Alison Cohen, MPH
e-mail: [email protected]
EDUCATION
University of California, Berkeley, 2010-present. M.P.H. (2010-2012) in epidemiology and biostatistics,
Ph.D. (expected) in epidemiology.
Brown University, 2005-2009. A.B., with departmental honors, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa.
• Majors: Community Health and Education Studies (History/Policy)
Proficient in Spanish and French.
SCHOLASTIC AWARDS AND HONORS (selected, recent)
• University of California Center for Collaborative Research for an Equitable California, Affiliated
Researcher, 2013- present.
• S. Leonard Syme Scholarship, UC Berkeley School of Public Health Alumni Association, 2013-2014.
Merit scholarship for graduate study in public health.
• Philosophy of Education Institute, Spencer Foundation, 2013-2014. One of seventeen graduate
students worldwide selected to participate in summer seminar.
• Graduate Division Summer Grant, UC Berkeley Graduate Division, 2013. Merit scholarship to
support academic work over the summer towards degree goal.
• Patricia A. Buffler Scholarship, UC Berkeley School of Public Health Alumni Association, 20122013. Merit scholarship for graduate study in public health.
• Outstanding Graduate Student Mentor Award, UC Berkeley New Experiences for Research and
Diversity in Science program, 2011. Awarded annually to 2-4 graduate students upon nomination by
their undergraduate student interns.
• C. Jean Morton Scholarship, UC Berkeley School of Public Health Alumni Association, 2011-2012.
Merit scholarship for graduate study in public health.
• University Fellowship, UC Berkeley Graduate School, 2010-2011. Awarded full tuition and living
stipend to study towards a Masters in Public Health at UC Berkeley.
• Summer Institute of Civic Studies, Tufts University Tisch College of Citizenship, 2010. One of
eighteen graduate students and practitioners from around the world selected to participate in twoweek seminar.
RESEARCH GRANTS AND AWARDS (selected, recent)
• Knight Foundation Grant, 2013-2014. Program development and evaluation of Generation Citizen, in
partnership with CIRCLE (co-PI).
• Initiative on Civic Learning and Civic Action Small Grant, Spencer Foundation, 2011-2013. $40,000
to fund evaluation of Generation Citizen’s model of an action civics curriculum (consultant).
• Roselyn Lindheim Award, UC Berkeley, 2011-2012. Research funding awarded annually to two UC
Berkeley graduate students doing interdisciplinary work in health and environment; I considered
links between education, public health, and the urban environment.
• Leaders in Service Grant, Center for Health Leadership, UC Berkeley School of Public Health, 2011.
Supports public health leadership; I used epidemiology to evaluate education programs for
Generation Citizen.
• Fulbright Student Grant, European Union, 2009-2010. Funded to conduct nine months of
independent research in the European Union studying the implementation of REACH, the EU’s
chemicals regulation, and understanding implications for US chemicals policy.
• Walter J. Nelson Prize, Brown University, 2009. Prize for honors thesis in Community Health.
• Barbara Anton Internship Grant, Brown University, 2008. Awarded to fund thesis research done in
collaboration with a community organization.
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Harold Ward Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award, Brown University, 2008. Awarded for
distinguished project in environmental studies; my research evaluated an environmental health
curriculum I developed and taught with the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council and the
Brown Superfund Basic Research Program’s Community Outreach Core.
Royce Fellowship for research in the public interest, Brown’s Swearer Center for Public Service,
2007. Conducted independent environmental justice research in community health (with the Natural
Resources Defense Council) and in education (with Summerbridge San Francisco).
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE (selected, recent)
• Education program evaluation, Generation Citizen, 9/08-present. Director of research and
evaluation (1/10-present) and senior evaluation advisor (9/08-12/09) for civic education non-profit.
Oversee and design program evaluation, including designing studies and protocols, coordinating and
managing research team and interns, overseeing data management, analyzing data, integrating
research findings into program improvement, external dissemination, and writing grants.
• Child and youth program evaluation, WestEd, Health and Human Development Program, 4/11present. Research associate (2/12- present) and graduate student intern (4/11-1/12): evaluating youth,
health, and juvenile justice programs in Oakland and Alameda County.
• Social epidemiology research, UC Berkeley School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology, 4/11present. Research assistant for Prof. Barbara Abrams investigating social determinants of obesity.
• Place-based health equity, UC Berkeley Department of City and Regional Planning, 10/10-6/11.
Research assistant for Professor Jason Corburn: developed and wrote about healthy city indicators as
part of an academic-government collaborative for Richmond, CA.
