Neena Smith-Bankhead currently serves as the Director of Capacity Building and Community Engagement for the Emory Coordinating Center of the COMPASS Initiative, a new project to address HIV in the south, supported by Gilead Pharmaceuticals. In this role, Neena will oversee the provision of capacity building services to support infrastructure enhancement among organizations that provide services to people living with HIV across the Deep South states.

Prior to joining the team at Emory in 2015, Neena spent 18 years overseeing HIV prevention, education, and research activities at AID Atlanta, Inc., an AIDS Service organization, and served as a consultant with numerous local and national organizations, including HealthHIV, GA AETC, SEATEC, and Messages of Empowerment, LLC. Neena’s areas of interest and expertise include training, facilitation, grant writing, organizational development, program development, and qualitative research methods.

When not at work, Neena enjoys listening to music, watching movies, and volunteering with community organizations, including the Lupus Foundation of Georgia, and the Women of Clayton County (WOCC), a community organization that inspires positive change by cultivating meaningful collaborations between county leaders, businesses, and residents.

Neena received her bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies in 1993, and her Master’s degree in Health Education in 1996, both from Penn State University.