Janet Collins, retired director of the federal Centers for Disease Control, will speak to students enrolled in the campus’ Lessons from Leaders class on Monday, June 12, at 4 p.m.
Collins retired in January 2016 following a 27-year career at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga. During her career, Collins led CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB and the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion where she directed billion-dollar portfolios of programmatic and scientific work.
Most recently, Collins served as director for CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity which provides national leadership on policy, surveillance, epidemiological and behavioral research, and offers technical assistance to states and communities on program design and evaluation.
She also served on CDC’s executive leadership team as associate director for program in the office of the director where she provided agency-wide leadership on program strategy, performance measurement, and evaluation.
Currently, Collins is on the national board of directors for the YMCA of the USA, the board of directors for HealthMPowers in Atlanta and Health Assessment and Research for Communities (HARC) in Palm Desert.
She has published widely in the area of school health and chronic disease prevention and control. Her recent publications focus on reducing obesity through policy change and using health impact assessment to influence public health policy. Collins is a behavioral scientist with a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Stanford University and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from San Diego State University.
Lessons from Leaders is a for-credit class that focuses on a different business, non-profit or government leader each week to highlight their professional experience and personal advice for success.
The class format begins with an introduction by instructor Michael J. Ortiz, president emeritus, Cal Poly Pomona, followed by the visiting speaker providing 30-40 minutes of content, and then an open conversation with the enrolled students. The class concludes with a reception where students can interact with the speaker and gain critical networking skills.
The experience and insight of the speakers can be a life-changing experience for students. The CSUSB Palm Desert Campus is comprised of predominantly first-generation college students, but they all have one great thing in common – a drive to succeed and be a force for change in their families and communities. The class looks for speakers who can inspire.
The class, which began on April 3, meets Mondays from 4-5:50 p.m. through June 12.
Located in beautiful Palm Desert, the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees, a doctorate in educational leadership, and teacher credentials and certificates. With more than 1,400 students, it is the Coachella Valley’s four-year public university and plays a vital role in educating and training the region’s growing population.
For more information about the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus, contact Mike Singer in the campus’s Office of Public Affairs at msinger@csusb.edu or (760) 341-2883, ext. 78107, or visit the campus website at www.pdc.csusb.edu.