• Environmental health and community-based participatory research, Brown University and UC
Berkeley Departments of Public Health and Environmental Studies, 2/06-5/07, 7/09-9/09. Research
assistant for Professor Rachel Morello-Frosch: reviewed literature, wrote and edited articles,
supported grant writing, and conducted and transcribed interviews on topics including: air pollution
and negative birth outcomes, environmental tobacco smoke, allostatic load, post-Katrina community
vulnerability and climate justice, biomonitoring policy.
• Environmental justice, Community Outreach Core, Brown University Superfund Basic Research
Program, 9/07-6/09. Research assistant for Professor Phil Brown: worked with local environmental
health and environmental justice groups on policy development and advocacy; developed, taught, and
evaluated environmental health justice curriculum.
• Health survey, Communities for a Better Environment, 5/08-5/09. Developed, conducted, and
analyzed Richmond, CA, health survey as part of a community-university partnership.
PUBLICATIONS
Peer-reviewed:
• Cohen AK, Chaffee BW, Rehkopf DH, Coyle J, Abrams B. “Excessive gestational weight gain over
multiple pregnancies and the prevalence of obesity at age 40.” International Journal of Obesity.
2013; Epub ahead of print. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2013.156
• Cohen AK, Rai M, Rehkopf DH, Abrams B. “Educational attainment and obesity: A systematic
review.” Obesity Reviews. 2013; Epub ahead of print. doi: 10.1111/obr.12062
• Jain S, Cohen AK. “Fostering resilience among urban youth exposed to violence: A promising area
for interdisciplinary research and practice.” Health Education & Behavior. 2013; Epub ahead of
print. doi: 10.1177/1090198113492761
• Jain S, Cohen AK. “Behavioral adaptation among youth exposed to community violence: A
longitudinal multidisciplinary study of family, peer and neighborhood-level protective factors.”
Prevention Science. 2013; 14(6), 606-617. doi: 10.1007/s11121-012-0344-8
• Cohen AK, Christine PJ, El-Sayed AM. Patrones sociales de la obesidad en España: Una revision
sistemática de la relación del nivel de educación y obesidad. Revista Española de Nutrición Humana
y Dietética. 2013; 17(2): 47-53.
Cohen AK, Syme SL. “Education: A missed opportunity for public health intervention.” American
Journal of Public Health. 2013; 103(6): 997-1001. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300993
• Yen IH, Gregorich S, Cohen AK, Stewart A. “A community cohort study about childhood social and
economic circumstances: racial/ethnic differences and associations with adult educational attainment
and health of older adults.” BMJ Open. 2013; 3: e002140. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2012-002140
• Cohen AK, Schuchter JW. “Revitalizing communities together: The shared values, goals, and work of
education, urban planning, and public health.” Journal of Urban Health. 2013; 90(2): 187-196. doi:
10.1007/s11524-012-9733-3
• Cohen AK, Chaffee BW. “Adolescents’ civic knowledge, skills, and motivation are associated with
future likelihood of voting.” Education, Citizenship, and Social Justice. 2013; 8(1): 43-57. doi:
10.1177/1746197912456339
• Muennig P, Cohen AK, Palmer A, Zhu W. “The relationship between five different measures of
structural social capital, medical examination outcomes, and mortality.” Social Science and Medicine.
2013; 85: 18-26. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.02.007
• Cohen AK, Rehkopf DH, Deardorff J, Abrams B. “Education and obesity at age 40 among American
adults.” Social Science and Medicine. 2013; 78: 34-41. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.11.025
• Molander L, Cohen AK. “EU and US Regulatory Approaches to Information on Chemicals in
Products: Implications for Consumers.” European Journal of Risk Regulation. 2012; 4: 521-534.
• Corburn J, Cohen AK. “Why we need urban health equity indicators: Integrating science, policy and
community.” PLoS Medicine. 2012; 9(8): e1001285. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001285
• Cohen AK, Waters A, Brown P. “Place-based environmental health justice education: A communityuniversity-government-middle school partnership.” Environmental Justice. 2012; 5(4): 188-197.
• Cohen AK. “Surpluses and deficits: How student leaders perceive university-community partnerships
at one Ivy League institution.” Partnerships: A Journal of Service-Learning & Civic Engagement.
2012; 3(1): 1-18.
• Cohen A, Lopez A, Malloy N, Morello-Frosch R. “Our environment, our health: A community-based
participatory environmental health survey in Richmond, CA.” Health Education & Behavior. 2012;
39(2): 198-209.
