health partnerships : research, education, and action.

Maman S, Kajula L, Balvanz P, Kilonzo M, Mulawa M, Yamanis T (2015). Leveraging strong social ties among young men in Dar es Salaam: A pilot intervention of microfinance and peer leadership for HIV and gender-based violence prevention . Global public health.

Peter Balvanz, Morgan L. Barlow, Lillianne M. Lewis, Kari Samuel, William Owens, Donna L. Parker, Molly De Marco, Robin Crowder, Yarbrough Williams, Dorathy Barker, et al. (2011). “The next generation, that’s why we continue to do what we do”: African American farmers speak about experiences with land ownership and loss in North Carolina . Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development.

PREPRINT

Peter Balvanz, Naleef Fareed, Ramona G Olvera, Yiting Wang, Michael Hayes, Elizabeth Liz Larimore, Ronald Langley, Corinna A Noel, Peter Rock, Daniel Redmond, et al. (2023). Lessons Learned From Developing Dashboards to Support Decision-Making for Community Opioid Response by Community Stakeholders: Mixed Methods and Multisite Study (Preprint) .