Marcel W. Foster is an American public health professional, arts evaluator, choreographer, and researcher specializing in arts and health integration. He co-founded and directs Performance Hypothesis, LLC, serves as a Research & Evaluation Associate at NYU's Jameel Arts & Health Lab and teaches as Adjunct Faculty at the University of Florida's Center for Arts in Medicine. Foster has developed evaluation methodologies for assessing the impact of arts on health outcomes, including the Hospital Mural Evaluation and the Healing Arts Atlanta initiative addressing racism as a public health crisis. His research has been published in Qualitative Health Research and The American Journal of Primatology. Foster holds an MPH from Emory University and dual bachelor's degrees in Anthropology and Theater from the University of Minnesota, combining formal public health training with arts expertise to create innovative evaluation approaches.
Foster graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy in 2002 with a focus in theater. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology (summa cum laude) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater from the University of Minnesota in 2008. Foster later completed a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Global Health from Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health in 2017. Before his graduate studies, he completed a post-baccalaureate residency at Headlong Performance Institute in Philadelphia (2009-2010), studying choreography in the context of community engagement and collaboration.
Foster works in the fields of scientific research, arts practice, and public health evaluation, with a focus on arts and health integration.
Foster began his scientific work at the Jane Goodall Institute Research Center (2005-2008), where his analysis of chimpanzee behavior in Gombe National Park, Tanzania led to his first-author publication in The American Journal of Primatology. His early research and academic background in anthropology and theater contributed to his interdisciplinary approach.
Following graduation, Foster entered the performance world with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater in Chicago (2008-2009) before advancing his choreographic training at Headlong Performance Institute (2009-2010). During 2010-2015, he built substantial arts administration expertise through leadership roles in Philadelphia's cultural sector, including positions at Dance/USA Philadelphia and Pasion y Arte Flamenco Dance Company. In these roles, he worked on financial management and development for arts nonprofits.
The integration of health science into Foster's work began in earnest after earning his MPH from Emory University. He advanced to Public Health Analyst at RTI International (2019-2023), where he led evaluation for CDC global health security contracts and was elected Co-President of the organization's Bridging & Belonging Employee Resource Group.
In 2021, Foster established Performance Hypothesis, LLC, an organization that applies evaluation methodologies to projects at the intersection of art and public health. Through this organization, he received funding, including a $3 million grant from the Georgia Department of Public Health for arts-based vaccine confidence programs. In 2024, the Healing Arts Atlanta initiative held eleven events that included speakers from the arts and public health sectors.
Since 2022, Foster has served as Adjunct Faculty at the University of Florida's Center for Arts in Medicine, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in arts-based research and evaluation. In 2023, he joined NYU's Jameel Arts & Health Lab as Research & Evaluation Associate, where he serves as Co-Principal Investigator for the Hospital Mural Evaluation examining how murals affect well-being in healthcare settings across four countries.
Foster collaborated with Georgia State Representative Kim Schofield to develop House Resolution 117, which advances support for arts and health initiatives in Georgia. The resolution emphasizes the role of arts programming and creative arts therapies in addressing public health challenges, including mental health. In this role, he contributed research-based input for policy recommendations supporting arts-based health programs in Georgia.
His work focuses on interdisciplinary collaboration in public health and the arts. His recent research examines gender non-conformity's effect on healthcare access in Ghana, arts-based approaches to vaccine confidence, and the impact of visual arts in healthcare settings. His work explores how the integration of arts practice and scientific evaluation may support the development of health interventions aimed at reaching underserved populations.