Roosevelt House extends a warm welcome to Professor Sue Atkinson CBE, who has joined us as our third Joan H. Tisch Distinguished Fellow in Public Health. Prior to her arrival at Roosevelt House, Professor Atkinson worked as Director of Public Health for London (1999-2006), and Health Advisor to the Mayor of London and Greater London Authority, during which time she contributed to the development of a Food Strategy for London. Professor Atkinson was also responsible for developing the health aspects of the successful 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic bid. Over the course of her semester here at Roosevelt House, Professor Atkinson will be co-teaching a core master’s level course on Public Health Policy Analysis at the Hunter School of Public Health with Professor Barbara Berney, and will co-chair a Faculty Seminar with Hunter Professor Nick Freudenberg on the ways food and health policies intersect with one another.
The Joan H. Tisch Legacy Project is a major, multidisciplinary initiative at Hunter college that addresses urban public health issues – from diseases such as HIV/AIDS, obesity, and diabetes to health disparities due to economic and environmental factors.