• Pope A, Stolte L, Cohen AK. “Closing the civic engagement gap: The potential of action civics.”
Social Education. 2011; 75(5): 265-268.
• Preus N, Cohen AK. “Outposts of Americana: Bringing Iowa grassroots democracy to European
English language classrooms.” The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues, and
Ideas. 2011; 84(5): 184-187.
• Morello-Frosch R, Brown P, Lyson M, Cohen A, Krupa K. “Community voice, vision, and resilience
in post-Hurricane Katrina recovery.” Environmental Justice. 2011; 4(1): 71-80.
• Cohen AK. “The implementation of REACH: Initial perspectives from government, industry, and
civil society.” International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. 2011; 17(1): 57-62.
• Cohen A. “Achieving healthy school siting and planning policies: Understanding shared concerns of
environmental planners, public health professionals, and educators.” New Solutions: A Journal of
Environmental and Occupational Health Policy. 2010; 20(1): 49-72.
• Cohen A, Lopez A, Marder S, Safane N, Clark M. “Lessons from an introductory public health
course.” Academic Exchange Quarterly. 2010; 14(1): 158-163.
Book chapters:
• Jain S, Cohen AK. “Cambridge-Somerville youth experiment.” In: Encyclopedia of Criminology &
Criminal Justice (ed. G Bruinsma, D Weisburd). Springer, 2014.
• Cohen AK. “Healthy School Siting and Planning Policies: Linking Public Health, Education, and the
Environment.” In: The Toxic Schoolhouse (eds. MK Scammell, C Levenstein). Baywood Press, 2013.
• Warren S, Cohen AK. “Generation Citizen: A case study.” In: Do Good Well: Your Guide to
Leadership, Action, and Social Innovation (ed. N Vasan, J Przybylo). San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass, 2013.
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Morello-Frosch R, Brody JG, Brown P, Altman RG, Rudel RA, Perez C, Cohen A. “‘Toxic
ignorance’ and the right-to-know: Assessing strategies for biomonitoring results communication in a
survey of scientists and study participants.” In: Contested Illnesses: Citizens, Science, and Health
Social Movements (eds. Brown P, Morello-Frosch R, Zavestoski S). Berkeley, CA: University of
California Press, 2012.
• Cordner A, Cohen A, Brown P. “Public sociology for environmental health and environmental
justice.” In: Public Sociology: Research, Action, and Change (eds. Nyden P, Hossfeld L, Nyden G).
Pine Forge Press, 2011.
Reports and online articles:
• Jain S, Cohen A. “Highlights of the Evening Reporting Centers in Alameda County: Improving
referrals.” WestEd Health and Human Development report prepared for Alameda County Probation
Department. September 2013.
• Jain S, Bassey H, Cohen A. “Partnering for Change: A promising strategy of building cultural
responsiveness in Alameda County’s early childhood mental health system of care.” WestEd Health
and Human Development brief prepared for Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services.
September 2013.
• Jain S, Cohen AK, Bassey H. “Building a community of decision-makers: Are we there yet? Results
and recommendations to develop a shared governance structure. Early Connections Governance
Evaluation Report.” WestEd Health and Human Development report prepared for Alameda County
Behavioral Health Care Services. August 2013.
• Jain S, Cohen A, Bassey H. “Systems change across sectors: An innovative approach to meeting the
needs of juvenile reentry youth: Process evaluation report of juvenile reentry system in Oakland,
CA.” WestEd Health and Human Development report for the City of Oakland, CA. May 2013.
• Jain S, Cohen AK. “The Power of Developmental Assets in Building Behavioral Adjustment Among
Youth Exposed to Community Violence: A Multidisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Resilience.”
National Institute of Justice Technical Report. February 2012.
• Cohen A. “Explaining Urban Teens’ Likelihood of Voting in the Future: Academic, Social, and Civic
Factors.” Generation Citizen research brief. April 2011.
• Warren S, Cohen A, Levine P. “Educating for Better Politics.” Huffington Post op-ed. Sept. 29, 2010.
In press:
• Jain S, Alvarado AM, Cohen AK, Eldridge Q. “Understanding and meeting the needs of formerly
gang-affiliated youth through tattoo-removal services.” Journal of Gang Research.
• Staudinger A, Pappas L, Dawley-Carr R, Cohen AK. “Civic studies: Fundamental questions,
interdisciplinary methods.” Good Society.
