Writing Workshop Session 3

Founding editor Health Promotion Practice and President, Public Health Systems Consultants 

Randy is a nationally recognized public health professional with over thirty-five years’ experience in implementing health promotion/disease prevention initiatives in state health departments and voluntary health organizations with an emphasis on chronic disease prevention and control, cancer control, tobacco control, community-based health promotion, and healthy public policy. He is currently President of Public Health Systems Consultants and serves as the Sr. Public Health Consultant for Cancer Control with the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD). He is an Adjunct Faculty member for several leading academic public health programs. Randy has written and presented on the importance of engaging public health practitioners along with researchers and engaged communities as a key factor in advancing implementation science. 

He has authored or co-authored numerous articles on health promotion and chronic disease prevention. Randy is the Founding Editor of the journal, Health Promotion Practice, a journal of the Society for Public Health Education. He has been awarded the Society for Public Health Education’s Distinguished Fellow Award, the Society’s highest honor. 

LaNita S. Wright is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education, Public Health Education program at Kennesaw State University. She teaches undergraduate courses pertaining to public health theory, planning, implementation and evaluation.

Her current research focuses on how interconnected systems influence health-promoting behaviors, especially among adolescents, with a recent research project focusing on the Black Church’s role in preventing teen pregnancy. She also recently facilitated a community engagement project (alongside a nonprofit) pertaining to the local community’s perceptions of sexual health related topics and implementation. Her recent work has been published in Health Promotion Practice and Journal of Adolescence.

LaNita offers professional service in various ways, including peer-reviewing manuscripts for multiple journals and book publishers, and serving on the Health Promotion Practice Editorial Board.

She received a Doctor of Philosophy in Health Promotion and a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion Sciences from the University of Oklahoma. She received a Bachelor of Science in Health Services Administration from Auburn University.

LaNita is a passionate, dedicated public health professional. She finds joy in playing an active role in the development of young people through research, teaching, training, and mentoring.  

Danielle (Dani) R. Brittain, PhD, is a professor and associate dean for academic and student affairs in the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Dr. Brittain is dedicated to the successful development of current and future public health professionals and contributes this passion to the wonderful personal and professional mentors in her life. Her research concerns the: (a) identification of social-psychological factors impacting adherence to physical activity among marginalized populations of women (i.e., adult lesbians; women with non-cancer chronic pain) and (b) development of theoretically-driven interventions targeting social and behavior change processes that aid in the self-management and maintenance of physical activity. Most recently, Dr. Brittain has collaborated with colleagues at the University of Saskatchewan on the development of a training workshop to improve psychosocial outcomes among exercise professionals who work with adults living with chronic pain. Dr. Brittain received her PhD in Kinesiology from Kansas State University in 2005. She is an associate editor for Practice Notes in Health Promotion Practice.