Research Interests
Dr. Tara Powell is a researcher and advocate for behavioral health interventions in disaster-affected communities. With a dual master’s in social work and public health from Tulane University and a PhD from the University of Texas, she explores the impact of behavioral health interventions in the US and globally.
Drawing from her experience living in and working with disaster-affected communities, Dr. Powell has actively collaborated with local communities and global humanitarian organizations to develop, research, and distribute behavioral health interventions for individuals, families, and communities affected by collective traumas. Her experience spans a range of contexts, from communities impacted by conflicts like the Syrian Crisis to those who have experienced pandemics and climate-induced disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes.
Dr. Powell's work has received funding from organizations such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Save the Children, USAID, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.
Education
BA, Communication Studies, University of Iowa, 2001
MSW, Tulane University, 2006
PhD, Social Work, University of Texas - Austin, 2014
Additional Campus Affiliations
Associate Dean for Research, School of Social Work
Associate Professor, School of Social Work
Affiliate, Center for Social & Behavioral Science
Affiliate, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute
Recent Publications
Garthe, R. C., Iverson, M., Epinger, E., Smith, D. C., Powell, T., & Mahoney, M. (2025). Strategies and Lessons Learned From Providing Training and Technical Assistance Support to Gun Violence Prevention Grantees. Health Promotion Practice, Article 15248399251341848. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248399251341848
Lee-Johnson, N. M., Scott, J. L., & Powell, T. (2025). Mapping Collective Action: A Case Study of Identifying Assets and Actions During Community Mental Health Workshops to Address the Effects of Environmental Inequities. Social Sciences, 14(5), Article 284. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14050284
Powell, T., Portnytska, N., Tychyna, I., Savychenko, O., Makarenko, O., Shyriaieva, T., Cherniavska, K., Muller, J., & Carney, R. (2025). A virtual intervention to support educator well-being and students' mental health in conflict-affected Ukraine: A non-randomized controlled trial. Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health, 12, Article e59. https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2025.10014
Scott, J., Powell, T., & Lee-Johnson, N. M. (2025). The Communities Organizing for Power Through Empathy (COPE) Community-Based Intervention to Improve Adult Mental Health During Disasters and Crises: Protocol for a Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 14, Article e63723. https://doi.org/10.2196/63723
Scott, J., Leytham-Powell, T., Morales-RodrÃguez, I., Suarez-Rodriguez, A., Yuma, P., & Muller, J. (2025). The disparate impact of Hurricane Maria: the relationship between recovery of public services, traumatic stress and household income of healthcare and social service industry workers. Environmental Hazards, 24(2), 127-143. https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2024.2351383