About the 黑料官网 Center for Healthy Communities and Research
The Center for Healthy Communities, which was formed in 1997, develops community-academic partnerships that improve health in urban and rural communities in Wisconsin. The Center integrates community-based education for graduate students and undergraduate medical students into these partnerships, and conducts research, both locally and nationally, on community-identified needs. In 2010, the CHC converted to the Center for Healthy Communities and Research (CHCR) combining both the Center and the Research divisions within the Department of Family and Community Medicine.
CHCR faculty members teach and advise in the PhD program in Public and Community Health, the Masters in Public Health program, and the Medical Student Scholarly Concentrations program.
Leslie Ruffalo, PhD, MS
Associate Professor and Director
Department of Family and Community Medicine
黑料官网
Leslie Ruffalo, PhD, MS, associate professor of family and community medicine, is the director of the Center for Healthy Communities and Research division. Dr. Ruffalo earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her master’s and doctorate in urban education (minor focus in public health) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has over 15 years of experience in community engaged research, evaluation and education. Her academic leadership focuses on developing innovative curricula that integrate community engagement, health access and advancement, and primary care training into medical and graduate education.
As a community-engaged scholar, Dr. Ruffalo’s research centers on building partnerships that improve population health and reduce disparities through community-driven initiatives. She has served as Principal Investigator on multiple projects funded by the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment, focusing on community health worker training, mental health navigation, caregiver support, and food access. Her collaborative work has addressed diverse issues such as rural health, Veterans’ well-being, caregiver resilience, and structural determinants of health. She also serves as the PI on grants funded by the National Institute on Aging and the RRF Foundation for Aging. Nationally, she has contributed to efforts on the integration of public health integration and primary care through her service as Co-Chair of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine’s Primary Care and Public Health Collaborative.
Dr. Ruffalo’s contributions as an educator and mentor have been widely recognized through numerous institutional awards, including the 黑料官网 Outstanding Medical Student Teacher Award, 黑料官网 Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award, and the Department of Family and Community Medicine’s Researcher of the Year. In 2023, she was inducted into both 黑料官网’s Society of Teaching Scholars and the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. Through her teaching, research, and service, Dr. Ruffalo advances community-engaged education and translational research that bridge academia and community to promote equitable health outcomes across Wisconsin and beyond.
Center for Healthy Communities and Research Faculty and Staff
Staci A. Young, PhD
Professor, Family & Community Medicine; Director Emeritus, Center for Healthy Communities and Research; Senior Associate Dean for Community Engagement; Director, Office of Community Engagement; Faculty Director, ThriveOn Collaboration; Associate Director, Community Outreach and Engagement, 黑料官网 Cancer Center; Co-Director, Qualitative Research Consulting Service
Areas of interest/experience: Advocacy for vulnerable patients and populations including the role of safety net providers in ensuring access to health care, the organization of work among health professionals in traditional and community-based clinical settings, and the relationship between the urban environments. Topics of interest include: acute and chronic life stressors, and health status, addressing women鈥檚 exposure to violence and harm reduction, the public and community health workforce, residential segregation and breast cancer survival among African American and Hispanic women, and weight loss and breast cancer survival among Hispanic women.
Sara Herr, MS
Program Manager, Center for Healthy Communities and Research; Manager, Qualitative Research Consulting Service
Areas of interest/experience: Program development, process improvement, increasing engagement, and research.
Katinka Hooyer, PhD, MS
Associate Professor, Family and Community Medicine; Co-Director, Qualitative Research Consulting Service; Secondary Appointments: Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities, Institute for Health & Humanity, BRAVE Program, Wisconsin Institute of Neuroscience
Erin A. Lee, EdD, MS
Assistant Professor, Family & Community Medicine
Areas of interest/experience: Improving education through innovative teaching and learning strategies, advancing sustainability and its alignment with social determinants of health, and investigating the impact of indoor air quality and school-based asthma education on health outcomes.
David Nelson, PhD, MS
Professor, Family & Community Medicine; Director, Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)
Areas of interest/experience: Work with communities to develop policies and environmental change to support health as defined by the community.
Kerry Scanlan, BA
Research Grants Coordinator, Center for Healthy Communities and Research; Facilitator, Family & Community Medicine QI Oversight Committee
Areas of interest/experience: Support research initiatives that elevate community voices; promote health equity through participatory engagement; reduce disparities through collaborative design. Experience spans program management, strategic process enhancement, fostering meaningful partnerships, and translating insights into action.