Strategic Data Project Convening 2025

Dr. Chelsea Richard is a highly skilled and accomplished professional with a deep commitment to improving the lives of children and families. As the former Director of Research and Strategy at South Carolina First Steps and the Early Childhood Advisory Council, Chelsea transformed the agency’s capacity for data infrastructure, evaluation, and turning data into action – going from a team of one to a team of five in just four years. As the agency's current Chief of Staff, she works to optimize the agency's Capacity Building team and to directly support data, evaluation, research, and strategy. She seeks to democratize data and evaluation - building the capacity of all people to use data to drive decision making and to best meet the needs of children, families, and service providers.

Her core values are integrity and curiosity, which manifest in her academic, professional, and civic pursuits. Chelsea holds a PhD and an MSPH in Epidemiology from the University of South Carolina (UofSC) and a BS in Biology from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. She is an adjunct faculty member in public health at UofSC and the University of North Carolina Charlotte. She has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Doctoral Presidential Fellowship at UofSC, "Best and Brightest 35 and Under" (2021 Columbia Business Monthly), and induction as an Associate Member into the American College of Epidemiology. Beyond her professional accomplishments, Chelsea is an active member of her community, serving as a Board Member on the Richland Library Board of Trustees and as an Editorial Advisory Board Member for the Maternal and Child Health Journal. She is also a member of the Mu Chapter of Delta Omega Honor Society and served as its President from 2019 to 2020.