Anita Roach

As Vice President of Health Equity and Community Engagement, Anita supports FARE’s efforts to enable community-powered food allergy education, awareness & support and to create pathways for improved representation in research and care. Anita also serves as FARE’s Principal Investigator on a Eugene Washington Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Initiative Award project addressing barriers to treatment and prevention strategies for people with food allergies from Black and underresourced communities in Washington, DC. 

Anita has over 12 years of experience leading the strategic development and implementation of patient-centered initiatives. Before joining FARE, she led a team of three staff and seven subject matter experts in the consensus development and dissemination of public health guidance on sleep behaviors at the National Sleep Foundation. At Lupus Foundation of America, Anita managed a 30-member Medical Scientific Advisory Council and led the expansion of the research program by 83%. Additionally, Anita oversaw a $500,000 CDC Cooperative Agreement for a national awareness campaign for the Interstitial Cystitis Association. 

Anita is skilled at communicating complex and technical information to patient and professional communities and has several publications in The Journal of Clinical Immunology: In Practice, Arthritis & Rheumatology, and Sleep Health. She also serves as a health equity Instructor for the 2023 Annual Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology Meeting. Anita graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University with an MS in Biochemistry.