Nicole Neal, MPH, C.H.E.S

Nicole Neal has served as health advancement specialist at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ) since November 2021. In this role, Ms. Neal is instrumental in health advancement planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of programs addressing Arizona’s most critical health issues, including how social determinants of health affect maternal health in our state. She brings nearly 20 years of experience in health and wellness education programming and administration in Arizona and has spent most of those years focused on the health of children and mothers.

Prior to joining BCBSAZ, Ms. Neal was a health specialist with the City of Phoenix Birth to Five Head Start program, managing health, nutrition, safety, and childcare programs for children ages birth to five years. Previously, Ms. Neal served the Maricopa County Department of Public Health as a community health worker and Healthy Start health educator working primarily in South Phoenix. In this role, she was instrumental in expanding the Phoenix Union High School District pregnancy and parenting support program and implementing the Healthy Start doula services for the Maricopa County Estrella Women’s Jail facility. She was a domestic violence advocate for the Sojourner Center, Phoenix, and a program services evaluator for the State of Arizona Department of Economic Security Family Assistance Administration.

Ms. Neal graduated from the University of Arizona College of Public Health with a Bachelor of Science degree in health sciences, focusing on community health education. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from Grand Canyon University. Her clinical practicum experiences include internships with First Things First children’s health programming and the City of Phoenix employee wellness department.

Ms. Neal has presented at local and national conferences, including First Things First Summit (Phoenix, 2013),the National Healthy Start Conference (Washington, D.C., 2012), and National Pathways to Adulthood: A Convening on Youth in Transition (Denver, 2011). She is a two-time recipient of the Peak Performance Award given by the Maricopa County Department of Public Health (2010, 2013).

A member of Arizona Birth workers of Color, Ms. Neal has been a doula and breastfeeding counselor for more than ten years. In addition to her role at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Ms. Neal is an adjunct professor in the integrated public health program at Paradise Valley Community College, Phoenix.