Mara de Luca Funke, MPH has been working in public health for two decades. After six years with Maricopa County Department of Public Health, and has served as an independent consultant for the last ten years. Ms. Funke’s customized approach uses quantitative, qualitative, and secondary data analysis to design evaluations that authentically and accurately measure multiple perspectives.
In addition to leading her own consulting projects, Ms. Funke also holds the positions of Faculty Instructor at A.T. Still University and Research Specialist Senior at Arizona State University’s Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center. Ms. Funke has extensive experience in strategic planning, prevention, education, and community-centered data collection methods. Ms. Funke is also a seasoned grant writer, earning organizational and government grants up to $26 million dollars and performing annual federal reviews.
Mara is currently enrolled in a Doctor of Health Sciences program at A.T. Still University. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor of Sociology and Spanish from Michigan State University. Ms. Funke previously conducted physical activity promotion and nutrition education programs in community settings. Her background includes both academic research as well as the evaluation of ‘real-life’ service delivery programs in a range of health and social service fields, including food systems, access to health care, access to veterinary care, and community health improvement planning.
On a more personal level, Mara lives in Tempe with her eight-year-old son Avi, her partner, his ten-year-old son, two rescue cats, and two chickens. She keeps her YTT200 certification active and teaches yoga as volunteer. Mara serves on the Board of Directors for several agencies, including Chair of Phoenix Revitalization Corporation and Treasurer of the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS. Ms. Funke is also an active volunteer in the Jewish community with the Women’s Leadership Institute. She is a second generation American and speaks Italian. In her free time, she likes hiking, cooking and eating local foods, traveling, and chanting Torah. Mara represents the fabric of many communities, including single parents, the neurodiverse, and LGBTQ.