Dr. Jennifer K. Felner (she/her) is an Associate Professor in the Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Science in the School of Public Health at SDSU.
Dr. Felner completed her undergraduate training in Economics (BS) and French (BA) at Auburn University and received a Master’s of Public Health (MPH) with concentrations in Health Education and Human Rights at the Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. For several years, she worked in community- and clinic- based settings developing, implementing, and evaluating child maltreatment prevention programs in Atlanta, Georgia and in rural regions of the state. She went on to complete doctoral training in Community Health Sciences (PhD) at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Public Health and postdoctoral training in social epidemiology and substance use research at the University of California, San Diego’s School of Medicine and the SDSU Institute for Behavioral and Community Health. Dr. Felner’s primary aim as a researcher and public health professional is to build community power to develop and implement sustainable community health programs that will mitigate and prevent health inequities, particularly among youth experiencing homelessness and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ+) youth. She enjoys conducting research in partnership with community-based organizations and youth collaborators, and designing projects that directly respond to community priorities and requests. Specific areas of focus include substance use and mental health, housing and sanitation justice, and implementation and dissemination science in community-based settings. Dr. Felner is committed to mentoring students and trainees in community-based and participatory action research approaches, and the application of diverse methodologies to examine and address pressing community health challenges through public health practice and research.
Dr. Felner likes to hike, trail run, play pickleball, visit new places and spaces, and hang with her cats.
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