Doctor of Education in Health Professions

Dr. Erin Breitenbach is program chair of the Health Education program at ATSU’s College of Graduate Health Studies. She holds a BA in Kinesiology (1991), an MA in Health Education (1996), and a PhD (1998) in health education from The University of Texas at Austin. After several years conducting health education research, Dr. Breitenbach spent time managing oncology clinical research before returning to health education as a public health instructor for ATSU.

Dr. Breitenbach’s research interests include cancer screening in Hispanic women, school nutrition behaviors, and developing collaborative partnerships among institutions of higher learning, state-level organizations, and local school districts to improve comprehensive school health education.

Joshua Bernstein joined A.T. Still University College of Graduate Health Studies in 2010. His work involves outcomes-based higher education andragogy, course development, curriculum assessment, and contributions to the literature in health promotion, health education, and wellness. Dr. Bernstein is involved in health sciences research activities, editing and reviewing for professional publications, course authorship and administration, and undergraduate health education internship and mentorship programs.

Research interests include wellness among transitional populations, nutrition in emerging and low-income regions, higher education, and adolescent risk perception.

Dr. Bernstein holds a doctorate degree in health education from Texas Woman’s University. His dissertation investigated the relationship between automobile-related fatalities among novice drivers and state-level graduated drivers licensing programs. He also earned a masters degree in education from Centenary College of Louisiana and a bachelors degree in sports medicine from New Mexico State University. Dr. Bernstein also holds leadership positions within the American Public Health Association and the National Wellness Institute.

之前的经验包括15年in sports medicine as a professional athletic trainer and manager of an outpatient orthopedic rehabilitation clinic. Dr. Bernstein lives in Dallas, Tx, enjoys cultural and sporting events, and serves as a varsity official for high school basketball and the Special Olympics.

Dr. Ayars holds a doctoral degree in Community Health Science from the University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston, and completed her postdoctoral research fellowship at the Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine. She also holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Houston–Clear Lake in biology with a physiology concentration and two Bachelor of Science degrees (biology/anthropology) from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Dr. Ayars is a member of the Society for Epidemiologic Research and the American Evaluation Association.

她拥有超过20年的经验在field of chronic disease risk factors in children, beginning as a project and field director for three large NIH funded epidemiologic studies (Project HeartBeat!, Project HealthVOICE, and The Heartfelt Study). Most recently, she served as the Director of the Healthy Communities Section of the Kansas Department of Health & Environment where she led evidence-based statewide efforts to reduce the burden of primary chronic disease risk factors in Kansas. She served as the State Health Department Expert Advisor for the Kansas ACHIEVE (Action Communities for Health Innovation and Environmental Change) grants. Prior to joining KDHE, she collaborated with clinicians in the Geisinger Healthcare System of Pennsylvania to develop research initiatives for primary care and school-based pediatric obesity prevention and treatment programs. Dr. Ayars’ work in chronic disease risk factors in children has been published in peer-reviewed publications, such as Preventive Medicine, and presented at national and international conferences, including The Obesity Society and the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

琳达Tierney Konecny赢得她的医生的健康education degree from ATSU-CGHS. She obtained her master of science in counseling/student personnel services from Emporia State University in Kansas and bachelor of science in behavioral psychology from Northern Michigan University. Dr. Konecny is also a Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES).

Dr. Konecny has been with ATSU since 2005 and began teaching for ATSU-CGHS in 2008. In addition to her experience with online education, she has taught in various public and private, civilian and military residential institutions. Dr. Konecny speaks at many state, national, and international conferences. She is involved in professional organizations serving on various committees, acting as governing councilor, conference session peer-reviewer, and session moderator. She is a published author, and serves as a journal review board member. During her career, she has held a variety of positions in college student services including admissions/recruitment, marketing, student activities/intramural sports, and residential life. Dr. Konecny also spent many years as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserves. In addition, she has extensive experience working in the fitness industry as a certified group fitness instructor, personal trainer, and fitness center manager.

Konecny博士的研究兴趣包括重击opment, implementation and evaluation of innovative teaching methodologies and introducing new technologies to enhance curriculum delivery and student learning; educating and improving overall wellness, or dimensions of wellness, within various and diverse populations; exploring the practical application of health education behavior theories and the educational aspects of health promotion; examining learning theory in relation to online and residential instructional design, assessing the impact and value of student services for the online learner; and psychological research emphasizing behavior modification in public health and health education settings.

Don Altman, DDS, DHSc, EdD, MPH, MBA, MA, is the Dean of the College of Graduate Health Studies (CGHS) at A.T. Still University (ATSU). He also serves as director of public health at ATSU’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH). Dr. Altman has been with ATSU since October 2006.

Dr. Altman graduated from the University of Texas Dental Branch (DDS) in 1983. He completed his Master of Public Health degree at the University of Texas School of Public Health in 1989 and became Board Certified in Dental Public Health in 1999. Dr. Altman completed his MBA at the University of Phoenix (2002) and a MA in Bioethics from Midwestern University (2004). He graduated with a Doctor in Health Science (DHSc) degree in March 2012 from the Arizona School of Health Sciences at A.T. Still University (ATSU-ASHS) and his EdD from Southern New Hampshire University in March 2016.

Dr. Altman has worked for The City of Houston, the State of Texas, the State of Arizona, as well as The Principal Financial Group. Dr. Altman’s public health experience includes: serving as President of the Arizona State Board Dental Examiners; serving as President of the Arizona Public Health Association; volunteering with Health Volunteers Overseas (Cambodia and Vietnam); Director of the National Oral Health Leadership Institute; and serving as the Consumer Representative to the Dental Products Panel for the Food and Drug Administration. On May 1, 2012 he was appointed as a Director to The American Board of Dental Public Health and is currently the president.

Dr. Altman’s research interests are currently centered on public health and higher education. He has published articles in the Journal of Dental Education, Journal of the American Dental Association, Public Health Reports, Special Care in Dentistry, and Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology.

Dr. Erin Breitenbach is program chair of the Health Education program at ATSU’s College of Graduate Health Studies. She holds a BA in Kinesiology (1991), an MA in Health Education (1996), and a PhD (1998) in health education from The University of Texas at Austin. After several years conducting health education research, Dr. Breitenbach spent time managing oncology clinical research before returning to health education as a public health instructor for ATSU.

Dr. Breitenbach’s research interests include cancer screening in Hispanic women, school nutrition behaviors, and developing collaborative partnerships among institutions of higher learning, state-level organizations, and local school districts to improve comprehensive school health education.