Courtney Waters
Courtney Waters (she/her) is an Assistant Research Professor at SIROW. Courtney has been engaged in community-based research and programming for over a decade. Since joining SIROW in 2013, she has held roles on several state and federally funded projects addressing health inequities. In alignment with SIROW’s philosophy, Courtney is committed to research projects and initiatives that aim to alleviate health disparities and improve social conditions among marginalized populations and other diverse groups. Her primary areas of interest include sexuality education, sexual violence prevention, and LGBTQ+ equity.
Within these areas, Courtney’s work has centered primarily on program coordination, curriculum development and adaptation, and training development and delivery. Courtney is currently a Co-Project Director for the 3-year SAMHSA-funded Family Pride Initiative which strives to improve mental and behavioral health outcomes for LGBTQI+ youth by providing resources, support, education, and training for LGBTQI+ youth, their parents/caregivers, and providers, as well as the 5-year SAMHSA-funded Spectrum+ project which provides inclusive sexuality education, mental health treatment, and HIV testing to LGBTQI+ youth of color ages 12-24. She also supports the curriculum and training components of the American Indian and Alaska Native Behavioral Health Center of Excellence.
Beyond these project roles, Courtney is a faculty member for SIROW's M.A. in Program Design & Evaluation. She is also involved in organizing annual community events including Take Back the Night Tucson and the Youth and Peace Conference. Courtney holds Masters degree in Public Health and Mexican American Studies from the University of Arizona and completed her Bachelors degree at Penn State.