• Stolte LC, Isenbarger M, Cohen AK. “Measuring civic engagement processes and youth civic
empowerment in the classroom: The CIVVICS observation tool.” The Clearing House: A Journal of
Educational Strategies, Issues, and Ideas.
• Pope A, Cohen AK. “Civic epidemiology: Suggestions for a new framework for youth civic
engagement.” Edited volume. Series in Citizenship Studies. Detroit, MI: Wayne State Univ. Press.
• Ream R, Cohen A, & Lloro-Bidart T. “Whither collaboration? Integrating professional services to
close reciprocal gaps in health and education.” In: Professional Responsibility: The Fundamental
Issue in Education and Health Care Reform (eds. DE Mitchell, RK Ream). New York: Springer.
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CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (selected, recent)
• Kagawa R, Cohen AK, Mejia R, Wesson P, Czaicki N, Fernald L. “Teen motherhood and child
school readiness: Evidence from Chile.” American Public Health Assoc. Nov. 2013.
• Cohen AK, Kazi C, Rehkopf DH, Headen I, Abrams B. “Educational attainment and gestational
weight gain among American mothers.” Society for Epidemiologic Research. June 2013.
• Coyle JR, Rehkopf DH, Cohen AK, Hubbard AE, Headen I, Abrams B. “Excessive gestational weight
gain is linked to mid-life obesity.” Society for Epidemiologic Research. June 2013.
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Cohen AK, Yen IH, Gregorich S, Syme SL. “Increased school quality: A possible strategy to promote
health.” Society for Prevention Research. May 2013.
Jain S, Rose L, Bassey H, Cohen AK, Kagawa RC. “Unmet needs of young children with socialemotional concerns and their families: A needs assessment in Alameda County, CA.” Society for
Prevention Research. May 2013.
Ridley-Kerr A, Cohen A. “The impact of an action civics education program on student engagement
outcomes.” American Educational Research Association. Apr. 2013.
Pope A, Cohen A. “A civic epidemic: Reconceptualizing citizenship education.” Center for the Study
of Citizenship’s Meaning of Citizenship conference. Mar. 2013.
Cohen A, Muennig P, Pope A, Bates L. “Addressing disparities in civic engagement and health:
Identifying areas of overlap.” Panel presentation. Fifth Annual Health Disparities Conference at
Teachers College, Columbia University. Mar. 2013.
Jain S, Master M, Cohen A, Gutierrez-Padilla M, Grossman L, Johnson S, Grossman L. “Innovative
approach to evaluation in an early childhood focused system of care: Using empowerment
evaluation.” Children’s Mental Health Research and Policy Conference. Mar. 2013.
Fitzgerald J, Ferman B, Cohen A. “Structural and ethical considerations of preparing college students
to mentor K-12 students in civic engagement.” PHENND (Philadelphia Higher Education Network
for Neighborhood Development) Conference. Mar. 2013.
Jain S, Cohen A, Bassey H, Master M, Yusem D, Jagannathan P. “Promoting positive environments
for high-risk youth by working at the nexus of justice, education, and health: Lessons from Oakland,
CA.” American Public Health Association. Oct. 2012.
Cohen A, Levinson M, Allen J, Mills M. “Closing the civic empowerment gap: the pedagogy of
action civics.” National Council for the Social Studies. Dec. 2011.
Pope A, Stolte L, Cohen A, Warren S. “Collaborative Research: Working Together to Improve
Education.” Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education. Nov. 2011.
Pope A, Stolte L, Warren S, Cohen A. “Supporting Student Initiative with Action Civics.” Kappa
Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education Annual Conference. Nov. 2011.
Cohen A. “Building resilient, healthy, literate communities: Developing common language,
programs, and measures of success across planning, public health, and education.” American Public
Health Association. Oct. 2011.
Schuchter J, Cohen A. “Opportunities at the intersection of planning, education, and public health: An
interdisciplinary agenda for research and action.” American Public Health Association. Oct. 2011.
Cohen A, Pope A, Stolte L, Warren S. “Inciting Civic Imagination through Action: An Evaluation of
Generation Citizen.” American Educational Research Association. April 2011.
Staudinger A, Pappas L, Dawley-Carr R, Cohen A. “Building Civic Studies through Interdisciplinary
Dialogue.” Center for the Study of Citizenship’s Bodies and Citizenship Conference, Wayne State
University. March 2011.
Pope A, Cohen A, Stolte L, Warren S. “Educating the Next Generation of Active Citizens.” Center
for the Study of Citizenship’s Bodies and Citizenship Conference, Wayne State Univ. March 2011.
