Joanne Lee
Project Officer
Office: 252-347-9971
Fax: 252.321.8430
joanne_lee@activelivingbydesign.org
Job Focus
Manages and provides direct technical assistance and support to the Healthy Eating by Design (HEbD) and Fit Together community partnerships. HEbD is a pilot project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that seeks to increase access to healthy foods for children in low-income communities and schools within 12 existing Active Living By Design (ALBD) communities. The Fit Together grants program is supported by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, and is designed to promote innovative and integrated strategies to increase access and reduce barriers to physical activity in rural North Carolina communities. Joanne offers experience to the multidisciplinary ALBD team in the areas of nutrition, public health, community-level programming, children’s and women’s health, at-risk populations, chronic disease prevention and related research.
Why am I working at Active Living By Design?
Coordinating active living and healthy eating, and integrating opportunities for both through the 5P model, are critical to creating practical and sustainable community changes that address the problems of obesity and related health issues. As a child who was overweight, I learned early about the importance of balancing healthy eating and physical activity, and making both a routine part of my lifestyle. I feel so fortunate and excited to have the opportunity to work with colleagues and communities that have passion and commitment to integrated environmental and policy approaches that lead to optimal health and quality of life.
Bio
As Project Officer for Active Living By Design (ALBD), Joanne Lee manages and provides direct technical assistance and support to the Healthy Eating by Design (HEbD) and Fit Together grants programs. She assists the community partnerships in planning and implementing local level healthy eating and physical activity initiatives using the ALBD 5P model, and developing sustainability of initiatives. Joanne offers experience to the multidisciplinary ALBD team in the areas of nutrition, public health, community-level programming, children’s and women’s health, at-risk populations, chronic disease prevention and related research.
She has unique and diverse experience in planning, implementing and evaluating programs in various public health and epidemiological research settings in North Carolina, Hawai`i and Arizona. Prior to joining the ALBD staff, Joanne served as the Program Director for the Nutrition Division of the Pitt County Health Department in Eastern North Carolina. During her tenure, she served as a member of the Management Team, oversaw all nutrition-related programs and activities of the Health Department, and focused on environmental and policy change approaches to improve health. She also worked closely with local television and print media, conducting interviews on nutrition and public health issues, as well as monthly appearances on the morning news show of the CBS affiliate station. Previously, Joanne served as Lead Research Dietitian for the Nutrition Support Shared Resource Unit of the Cancer Research Center of Hawai`i which involved managing a nutrient composition database for use in research studies. She also worked in Lead and Coordinator roles on national and international nutrition-related studies including two NIH funded investigations, the Women’s Health Initiative Program and the INTERMAP Study.
Joanne is a Registered Dietitian and Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist. She completed her MPH and BS degrees at the University of Hawai`i. Joanne also holds a Certificate of Advanced Clinical Education in Child and Adolescent Obesity from the Shapedown Program based at the University of California, San Francisco.
She is the proud owner of four dogs, all of whom were rescued from local shelters. A long-term dream is to one day run programs that pair at-risk youth with shelter/rescue dogs as a means to increase physical activity and build self-esteem (for youth and canines alike!).
