About Roberta Friedman
Roberta Friedman has been helping public health researchers and advocates change public policy for more than 15 years, and has been working in public health for more than 35 years.
As Director of Public Policy at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University and the University of Connecticut from 2007 to 2015, she played a major role in developing strategies, educating policy makers and public health advocates, and enlisting public support for fighting obesity through policies such as taxing sugar-sweetened beverages, improving school nutrition, and curbing the marketing of junk foods to children. Her work included writing policy briefs and toolkits, serving as a technical assistant to legislative staff, providing expert testimony for legislative committees, serving as a member of the Connecticut State Task Force on Childhood Obesity Prevention, and coordinating a major grant on advocacy and policy for healthy beverages.
Other public health experience:
- Education Director at the Massachusetts Public Health Association, which included working closely with a state representative to write successful legislation to ban junk food and sodas from schools
- Director of a rape prevention education program, a peer sexuality outreach program, and course instructor on campus health, at the University of California, Berkeley
- Co-director of New Bridges/Todos, a multi-cultural alliance-building organization working to end racism, sexism, homophobia and other “isms” in the Bay Area of California
Her publications include:
- Friedman RR, Schwartz MB. Advocacy and public opinion. In A. Eyler and J. Chriqui (Eds.), Prevention Policy and Public Health. Oxford University Press, 2016.
- Friedman RR. The Role of Advocacy in Preventing Obesity. In C. G. Fairburn, D. Brownell, (Eds.) Eating disorders and obesity: A comprehensive handbook. Guilford Press, Forthcoming (February 2017)
- Friedman RR, Schwartz MB. Public policy to prevent childhood obesity, and the role of pediatric endocrinologists. Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology & Metabolism. 2008.
- Friedman RR. A Roadmap for Successful Sugary Drink Tax Campaigns. Healthy Food America, Seattle WA. 2015. Available at Healthy Food America.
- Friedman, RR. Policy Brief. Ensuring Young Children Grow Up at a Healthy Weight: Policy Opportunities to Prevent Obesity. Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut, Inc., Farmington CT. 2016. Available at Child Health and Development Institute.
Education:
- M.S., Harvard School of Public Health
- B.A., Smith College