KREUTER KATZ LECTURE ON HEALTH EQUITY
Hosted by the School of Public Health
About the Lecture Series
In honor of Dr. Marshall Kreuter and Ms. Martha Katz,
Georgia Health Initiative funds an annual lectureship at the Georgia State University School of Public Health that focuses on health equity and disparities.
Dr. Marshall Kreuter has extensive experience in engagement of communities in the planning, implementation and evaluation of public health programs. As a professor at Georgia State, he focused on health disparities in inner-city Atlanta, and the extent to which the presence or absence of social capital may be associated with the effectiveness of community-based initiatives. Prior to joining the faculty at Georgia State, Dr. Kreuter was a Distinguished Scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) where, for two decades, he served in several key leadership roles. While at the CDC, he worked to refine the epidemiologic study of physical activity, initiated research and programs focused on the early detection of breast cancer, added a greater emphasis on school health, and created the Planned Approach to Community Health.
Ms. Martha Katz began her career in public health working in the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she was part of the team that developed the first Healthy People: Objectives for the Nation in 1980. Later, as deputy director of the CDC for policy and legislation, Ms. Katz advised the CDC Director on complex policy issues and provided leadership for the agency’s legislative initiatives, health communications programs, and relationships with external partners. Ms. Katz was instrumental in the establishment of the CDC Foundation and currently serves on the boards of the Georgia Health Foundation and the James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation. As Healthcare Georgia Foundation’s former Director of Health Policy, she also provided leadership for the strategic deployment of resources for effective health policy in Georgia.
Fall 2023 Lecture
Leandris Liburd, PhD, MPH, MA, is the Acting Director for CDC’s Office of Health Equity (OHE). She served as the Associate Director for Minority Health and Health Equity for CDC/ATSDR since 2011. In this capacity, she leads and supports a wide range of critical functions in the agency’s work in health equity, women’s health, and diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. She plays a critical leadership role in determining the agency’s vision for health equity, ensuring a rigorous and evidence-based approach to the practice of health equity, and promoting the ethical practice of public health in communities vulnerable to health inequities. Dr. Liburd has been instrumental in building capacity across CDC and in public health agencies to address the social determinants of health, and in identifying and widely disseminating intervention strategies that reduce racial and ethnic health disparities. She has skillfully executed innovative models of collaboration that have greatly expanded the reach, influence, and impact of the Office of Health Equity including the successful implementation of the Lewis Scholars Program (formerly the CDC Undergraduate Public Health Scholars Program) and the James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases Graduate Fellowship.
In May 2020, she assumed the role of Chief Health Equity Officer for CDC’s COVID-19 Response which was the first time in the agency’s history that this role and function was added to the leadership of the Incident Management Structure during the activation of CDC’s Emergency Operations Center. These and other accomplishments represent her tireless commitment to improve minority health and achieve health equity for all people.
Past Lectures
Linda Villarosa is an award-winning journalist, author, editor, novelist and educator.
As a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, Villarosa covers race, inequality and health. Her 2018 cover story, "Why America's Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis," was a finalist for a National Magazine Award. Her 2017 article, "America's Hidden HIV Epidemic," won a National Lesbian and Gay Journalists' award for Excellence in Journalism. Her essay on medical myths was included in the New York Times's 1619 Project in August 2019 and is published in the 1619 Project Book, which was published in November 2021.
Villarosa is the author or co-author of three books, including “Body & Soul: The Black Women’s Guide to Physical Health and Emotional Well-Being.” Her novel, “Passing for Black,” was released in 2008 and was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. Her latest book, “Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation,” was published in June 2022 by Doubleday.
Villarosa is a graduate of the University of Colorado and spent a year at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health as a journalism fellow. She also earned a master’s degree in urban journalism/digital storytelling in 2013 from CUNY's Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, where she is currently a professor and journalist-in-residence.
Her lecture at Georgia State is co-sponsored by the School of Public Health and the Georgia Health Policy Center.
The 2019 Kreuter Katz Lecture on Health Equity featured Dr. Vanessa Northington Gamble, University Professor of Medical Humanities and Professor of Health Policy and American Studies at the George Washington University. Her lecture topic was Pioneering Racial Justice, Health Equity, and Public Health: The Activist Life of Dr. Virginia M. Alexander.
The 2018 Kreuter Katz Lecture on Health Equity featured Dr. Collins Airhihenbuwa, professor of Health Management & Policy in the Georgia State University School of Public Health and leader of the interdisciplinary team known as the Global Research Against Non-communicable Disease (GRAND) Initiative. His lecture focused on crossroads and the journey for health equity.
The 2017 Kreuter Katz Lecture on Health Equity featured Dr. Matthew Kreuter, founder of the Health Communication Research Laboratory. His lecture focused on communication-based strategies to eliminate health disparities with an emphasis on finding ways to increase the reach and effectiveness of health information for low-income and minority populations.
The 2016 Kreuter Katz Lecture on Health Equity featured Dr. Helene Gayle, former CEO of CARE and current head of the McKinsey Social Initiative.
For more information on the Kreuter Katz Lecture on Health Equity, please contact [email protected].