Elizabeth Cook is a research scientist in Child Trends’ sexual and reproductive health research area. She believes young people are amazing and deserve the information, trust, resources, and supportive people that will help them thrive.

Cook is currently lead evaluator on two federally funded randomized control trial evaluations of adolescent sexual health programs: SafeSpace, an LGBTQIA2S-inclusive app-based program; and Morehouse School of Medicine’s Parent Toolkit 2.0, a program for parents of 13- to 16-year-olds. Previously, Cook managed a similar evaluation of Pulse App and a project that highlighted innovative practices for providing family planning services to underserved young people in school-based settings. Cook also provides technical assistance to states and organizations that use federal funding to provide sexual health programs to adolescents. She provides support on topics such as conducting evaluations, understanding health equity, meeting the needs of expectant and parenting youth, and understanding the intersection of domestic violence and sexual and reproductive health.

Cook wants to expand her focus to include the sexual and reproductive health education and health care of adolescents with disabilities. She also wants to build on her work with Morehouse School of Medicine to explore ways of supporting parents and guardians in having supportive conversations with their pre-teens and teens about the many topics that affect young people’s well-being.

Cook is proud to live in the great city of Baltimore, Maryland with her daughter, partner, and many pets. She holds a Master of Science in Public Health with an emphasis on reproductive, perinatal, and women’s health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Science in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Kansas.