Cheryl Healton is dean of the College of Global Public Health (CGPH) at New York University and director of the Global Institute of Public Health. CGPH is working to prepare the next generation of public health pioneers with the critical thinking skills, acumen, and entrepreneurial approaches necessary to reinvent the public health paradigm.

Devoted to employing a nontraditional, interdisciplinary model, CGPH aims to improve health worldwide through a unique blend of global public health studies, research, and practice. CGPH is located in the heart of New York City and extends to NYU’s global network on six continents, providing public health academic programs at the baccalaureate, MPH, and PhD levels. Innovation is at the core of our ambitious approach, thinking, and teaching.

Prior to this appointment, Healton served as president and chief executive officer of Legacy, the leading national foundation dedicated to tobacco control. During her tenure with the foundation, she guided the highly acclaimed, national youth tobacco prevention counter-marketing campaign, truth®, which has been credited in part with reducing youth smoking prevalence to near record lows.

Prior to joining Legacy, Healton held numerous roles at Columbia University, including chairman of sociomedical sciences and associate dean of the Mailman School of Public Health. She has authored more than 120 peer-reviewed articles and special reports.

Healton holds a DrPH is sociomedical sciences (with distinction) from Columbia University’s School of Public Health and an MPA in health policy and planning from New York University .