Alyssa Lederer
From the beginning of her academic career, Alyssa Lederer forged her own path related to health education and health promotion. While studying at the University of Virginia, she created her own major, “studies in health and society.” After completing her undergraduate degree, she received her MPH in behavioral sciences and health education from Emory University and PhD in health behavior from Indiana University-Bloomington.
Lederer’s passion for health education and health promotion began from a young age when a family friend passed from AIDS-related causes. In high school, Alyssa organized World AIDS Day activities after seeing the lack of education her peers had regarding this health issue. This only made her passion for education stronger.
Now a faculty member in the Department of Applied Health Science at Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, Lederer values her interactions with her students and peers, as she believes that learning is bi-directional. For Lederer, it is a privilege to teach and to conduct meaningful research that can help shape the field of health education.
She constantly encourages students to seek mentors for various aspects of professional and personal growth and to be proactive about making their dreams come true.
I am fortunate to have a role in training the next generation of health education professionals.