Rate My Professor Marybeth Mitcham

Marybeth Mitcham, PhD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Global and Community Health at George Mason University’s College of Public Health and Director of the Online MPH Program since 2022. A Health Science educator and researcher, she earned her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with a public health emphasis from Liberty University in 2021, an MPH in Nutrition from Liberty University in 2016, a BS in Biology from SUNY Empire State College in 2015, and associate degrees in Human Development and in Science, Mathematics, and Technology from SUNY Empire State College in 2013. Her career includes roles at Cornell University Cooperative Extension as Resource Educator (2018–2022) and Subject Educator III (2016–2018), where she developed public health nutrition programs, managed staff, and conducted community education on food systems and wellness. She served as Adjunct Professor of Biology at SUNY Adirondack (2017–2022), PhD Chair in the School of Health Sciences at Liberty University (2022–present), and Program Facilitator at eCornell (2021–present). Earlier positions encompass high school instruction and nonprofit management.

Mitcham’s research as a social and behavioral scientist centers on translational public health interventions promoting resilience-focused holistic wellness, Food as Medicine, rural health, nutrition, elder cognitive health, and American Indian populations through community-based participatory research and mixed-methods designs. Key publications include book chapters “Hawthorn” and “Horehound” in Health Professional's Guide to Dietary Supplements (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2023), “Sea Salt as a Food Preservative” in Science of Sea Salt (2022), and 4-H Outdoor Cooking (Cornell University Cooperative Extension, 2020). Forthcoming works feature chapters on indigenous elders, disaster resilience for rural elders, and dementia narratives, alongside books on Alzheimer’s and community assessment. Her honors include Rural Champion of the Year (Adirondack Rural Health Network, 2025), Online Teacher of Distinction Award (George Mason University, 2025), Culture of Health Leadership Institute Fellowship (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2024), Early Career Mentorship Fellowship (American Society of Nutrition, 2024), and multiple curriculum awards from the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (2020–2021). She reviews for Advances in Nutrition and American Journal of Public Health and holds leadership roles in health equity coalitions.