Full Name
Scott Ratzan
Job Title
Distinguished Lecturer, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy
Company
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Health Communication
Speaker Bio
Scott C. Ratzan, MD, MPA, MA has three decades of pioneering accomplishments in the U.S. and globally in health communication, health literacy, and strategic diplomacy. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives, now in its 30th volume year. Dr. Ratzan co-chairs the Nature Medicine Commission on Quality Health Information for All.
Building on his work in the 1990s as a professor and Founding Director of the Emerson-Tufts Masters Program in Health Communication, Dr. Ratzan co-directs the Masters Program in Health Communication for Social Change at CUNY SPH. He recently was a Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School.
Since early in his career, he has been committed to advancing innovation in a variety of contexts globally. While at USAID from 2000-2 in Washington DC, he developed the global health communication strategy for U.S. funded efforts for 65 countries. He co-authored the definition of health literacy adopted by HHS and integrated in the U.S. Affordable Care Act. He also has served as Co-Chair of the UN Secretary General’s Every Woman Every Child Innovation Working Group and served on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Board of Scientific Counselors, Office of Infectious Disease.
Dr. Ratzan has developed innovative approaches to enhance health, sustainability and reputation working amongst multiple stakeholders to develop impactful programs and partnerships. For example, he spearheaded establishment of Text4Baby with the White House, J&J and over 700 NGOs, the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA) with the US State Department and UN Foundation, and Together for Safer Roads with twelve companies launched at the United Nations.
Prof. Ratzan teaches on-line courses including Multisector Engagement for Sustainable Health based on the Guiding Principles he developed as Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. He also holds academic appointments Tufts University School of Medicine, The University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences, and the University of St Andrews School of Medicine, and has taught at Yale School of Medicine, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, George Washington University and other institutions. His books include Vaccine Communication in a Pandemic: Strengthening Vaccine Literacy, Restoring Trust and Engaging Communities to Foster Vaccine Confidence and Uptake, The Mad Cow Crisis: Health and the Public Good, Attaining Global Health: Challenges and Opportunities, AIDS: Effective Health Communication for the 90s, and Tom Bradley: The Impossible Dream.
He has been published extensively in the field of health communication and policy including articles in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, JAMA, Nature Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, and the National Academies of Medicine Perspectives. He has written articles and offered expertise including in the BMJ, Washington Post, STAT News, New York Times, and Financial Times and also in broadcast including CNN, BBC World News, Sky News, MSNBC and others.
Dr. Ratzan has an M.D. from the University of Southern California School of Medicine, an M.P.A. from Harvard Kennedy School, and an M.A. in Communication from Emerson College.
Building on his work in the 1990s as a professor and Founding Director of the Emerson-Tufts Masters Program in Health Communication, Dr. Ratzan co-directs the Masters Program in Health Communication for Social Change at CUNY SPH. He recently was a Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School.
Since early in his career, he has been committed to advancing innovation in a variety of contexts globally. While at USAID from 2000-2 in Washington DC, he developed the global health communication strategy for U.S. funded efforts for 65 countries. He co-authored the definition of health literacy adopted by HHS and integrated in the U.S. Affordable Care Act. He also has served as Co-Chair of the UN Secretary General’s Every Woman Every Child Innovation Working Group and served on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Board of Scientific Counselors, Office of Infectious Disease.
Dr. Ratzan has developed innovative approaches to enhance health, sustainability and reputation working amongst multiple stakeholders to develop impactful programs and partnerships. For example, he spearheaded establishment of Text4Baby with the White House, J&J and over 700 NGOs, the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA) with the US State Department and UN Foundation, and Together for Safer Roads with twelve companies launched at the United Nations.
Prof. Ratzan teaches on-line courses including Multisector Engagement for Sustainable Health based on the Guiding Principles he developed as Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. He also holds academic appointments Tufts University School of Medicine, The University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences, and the University of St Andrews School of Medicine, and has taught at Yale School of Medicine, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, George Washington University and other institutions. His books include Vaccine Communication in a Pandemic: Strengthening Vaccine Literacy, Restoring Trust and Engaging Communities to Foster Vaccine Confidence and Uptake, The Mad Cow Crisis: Health and the Public Good, Attaining Global Health: Challenges and Opportunities, AIDS: Effective Health Communication for the 90s, and Tom Bradley: The Impossible Dream.
He has been published extensively in the field of health communication and policy including articles in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, JAMA, Nature Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, and the National Academies of Medicine Perspectives. He has written articles and offered expertise including in the BMJ, Washington Post, STAT News, New York Times, and Financial Times and also in broadcast including CNN, BBC World News, Sky News, MSNBC and others.
Dr. Ratzan has an M.D. from the University of Southern California School of Medicine, an M.P.A. from Harvard Kennedy School, and an M.A. in Communication from Emerson College.
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