Tara Kirk

Tara Kirk Sell (born July 12, 1982) is an American former competition swimmer and breaststroke specialist who is an Olympic silver medalist. She is a former world record holder in the 100-meter breaststroke (short course) She has won a total of fifteen medals in major international competition, three gold, seven silver, and five bronze spanning the Olympics, the World Championships, the Pan Pacific Championships, and the Summer Universiade. Kirk was the contributor for Episode 18, Season 6 of What Not to Wear. Her younger sister, Dana Kirk, joined her on the 2004 USA Women's Olympic Swimming team, becoming the first set of sisters to swim on the same US Olympic Team. She received a BA in human biology and an MA in anthropological sciences from Stanford University. She completed her PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the Department of Health Policy and Management. Her dissertation work focused on public policy responses to emerging epidemics and specifically how the media and policy intertwine in the case of Ebola and the health consequences of these policy actions. She works on improving public health policy and practice in order to reduce health impacts of disasters and terrorism.