Author: Stephanie Pitsirilos-Boquin
With ten years experience in the field of public health, Stephanie thinks out of the medical box when promoting health, finding innovative ways to partner with multiple sectors of society to address complex public health issues. She’s been a TEDMED Great Challenge Panelist and Moderator, applying her expertise in promoting healthy lifestyles on a global discussion forum. As a former Program Manager and later consultant, she helped to create and lead NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center’s childhood obesity prevention and healthy lifestyles program CHALK (Choosing Healthy & Active Lifestyles for Kids) and the community-driven social marketing campaign “Vive tu Vida/Live your Life”. Her work has brought active lifestyle resources to Northern Manhattan and Pennsylvania, including a hospital based farmers’ market, bike racks outside of ambulatory care clinics, a successful “Take the Stairs” campaign, fitness and family based after-school programs, and a healthy lifestyles marketing campaign. In this role, she has published various health education and marketing materials and guidelines for the institution. Her community model for retail outreach has recently been adopted by the Partnership for a Healthier New York City for its Manhattan work on healthy food promotion in supermarkets with Mt. Sinai Hospital. She offers the same content and design element to her work with Zoe Health. She continues to apply her expertise to the “Vive tu Vida/Live your Life” Campaign, now as a Steering Council Member.
Stephanie holds a master’s degree in Public Health in Population and Family Health (Columbia University) and a bachelor’s degree in International Health (University of Michigan). Her work has been recognized by the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI), The Asociación de Mujeres Progresistas, the BBC, The Uptown Collective, and the Let’s Move Campaign of First Lady Michelle Obama.
How does she reduce screen time and “Live her Life” with Action?
She’s an avid salsa-on-2 (New York Mambo style) dancer and has authored two novels she is currently marketing for representation. (Historical fiction)—Memories of a lost city become the salvation and ruin of a village resisting the German occupation of Greece. (General fiction)—A quixotic Nuyorican preteen and her family navigate troubled spirits, signs of the apocalypse and love—in a neighborhood that’s haunted by the voyages of Columbus