WNCCHS Welcomes ACLS Leading Edge Fellow

Welcome, Marissa Hull, PhD!

Western North Carolina Community Health Services (WNCCHS) is honored to be selected as one of only 14 nonprofit host organizations nationwide for the 2026 ACLS Leading Edge Fellowship Program, funded by the Mellon Foundation.

This prestigious initiative, supported by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), places recent humanities and interpretive social science PhDs with mission-driven organizations working to advance access in communities across the United States. 

We’re excited to share that Marissa Hull, PhD, has been selected as WNCCHS's new ACLS Leading Edge Fellow and will join our team this September as a Health Policy Analyst Fellow for a two-year, full-time fellowship.

Marissa earned her PhD in History from the University of California, Riverside and will support projects focused on clinical quality improvement, data-informed research, and analysis of the factors that influence health.

The role is designed to apply humanistic frameworks to policy analysis, project management, and community health initiatives that strengthen our organizational capacity and support positive outcomes for patients and communities. 

We are honored to be part of this nationally recognized program and look forward to the perspective and expertise Marissa will bring to WNCCHS and the communities we serve.