Congratulations to Sara Elnakib, PhD, MPH, RDN, who has been elected Chair of the Partners for Health Foundation Board of Trustees for 2024 and 2025. She has served as a Partners for Health Trustee since 2019, and most recently was the Board’s Second Vice Chair.
Dr. Elnakib is an Educator/Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Family & Community Health Sciences at Rutgers Cooperative Extension. Her research focuses on the use of policy, systems, and environmental approaches to promote child health equity and environmental stewardship, primarily in school and community settings. Sara has received research funding from the USDA, EPA, NJDEP and Horizon Foundation to research the intersection of nutrition literacy, environmental education, and healthy eating. Her dissertation focused on food waste in the school setting and how behavioral economics can be leveraged to reduce food waste. She completed her doctoral degree in Social and Behavioral Health Science at Rutgers School of Public Health. Sara is also a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), has a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in Health Education and Behavioral Sciences from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and completed her undergraduate degree in Nutritional Sciences at Rutgers University.
The Foundation’s newly elected leadership also includes: First Vice Chair: Paula A. Gutierrez, MHA, Senior Director, Social Care and Partnerships at Cityblock Health in Brooklyn, NY; Second Vice Chair: Tekeyah Sears, EdD, MPH, MCHES, Founder/CEO of It Begins with I AM, LLC; Secretary: Beverly M. Riddick, Chief Operations Officer at the Urban Resource Institute in New York, NY; Treasurer: Michael P. Mazza, Managing Director, Wealth Advisor, Guy-Mazza Team at Neuberger Berman in New York, NY.
