2026 Scientific Meeting
Professional Development
Speaker Profiles
Monday, March 30, 2026
Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm
Joshua Yudkin, PhD
Assistant Professor
Texas A&M School of Public Health
Joshua Yudkin is an Assistant Professor at the Texas A&M School of Public Health, where his research focuses on how digital interventions can support the management of chronic diseases, including pediatric obesity. His work centers on designing and evaluating interventions that integrate clinical care with community and environmental strategies to improve child health outcomes.
Dr. Yudkin has led participatory approaches, including Photovoice, to amplify community and learner perspectives and translate lived experience into actionable public health practice.
Christy Blackburn, PhD
Assistant Professor
Texas A&M School of Public Health
Christy Blackburn is an Assistant Professor at the Texas A&M School of Public Health and a qualitative research methodologist whose work centers on rigorous, community-engaged inquiry. Her scholarship emphasizes the design and application of qualitative and participatory approaches to better understand lived experience, social context, and health disparities, particularly on the Texas-Mexico border.
Dr. Blackburn brings extensive experience facilitating methods such as Photovoice to foster critical dialogue, elevate participant voices, and translate qualitative insights into actionable public health practice.
Description
This interactive workshop will build participants’ knowledge and applied skills in Photovoice methodology. Participants will learn about the theoretical foundations of Photovoice and its role in community-engaged and participatory research, as well as key principles for effective facilitation.
Through immersive participation in a simulated Photovoice session, attendees will practice core techniques, examine group dynamics and ethical considerations, and reflect on strategies for implementing Photovoice in their own professional contexts. The workshop will focus on barriers and facilitators influencing pediatric overweight and obesity, providing a practical example of how Photovoice can be used to understand and address complex public health challenges.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
Describe the theoretical foundations and core principles of Photovoice within community-engaged research.
Identify and analyze key facilitation strategies, group dynamics, and ethical considerations in a Photovoice session.
Reflect on the strengths, challenges, and practical considerations of implementing Photovoice in research, educational, or community settings.
Joshua Yudkin, PhD
Christy Blackburn, PhD