Kenda Stewart Steffensmeier, PhD, is a qualitative co-investigator and Director of Veteran Engagement in Research for the Center for Access and Delivery Research and Evaluation (CADRE) and the Veterans Rural Health Resource Center in Iowa City, IA. Trained as a cultural anthropologist, she works with investigators to collect qualitative data for mixed methods research and quality improvement projects. Her main areas of focus are Veteran and caregiver engagement, pain and pain management, women’s health, rural health, and ethnographic methodology. As a member of the GROVE team, Kenda consults individuals developing engagement plans, co-facilitates GROVE’s community-of-practice called “Jam Sessions,” co-facilitates the Rural Midwest Veteran Panel, and is exploring how to evaluate optimal practices for meaningfully engaging Veterans and caregivers in VA health research.