Sonya Satinsky
Photo courtesy of Sonya Satinsky
Sonya Satinsky, who has more than 12 years of experience in health promotion and higher education, has been named director of health promotion and prevention services for Princeton University Health Services (UHS). She will start Sept. 26.
Satinsky was most recently director of the Center for Health Promotion at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she advocated for a healthy campus community and promoted student well-being through a number of programs, initiatives and strategies.
"Sonya is a gifted professional, compelling leader and a perceptive, warm person," said UHS Executive Director John Kolligian. "I'm confident Sonya will advance the student health and learning goals of UHS, our partners and the campus as a whole."
As Princeton's director of health promotion and prevention services (HPPS), Satinsky will lead a team of health professionals focused on promoting health and resilience among students. She also will oversee existing and develop new campus-wide programs, messaging campaigns and strategic initiatives to support a healthy campus environment for students, faculty and staff.
"Sonya embraces the scientist-practitioner model, applying it creatively to university health promotion. At the University of Massachusetts, she directed her department's strategic planning process, which led to the rollout of key initiatives to address high-risk behaviors," Kolligian said. "She also knows what it takes to collaborate across disciplines, offices and barriers to promote health literacy for diverse student populations."
Satinsky said she is thrilled to join UHS to support campus programs "that facilitate making healthy choices, reduce negative health outcomes and address health disparities."
"During the interview process for this position, I was so impressed by the staff's dedication to a comprehensive vision of health and wellness for the Princeton community," she said. "Campus health promotion initiatives play a vital role in supporting Princeton's academic mission. In order to engage successfully in their studies, students need wellness, happiness, and self- and community-care."
Satinsky has a Ph.D. in health behavior and a master of public health in community health education from Indiana University Bloomington. She previously served as an assistant professor of community health and health education at the University of Kansas, where she also held a courtesy faculty appointment in the Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Prior to that, she served as an associate instructor and research coordinator at Indiana University School of Public Health, and worked at Indiana University's Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction.
She earned her bachelor's degree in gender and women studies from Oberlin College, and also worked in New York City as an outreach and education coordinator at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center and as a program assistant at Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center.
