overview
Denise Stevens is a pioneer, innovator and thought leader. In 2001 she founded MATRIX as one of the first social enterprises in health and human services delivery in response to the need to bridge research to practice and integrate scientific rigor and management consulting principles into these care systems. Having transformed organizations and systems using these approaches she has built a unique knowledge base that allows her to serve as a Strategic Advisor to numerous organizations including some of the largest philanthropic and corporate foundations on their investment strategies. At the heart of all of her work is the interest and passion for addressing complex societal issues or ‘wicked problems’.
More specifically, and as an example of addressing a complex problem, she was part of a small international team of concerned health care providers who began to raise the alarm over a decade ago regarding the high rates of chronic diseases (heart disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes) that were surpassing the rates of infectious diseases. She helped design and then evaluate the first and most comprehensive multinational pilot study to address this issue taking a multidisciplinary approach that focused on the use of structural interventions in combination with community coalition building, health education and social media to impact the burden of chronic disease by addressing 3 key risk factors (tobacco use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity) across 4 settings (schools, workplaces, hospitals/clinics and community neighborhoods). This work established the foundation for the development of an innovative community engagement strategy known as CHESS® (Community Health Engagement Survey Solutions) that highlights a digital health strategy that utilizes social capital to address social justice and health equity.
As an epidemiologist and public health practitioner, Denise has designed programs, integrated evidence based practices into health care and human services, conducted needs assessment and evaluation studies, as well as developed strategic plans for small and large health departments and health focused consortia nationally and internationally. Her work has led to international presentations and publications in peer reviewed journals.
She received her doctorate from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (EPH) at Yale University’s School of Medicine. Prior to this she received her M.Sc. in Neuropsychology at the University of Otago, New Zealand and her B.Sc. (Honours) from McMaster University, Canada. For 15 years she has taught health program evaluation at the Yale University School of Public Health. She has founded and helped develop several non-profit organizations and has recently completed serving on the Executive Board of the International Women’s Forum – Connecticut as well as on the Yale Women Council (representing Yale women alumni internationally).
For fun, she has served as a mentor to start-up enterprises through her work with the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute.
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