Dr. Billie Castle, a native of Baton Rouge, graduated with a Bachelor of Sciences in Health Sciences from Howard University, Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management from Texas A&M University, and her Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health Sciences with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences. She completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Louisiana’s CDC designated Youth Violence Preventention Center.

Her research focuses on reducing social, health, and racial disparities in Black communities by addressing the impact historical polices have had on the environment in which we live through community engagement and equitable policy implementation.

Dr. Castle has research experience in the areas of youth violence prevention, social justice youth development, health equity policy and practice, and community engagement as a means for community change. Her current projects include understanding New Orleans’ Youth Development Ecosystem, connecting Public Health Data to Social Determinants of Health Data for action, and understanding community’s perspective of research.