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Rob Simmons, DrPH, MPH, CHES, program director of the Master of Public Health program in the Jefferson College of Graduate Studies at Thomas Jefferson University has been elected president of the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE).

Dr. Simmons, clinical associate professor of Health Policy, Jefferson Medical College, was named president-elect of SOPHE last year and officially took the post during SOPHE’s 58th annual meeting beginning Oct. 31, 2007. SOPHE is an independent, international professional association made up of a diverse membership of health education professionals and students. The Society promotes healthy behaviors, healthy communities, and healthy environments through its membership, its network of local chapters, and its numerous partnerships with national and regional private and public health organizations.

“Rob has made the program an ideal educational tool to prepare graduates to assume professional and leadership roles as public health practitioners in the challenging healthcare environment,” said David B. Nash, M.D., M.B.A., chair and the Dr. Raymond C. and Doris N. Grandon Professor of Health Policy, Jefferson. “His extensive community health program planning, implementation and evaluation experience will aid SOPHE in developing new public health education programs.”

Dr. Simmons has a broad knowledge of national public health research and data, issues, and program services and initiatives. He has been a leader in a variety of community collaborative health initiatives emphasizing chronic disease prevention and reducing disparities of racial-ethnic populations particularly in Spanish-speaking populations.

He currently directs Jefferson’s Master of Public Health program which provides graduate training, research, and service opportunities in the core content areas of public health: biostatistics, epidemiology, management and policy, behavioral and social science, and environmental science.

Prior to coming to Jefferson, Dr. Simmons was an Assistant Professor of Public Health at Drexel University School of Public Health and has taught at a variety of other universities including the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, and West Chester University. 

Dr. Simmons has had a varied career in public health and health education having worked for county and state government in California, private non-profit voluntary health organizations, private health foundations, government and non-governmental organizations in Latin America, and more recently as the chief of Health Education and Promotion at Eugene du Pont Preventive Medicine and Rehabilitation Institute, and manager of government and community relations at Christiana Care Health System.

Certified as a community health education specialist, Dr. Simmons has received a number of awards as a national and local community health education leader and for his volunteer community service with such organizations as the American Lung Association and the American Heart Association.

He received both a bachelor’s degree in political science and a California Teaching Credential from the University of California, Santa Barbara, a master’s degree in public health from the Loma Linda University School of Public Health and a doctor of public health degree from the UCLA School of Public Health.