Rainy Dawn Warf, M.P.H., CHES
Evaluation Coordinator
Rainy Dawn Warf has assisted in creating, growing, and evaluating community-based initiatives that support the health and well-being of individuals along both sides of the U.S./Mexico border region for almost 10 years. Rainy currently serves as evaluation coordinator for Canyon Ranch Institute, a 501(c)3 non-profit public charity. Canyon Ranch Institute catalyzes the possibility of optimal health for all people by translating the best practices of Canyon Ranch and our partners to help educate, inspire, and empower every person to prevent disease and choose a life of wellness.
Rainy supports the evaluation activities of the Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement Program in Cleveland, OH and Sullivan County, MO.
Prior to joining Canyon Ranch Institute in February 2008, Rainy earned a master's in public health degree at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona. Rainy has had a substantial career in public health and wellness that started when she served her community on projects like the development and coordination of a youth-driven initiative that improved access to and interest in nutritious food and engaged at-risk youth in their communities.
Rainy's grassroots and community-driven work has also supported the development of a women's cooperative in a Mayo village in Sonora, Mexico, where she helped women sustain their community, culture, and ecosystems by developing and selling natural and renewable food products derived from organ pipe cactus.
Inspired by the birth of her son, Rainy next refocused her interests toward maternal and child health and nutrition. She returned to school at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona. During her studies, Rainy also worked in the field of educational evaluation, assisting in the evaluation of a multi-disciplinary public health curriculum targeting underserved high school students.
The capstone experience of Rainy's master's in public health program was a visiting fellowship in 2007 with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Montevideo, Uruguay. During the fellowship, Rainy supported a rural community's efforts to improve children's oral health through more nutritious snacks in schools and by connecting children to local farmers for the development of a school-based educational garden. In Uruguay, she also researched local child and maternal health beliefs and behavior related to the connection between nutrition and oral health.
Rainy earned her bachelor's of arts degree from Prescott College with a focus on cultural anthropology and small-scale agriculture in sustainable community development. Fluent in English and Spanish, Rainy has spent a great deal of her life living in or visiting diverse cultures throughout the world. She continues to learn from and seek out experiences that expose her to cross-cultural interactions.
Rainy's passions include traveling, cooking and eating local whole foods, and spending time with her family. Her most precious moments are spent with her son playing and learning in the garden and kitchen and teaching him to appreciate the joys of food, from seed to table.