Biography:

Anthony V. Parrillo, PhD, CHES is a behavioral scientist with nearly three decades of experience in health education and public health practice. He holds the PhD in health behavior from Indiana University, Bloomington. He began his teaching career in New York City, with six years’ experience in health education at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels. Upon completing study at the Master’s level (1984), he worked for a period of five years as a public health educator with the Onondaga County Health Department in Syracuse, NY, primarily in the areas of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STD).

In 1989 he began doctoral study at Indiana, earning the credential of Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) during that time. Upon completing study for the PhD, with cognate specialties in human sexuality and methodological inquiry, he joined the faculty of East Carolina University in the School of Allied Health Sciences in 1992. While at ECU, he taught courses in health behavior, history and foundations of health education, planning & evaluation of community health programs, and AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases; he also served as program coordinator of community health for the undergraduate track. In 1996 and 1997, Dr. Parrillo was recognized as researcher of the year.

In 1998 he joined the Academy for Educational Development (AED) in Washington, DC, as a senior research scientist on its CDC/DASH project, conducting in-depth studies on the status of HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs nationwide. While at AED, Dr. Parrillo directed studies for the Departments of Education in Michigan, Maine, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, as well as for local education agencies in San Francisco (CA) and Denver (CO); in addition, he directed an in-depth study for the National Education Association (NEA) which evaluated the Can We Talk? curriculum on parent-child communication.

After a brief period as an independent consultant and a member of the adjunct faculty of Morgan State University – where he taught dissertation writing – he joined the faculty of Georgia Southern University in 2003 as Associate Professor of Community Health. He served as Program Director in the Community Health track (MPH) between 2003-and-2007, and is currently assigned to GSU’s Center for Rural Health and Research.

Dr. Parrillo’s research interests include the study of multi-problem risk behaviors in adolescents and young adults, coordinated school health, behavioral modeling, and the evaluation of community-based health programs.