INVITED TALKS, WORKSHOPS, AND PANELS (selected, briefly)
• Community-based participatory epidemiology and evaluation methods: UC Berkeley School of
Public Health, National Action Civics Collaborative, Brown Univ. Swearer Center for Public Service,
Mali Health Organizing Project, Generation Citizen, Brown Univ. Center for Teaching and Learning.
• Environmental health justice and environmental health policy: NCEH/ATSDR National Conversation
on Public Health and Chemical Exposures, European Chemicals Agency, European Environment
Bureau, Boston Univ. School of Public Health, Brown Univ. Center for Environmental Studies,
European Health and Environment Network, Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden), Contra Costa
Asthma Coalition, Richmond Mayor’s Taskforce on Environmental Justice, Atchison Village
Community Center (Richmond, CA), Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Commission, North
Richmond Municipal Advisory Committee, Groundworks Providence (RI) Green Jobs Program.
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Education: National Action Civics Collaborative, University of Luxembourg, Catholic University
College of Professional Education Limburg (Belgium).
TEACHING EXPERIENCE (selected, recent)
• Introduction to Epidemiology, University of California Berkeley, 8/13- 12/13. Teaching assistant for
MPH course. Led section weekly, helped prepare section materials, helped write and grad exams.
• Health Careers Opportunity Program, University of California Berkeley, 6/12-7/12, 6/13-7/13.
Taught epidemiology, biostatistics, and public health research methods for undergraduate participants
in program designed to increase diversity of public health workforce, advised students individually.
• Women, Weight, and Food, University of California Berkeley, 8/12- 12/12. Teaching assistant for
freshman seminar introducing students to nutrition and public health.
• Environmental Health and Policy, Brown University Center for Environmental Studies, 9/08-12/08.
Teaching assistant for advanced undergraduate and graduate student course.
• Environmental Justice: The Science and Political Economy of Environmental Health and Social
Justice, Brown University Center for Environmental Studies, 1/08-5/08. Teaching assistant: oversaw
and guided student service-learning term projects.
• Introduction to Public Health, Brown University Department of Community Health, 9/06-12/06 and
9/07-12/07. Head teaching assistant: helped prepare material for weekly sections, helped craft and
grade assignments and exams. Supported and helped manage community-based learning term project.
UNIVERSITY LEADERSHIP (selected, recent)
• Corporation, Brown University, 7/12-present. Member of the Board of Trustees. Third young alumna
trustee. Member of academic affairs committee, medical school committee, facilities and campus
planning committee, and ad hoc committee on divestment.
• Youth Policy Committee, UC Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy, 9/10- present. Member.
• Graduate Assembly, UC Berkeley, 9/10- 5/12. Epidemiology Department co-delegate. Member of
external affairs committee, participated in advocacy trips to Sacramento and Washington DC.
• Committee on Educational Policy, Academic Senate, UC Berkeley, 9/11- 5/12. Graduate student
representative for committee on policies related to the campus’s educational mission.
• Curriculum Committee, School of Public Health, UC Berkeley, 9/10-5/12. MPH representative.
• University Keystone, Brown University, 5/09-9/10. Co-creator and senior advisor. Helped develop
and pilot a research translation and communication program.
• University-Community Partnerships Advisor, Brown’s Swearer Center for Public Service, 8/08-5/09.
Advised on the development, implementation, and evaluation of university-community partnerships.
• Brown University Community Council, 9/07-5/09. Voting student representative.
COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP (selected, recent)
• Evaluation and Strategic Planning Advisor (volunteer), 5/08-present.
o Sweetwater Spectrum (2/10-present): focus group and survey development and strategic
planning for Sonoma-based non-profit developing residential communities for autistic adults.
o Breakthrough San Francisco (9/11- present): statistical analysis for non-profit providing
academic enrichment for middle school students with college students as teachers.
o Mali Health Organizing Project (5/08-6/12): community-based participatory evaluation
methods and survey design for health empowerment NGO.
• Udall Alumni Association, 1/10-present. Founding board member of association for recipients of
Udall Foundation scholarships (1/10-1/12), co-facilitate Bay Area regional network (8/10- present).
• Berkeley Board Fellow, 10/10- 5/11. Graduate student board fellow assisting LifeLong Medical Care
on measuring their success towards accomplishing their strategic plan.
• National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures, 9/09-1/11. Member of Education
and Communication workgroup and Public Involvement subcommittee for CDC/ATSDR initiative to
reform US chemicals policy.