Department Chair
莫妮卡D. 艾伦, DrPH, MPH
(408) 924-2009
莫妮卡.allen@litpliant.net
Dr. 艾伦 completed her Bachelor of 科学 degree in Health 科学s and Master of Public Health in Health Promotion and Education at Loma Linda University. In 2005, she was awarded the Chancellor’s Fellowship to study for a Doctor of Public Health Degree at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. In 2014 she completed the degree and the requirements for the Multicultural Specialty Certification.
Dr. 艾伦 has experience in a variety of health agencies, interning as an HIV/AIDS educator for the Riverside County Department of Public Health, serving as the Prenatal Access Coordinator for the Orange County Health Services Agency, and a tobacco educator for the County of San Bernardino Department of Public Health. 她 was the Director of Physician Relations for Chapman Medical Center in Orange, California, working on managed care contracts for the hospital’s Independent Physician’s Association. Dr. 艾伦 spent more than 5 years as the Health Education Manager for the Inland Empire Health Plan, where she developed, implemented and evaluated programs in Asthma, Diabetes, Injury Prevention, Smoking Cessation, and Weight Loss for the Plan’s members. 她 also served as the plan’s Cultural and Linguistic Services manager, providing training to the plan’s contracted providers, and overseeing the translation of all the plan’s member materials. Dr. 艾伦 joined the American Cancer Society (ACS), California Division in 2002 as the Director of Planning, her primary role being to assist in the development, distribution and implementation of the Statewide Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan. 她 also evaluated ACS’s programs and services, coordinated activities of the State Cancer Plan, and served as lead staff for the Division’s Clinical Trials recruitment 项目.
Dr. 艾伦’s research focuses on disparities in health status and outcomes. Her specific interests can be incorporated into two research areas: (a) the reduction of health disparities, and (b) how to customize interventions to best meet the needs of diverse and underserved communities. One current project is focused on improving social support to improve health promoting behaviors among men of color.
Dr. 艾伦 has worked at San Jose State since 2013, when she started as a lecturer in the Public Health and Recreation Department. 她 began as an Assistant Professor in 2015, and served as the Coordinator of the Master of Public Health programs for six years. In 2021, she was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor and was elected Chair of the department in March 2022. Dr. 艾伦 is very active in the campus community, she has been a member of her college’s health, curriculum, and diversity committees is currently the 教师 Co-Chair of the Campus Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and the founding Chair of the Black Spartans Advisory Council, an advocacy group working with 菠菜网lol正规平台 administration to improve the lives of Black employees and 学生.
An Important Message from Public Health and Recreation's New Chair, Dr. Monica 艾伦 (Dated July 1, 2022):
As I assume the role of Chair of the Department of Public Health and Recreation at San José State University, I have many things on my mind. I feel the pride of being part of a department that has programs with long and robust histories on campus and in the larger community. I feel gratitude and humility at the confidence placed in me by the faculty, and the weight of the expectations that come with the job. 我是 contemplating all that I need to learn, and what it means to be successful in this role and to contribute to the success of the department by supporting our faculty, staff, 学生 and alumni.
In this time of transition in the department, I can’t help but think about the fact that there is great change in our society, and it doesn’t seem to be in the right 方向. 的 recent overturn of Roe vs. Wade by our Supreme Court has significant immediate and long-term impacts on the health of women and girls in this country. What is worse, we received a clear signal that this is only the beginning. 在 communication that came with the decision, Justice Thomas suggested that the Supreme Court may reconsider previous decisions related to contraception and the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. On the heels of several Supreme Court decisions that impact public health, horrific scenes of gun violence, racial unrest prompted by hate crimes directed toward specific communities, a pandemic that is overwhelmingly impacting some populations disproportionately, and the visible results of climate change, the attitude of the highest court in our country is disturbing, disheartening and distressing!
As a department comprised of three programs that promote social justice, we need to be more than just concerned. It is our mandate to work to create an equitable and just society. What does that mean? Different things for different people. 在那里 are already conversations happening within the department about how to incorporate more advocacy action into our curriculum. We will use our social media and other platforms to inform, educate and advocate for change in the right 方向. We have op-ed pieces being submitted to local and national media outlets. 的 campus newspaper, the Spartan Daily, is doing an issue on the Roe vs. Wade decision and our department is taking steps to make sure our views are heard there. 我是 engaged with a group that is starting a chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in my county. I know of a faculty member that is participating in a training institute on teaching social action. 这些 are only a few examples; I have no doubt that members of the PHR community are working at all levels of change. What we do next depends on our time and capabilities. 的 important thing is that we turn our feelings into action, that we work together to create the society we all deserve. It is vital that we, as a community, are committed to acting on the principles that guide our disciplines: healthy communities, equity and social justice.
As we react and respond to these national crises, we celebrate and welcome a new justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. 在那里 are other encouraging signs; as I was walking in my neighborhood yesterday, I passed a group of tween and young teen boys. 的y were chatting and I heard 一个 tell his friend to “Check your privilege!” I smiled as I realized that our messages are getting 通过. 的 younger generation is being taught that every一个 isn’t the same and that we have responsibilities to each other. So, as I begin this transition, the main thing 我是 feeling is hopeful anticipation; 我是 excited to see what we can do collectively to assure the conditions in which people can be healthy.
