The Authors

The authors of the Essential Public Health series are highly experienced and knowledgeable in their respective fields. With years of practice and teaching under their belts, they bring a wealth of expertise to their writing. Many of these authors have received prestigious teaching awards at their institutions, solidifying their impact in both Public Health education and the field of public health.

preparing students to be on the front lines of disease prevention and health promotion

Richard Riegelman MD, MPH, PhD

Public Health 101

Richard K. Riegelman is Professor of Epidemiology-Biostatistics, Medicine, and Health Policy, and Founding Dean of the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health in Washington, DC. His education includes an M.D. from the University of Wisconsin plus a M.P.H. and Ph.D. in Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins. Dr. Riegelman practiced primary care internal medicine for over 20 years.

Lisa Sullivan, PhD

Essentials of Biostatistics in Public Health

Lisa Sullivan, PhD, is Professor and former Chair of the Department of Biostatistics at the Boston University School of Public Health. She is also the Associate Dean for Education. Lisa is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including the Norman A. Scotch Award, the prestigious Metcalf Award, and the ASPPH/Pfizer Excellence in Teaching Award.

James A. Johnson, PhD, MPA, MSc

Essentials of Managing Public Health Organizations

James A. Johnson, PhD, MPA, MSc is a full professor in the School of Health Sciences at Central Michigan University where he teaches courses in comparative health systems, organizational behavior, and health systems thinking, as well as a course in international health systems and policy. Dr. Johnson is the former Chairman of the Department of Health Administration and Policy at the Medical University of South Carolina and former associate professor of family medicine. He is a very active researcher and health science writer with over 100 journal articles and 19 books published.

Sylvia Pirani, MS, MPH

Essentials of Public Health

Sylvia Pirani is a public health practice consultant. She is providing public health practice support to the Region 2 Public Health Training Center hosted by the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and serves as a site visitor for the national Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). For 25 years, she worked at the New York State Department of Health where she directed the Office of Public Health Practice.

Richard Skolnik, MPA

Global Health 101

Richard Skolnik has spent more than 40 years working on international development and global health and was formerly a lecturer in the Yale School of Public Health, the Yale School of Management, and the George Washington University School of Public Health.

Joel Teitelbaum, JD, LLM

Essentials of Health Policy and Law

Joel Teitelbaum is Professor and Director of the Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program, and the co-Director of the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership at George Washington University in Washington, DC. He is the first member of the School of Public Health faculty to win the University-wide Bender Teaching Award, he has received the School’s Excellence in Teaching Award, and he is a member of the University’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers and the School’s Academy of Master Teachers.

Kimberly S. Davey, PhD, MBA, MA

Essentials of Managing Public Health Organizations

Kimberly S. Davey, PhD, MBA, MA is Associate Professor of Public Health and Director of the Undergraduate Public Health Program in the School of Public Health at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. She was previously an instructor in the Department of Family, Community, and Health Systems at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Nursing. Dr. Davey teaches courses in leadership, management, strategy, health systems, health policy, and comparative health systems.

Cynthia Morrow, MD, MPH

Essentials of Public Health

Dr. Morrow currently teaches at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and at Hollins University in Roanoke, VA. Previously, she was the Lerner Chair for Health Promotion at Syracuse University (2014-2017), and the Commissioner of Health for Onondaga County (2005-2014). She is a co-editor of four public health textbooks and is a consulting editor for the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice as well as the series editor for “Boots on the Ground: Narratives from Today’s Local Public Health Workforce” for JPHMP Direct, the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice’s companion website.

Scott C. Quinlan, PhD, MS

Epidemiology 101

Scott C. Quinlan is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at The George Washington University. He has many years of experience teaching a range of graduate and undergraduate courses in epidemiology and biostatistics, both in the on-campus and online environment. He has enjoyed a varied career in epidemiology, with experience serving as an epidemiologist in industry, academic, and government settings.

Sara Wilensky, JD, PhD

Essentials of Health Policy and Law

Sara Wilensky is Special Services Faculty for Undergraduate Education in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University. As the Director of the Undergraduate Program in Public Health, she oversees three undergraduate programs.

Guthrie S. Birkhead, MD, MPH

Essentials of Public Health

Dr. Birkhead is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the School of Public Health, University at Albany. Until September 2015, he worked at the New York State Department of Health for 27 years in positions of increasing responsibility, including serving as Deputy Commissioner for Public Health from 2007 to 2015. In that position, he provided direction and oversight to all public health programs in the department including infectious disease, chronic disease, environmental health, nutrition, the public health laboratory, public health practice, and public health preparedness.

Mark Edberg, PhD, MA

Essentials of Health Behavior

Essentials of Health, Culture, and Diversity

Dr. Edberg, a cultural anthropologist, holds a professorship in the Department of Prevention and Community Health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health. With secondary appointments in the Department of Anthropology and Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University, his expertise lies in the intersection of poverty, marginalization, and other social determinants with crucial health concerns. His extensive knowledge spans topics like HIV/AIDS, substance use, youth violence, and health disparities, both domestically and globally.

The Essential Public Health Series

The Editor

Richard Riegelman, MD, MPH, PhD

Richard K. Riegelman, MD, MPH, PhD is Professor of Epidemiology-Biostatistics, Medicine, and Health Policy, and Founding Dean of the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health in Washington, DC. His education includes an M.D. from the University of Wisconsin plus a M.P.H. and Ph.D. in Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins. Dr. Riegelman practiced primary care internal medicine for over 20 years.

Dr. Riegelman has over 70 publications including 6 books for students and practitioners of medicine and public health. He is currently editor of the Jones and Bartlett book series Essential Public Health. The series provides books and ancillary materials for the full spectrum of curricula for undergraduate public health as well as the core and cross-cutting competencies covered by the Certification in Public Health examination of the National Board of Public Health Examiners. He has taken a lead role in developing the Educated Citizen and Public Health initiative which has brought together arts and sciences and public health education associations to implement the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies recommendation that “…all undergraduates should have access to education in public health.”. Dr. Riegelman also led the development of George Washington’s undergraduate major and minor and currently teaches “Public Health 101” and “Epidemiology 101” to undergraduates.

Richard Riegelman has been on the pulse of undergraduate public health, read his latest update or view his recent webinar providing a 2022 Update on the Current State of Undergraduate Public Health and Global Health.

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