Public Health Specialist Susan J. Robinson Joins LMC Advisory Board

Robinson works across the disciplines of public health, communication, Human-Computer Interaction, and digital media. Her career has been focused on the use of emerging media technology and is distinguished by a commitment to community engagement and public service. She was a 2018 recipient of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts Distinguished Alumni Award.

As a visiting researcher, she collaborated with colleagues at Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and the Institute for People and Technology (iPAT) on the application of mobile surveys for mixed-methods data collection, and the use of multi-touch surfaces and data visualization for the analysis and presentation of media-rich data. With funding from USAID, she deployed these technologies to evaluate Zika virus public health communication programs in Brazil and the Dominican Republic.

“Dr. Robinson embodies the very best a multidisciplinary graduate degree in LMC can offer: She unites in her scholarly work and career practice a serious interest in how our ever accelerating digital technologies can and need to be informed with human-centered concerns,” said LMC Chair Richard Utz. “In addition, she is an eloquent champion for social justice, especially the inclusion of LGBTQIA students, faculty, and staff at Georgia Tech, one of our unit's strategic goals.”

She began her career in private sector start-ups, founding a multi-partner consulting firm, and producing broadcast film and television. Her creative career achievements include designing interactive media for Atlanta’s winning Olympic bid and an Oscar nomination for Best Feature Documentary.

She has held multiple leadership positions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including Associate Director for Communication Science at the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention.  Robinson’s areas of domain expertise are health and risk communication, HIV/AIDS and STDs, environmental issues, documentary, opinion research, and working with vulnerable populations.