Meet our Founder

Dr. ‘Demi Fauziyyah Adebo-Adelaja is the founder and Executive Director of The Aafiyah Project. As a trained public health researcher with over 20 years of experience in community development, Dr. 'Demi Fauziyyah is passionate about disrupting health disparities in the Black community. Her interest in public/community health was first sparked by the opportunity to work as a peer health educator during her undergraduate years. She was further inspired to work with minority communities when she was selected to be trained as an HIV counselor and health educator working with inner city Baltimore youths faced with inadequate access to healthcare. In 2020, a renewed interest in addressing health disparities reemerge in light of the disproportionate effect of COVID-19 on African Americans in her home residence of Prince George’s County.

 

Dr. ‘Demi Fauziyyah leads The Aafiyah Project in developing novel ways to improve the health and wellness of minority communities in Prince George’s County and beyond. She aims to promote "Aafiyah," an Arabic termed that describes overall “well-being,” through health-promoting activities, innovative mentoring, education, and ethical organizational governance.

 

Dr. ‘Demi Fauziyyah earned her doctorate in Management of Public Health Services from the University of Maryland Global Campus, a Master of Public Health degree from Emory University, and her bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Biological Sciences from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.