Christopher Holliday, Ph.D. Chicago Campus

Christopher Holliday, PhD, MPH
Director, Center for the Social Determinants of Mental Health
Institute on Social Exclusion

The Center of Excellence for the Social Determinants of Mental Health was launched in 2012 as the national center for the generation and dissemination of knowledge on the influence of social conditions on public mental health, particularly as it effects disadvantaged and marginalized populations. The Center is designed to increase understanding of the wider determinants of mental health, address mental health disparities and inequalities, develop and promote the concept of "public mental health," build community capacity for addressing the social conditions that impact mental health, and advance the integration of mental health considerations into legislative and public policy decision-making processes.

My broad experience is in population-based public health, clinical healthcare, and non-profit settings at the local and national levels. I have been leading teams in programmatic planning, project development, and systems integration and reform for nearly 20 years, using evidence-based best practices to prevent disease and injury, and to shape policies, systems, and environments that promote health and well-being.

As a community psychologist and research scientist, my interests include engaging in action-oriented, community-informed strategies that eliminate health inequities. My primary areas of research include sustainable engagement, community mobilization, and evaluation with a focus on empowerment and participatory action research methodologies. The future I stand for is one in which committed people come together in effective relationship to pursue social justice agendas that transform the health of their communities. This perspective informs my work in community and my work with the students at the Adler School.

Click here to read my curriculum vitae. Please e-mail or call me (312-662-4018) if you have any questions for me or would like more information about me.

Education

• Ph.D., Psychology, Georgia State University
• M.A., Psychology, Georgia State University
• M.P.H. (Master of Public Health), Health Policy and Management, Emory University
• B.A., Psychology, Northwestern University

Memberships

• American Psychological Association
• Society for Community Research and Action (Division 27)
• Association of Black Psychologists
• American Public Health Association
• Georgia Public Health Association
• National Association of Health Services Executives
• Leadership DeKalb Class of 2009
• One Hundred Black Men of America, Inc.

Select Presentations

• Holliday, C. September 2012. The Center for the Social Determinants of Mental Health Launch. The Social Determinants of Urban Mental Health Conference: Paving the Way Forward, Chicago, IL.
• Holliday, C. June 2012. Community Health at the Local, State, and National Levels. Division of Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.
• Holliday, C. March 2012. Communities Joined in Action Roundtable: Community Mobilization. Institute for Healthcare Improvement Grantee Conference, Boston, MA.
• Holliday, C. February 2012. Partnering with Communities Joined in Action. Georgia Obesity Action Network, Atlanta, GA.
• Holliday, C. October 2011. “Get in Action, CJA Future & Framework” Improving Health and Eliminating Disparities In an Age of Healthcare Reform. Communities Joined in Action Annual Conference. The Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.
• Holliday, C. 2009. Understanding Member Engagement through Participation and Commitment in a Community-Based Health Coalition, 1994-2008: A Mixed-Methodological Study, Oral, Abstract 202967. Funding and Sustaining Community-based Public Health Research & Education (5144.0), American Public Health Association 137th Annual Meeting & Exposition, Philadelphia, PA.
• Holliday, C. 2007. Prevention of HIV/AIDS among African American Men: The Effects of Peer Norms on Risky Sexual Behavior as Moderated by Socio-demographic, Socio-Contextual, and Health-Related Factors (graduate thesis), Oral, Abstract 430. National HIV Prevention Conference, Promoting Synergy between Science and Program, Atlanta, GA.
• Holliday, C. November 2007. Health Promoters and Public Health. Training for Refugee and Immigrant Women, National Health Promoters Leadership Conference, Atlanta, GA.
• Cottrell, B. and Holliday, C. 2006. Role of the Faith Community as a Stakeholder in the Childhood Obesity Epidemic, CATCH Project (Communities Advocating for Their Children’s Health), Oral, 137934. Public Health and Human Rights, American Public Health Association 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition, Boston, MA.
• Kilmer, G., Patrick, M. and Holliday, C. 2006. Racial disparities in asthma prevalence: Youth Risk Behavior Survey, DeKalb County, Georgia, Oral, Abstract 134901. Epidemiology of Asthma (4028.0), American Public Health Association 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition, Boston, MA.

Select Awards

• Outstanding Partner Award, Kaiser Permanente, Healthy Belvedere Community Initiative, 2011
• Who’s Who in Black Atlanta, Outstanding Community Health Leader, 2010 and 2011
• Leadership Launch Award, Kaiser Permanente, Healthy Belvedere Community Initiative, 2010
• Best Dissertation Award finalist, American Psychological Association, Society for Community Research and Action (Division 27), 2009
• Faithful Service Award for 15 years of service to the State of Georgia, Department of Public Health, 2008
• Model Practice Award in Local Public Health, Youth Photovoice Program, National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), 2005