Brittany is responsible for working with LIFT-DC’s Executive Director to create partnerships with a diverse array of constituent groups in the DC-area, including human service providers, university partners and government agencies, in order to increase the visibility of LIFT-DC and increase the impact on the ground.
Brittany joined the LIFT team in Fall of 2011 after recognizing it as an opportunity to reconnect with grassroots, social justice work in Washington, DC. Brittany was drawn to LIFT’s strengths based approach to client service, use of collaboration across communities, promotion of civic engagement, and intentional relationship building. Brittany is an optimist who never forgets that her “heart is a weapon the size of her fist. She must keep loving and keep fighting” the social injustices around her. Working with LIFT is simply an extension of that love and fight.
From a young age, Brittany knew she was suited to work with people in some supportive capacity. She also knew the value of community engagement and exploring what “community” means to different people, as her own sense of community ebbed and flowed with time. Brittany grew up in Southeast, Michigan before taking her blue-collar work ethic to a larger community in Boulder, Colorado. There Brittany earned her Bachelor’s in Psychology and History and certificate in Peace and Conflict Studies. Brittany took her energy and savings account (from working two, full-time jobs throughout college) with her abroad, when she spent six months in various community public health roles with grassroots movements in Cameroon, Ghana and Uganda. From that experience, Brittany was firmly planted on her path to pursue social work and further credentialing in public health. Brittany returned to the US to fill roles as an HIV tester and counselor in Denver, Colorado, and later as a Program Manager with Whitman-Walker Health in Washington, DC. Brittany earned her Masters in Social Work, with a focus on Community Practice and certification in Public Health Practice: HIV and STIs from the University of Washington. While in Seattle, Brittany offered clinical social work services to older adults living with HIV and AIDS at Bailey Boushay House and to young people experiencing homelessness at the 45th Street Youth Clinic of Neighborcare Health. Brittany also made use of the excellent research resources at the University of Washington, and assisted with two studies of sexual health and HIV prevention among men who have sex with men. Brittany happily returned to her (favorite) community here in Washington, DC, to contribute her warmth, passion and skill set to those social injustices that hit closest to home.
