Susan Allan, MD, JD, MPH

Dr. Susan Allan has worked for more than 28 years developing and supporting public health professionals and programs in both practice and academic settings. Dr. Allan’s experience includes 20 years in local public health, with 18 years as department director (Arlington, Virginia), and three years as state public health director (Oregon). She is currently Associate Professor at the University of Washington School of Public Health, and until March 2013 served as the Director of the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice, which provides training and practice-based research to state, local and tribal public health in the six northwest states and nationally.

She has served on many national public health boards and committees related to developing public health excellence and the public health workforce, including the Institute of Medicine committees and reports on “Educating Public Health Professionals for the 21st Century” and “Training Physicians for Public Health Career”;  the Council on Education for Public Health, which accredits schools and programs of public health; the Council on Linkages between Academia and Public Health Practice; the Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice of the Institute of Medicine; CDC workgroups on Law Enforcement and Public Health Emergencies, and Community Mitigation for Pandemic Influenza; and the Public Policy Advisory Council of the National March of Dimes.

Her education includes a BA from Seattle University, MD from Harvard Medical School, JD from Harvard Law School, and MPH from Johns Hopkins.  She notes that she can’t think of any field more rewarding, interesting, frustrating and underappreciated than public health!