Jonathan M. Ellen, M.D. Elected Chair, Katurah Jenkins-Hall, PhD, Vice Chair of Foundation Board of Trustees
Jonathan M. Ellen, M.D. (L) and Katurah Jenkins-Hall, PhD (R)
The Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg announced the election of Jonathan M. Ellen, M.D., as Chair of its Board of Trustees. Dr. Ellen is president and vice dean of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. He succeeds founding Board Chair Steven C. Dupré, who served from April 2013 to September 2017. Mr. Dupré is an attorney with Carlton Fields in Tampa.
Vice Chair Dr. Jenkins-Hall was the first African-American woman to be awarded a PhD in psychology from the University of South Florida, Tampa. She retired from the university after a 30-year career and has served as a licensed clinical psychologist for 30 years, with a specialization in cultural diversity in clinical practice. She is an author, ordained minister, and active volunteer, championing the cause of racial equity.
The following Board Officers and Committee Chairs were also elected effective October 1, 2017: Keisha Bell, Esquire, Secretary; Janet Paroo, Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair; Karen Wolchuck-Sher, Governance Committee Chair; and Donna J. Peterson, ScD, MHS, Strategy Committee Chair.
“We are grateful to Mr. Dupre for his exemplary service to the Foundation as our first Board Chair, and we welcome Dr. Ellen to this important leadership role. He is supported by an outstanding group of Trustees who reflect the breadth of the community we serve,” said Randall H. Russell, President and CEO of the Foundation. “Dr. Ellen is a pioneer in community-based population health initiatives that address the structural nature of many health disparities,” Russell added. “His leadership will help the Foundation advance improvements in population health and more equitable health outcomes in Pinellas County. And we are privileged to have the support of Vice Chair Dr. Jenkins-Hall, whose expertise in mental health and deep community ties are great assets to the Foundation.”
Dr. Ellen joined the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1999. He was named vice dean for Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in 2011 and president of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in 2012. Previously, he led the Center for Child and Community Health at Johns Hopkins and was director of the Department of Pediatrics and Neonatology at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Dr. Ellen is a professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a professor of epidemiology and population, family and reproductive health in the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, he received his medical degree from Temple University and completed an internship and residency in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Ellen completed a fellowship in adolescent medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), followed by fellowships in sexually transmitted diseases at UCSF, the San Francisco Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Ellen also serves as president of the St. Pete Innovation District.