Staff Profile: Joanne De Simone Eichel

Joanne De Simone Eichel, MA
Director, Office of School Health Programs

Joanne De Simone Eichel is the Director of The New York Academy of Medicine Office of School Health Programs. She provides overall leadership for health education programs in the New York City public schools and in school districts nationally, and for programs that build the capacity of community-based organizations to promote health for their constituents. Ms. Eichel also administers an array of programs that link the medical and health communities and the schools in New York City to provide opportunities for underrepresented minority students to build their capacity to pursue careers in the health professions.

Ms. Eichel is responsible for policy formation, program development and implementation, evaluation research, national dissemination, and raising the funds to support all the Office of School Health Programs staff and initiatives.

For the past twenty years, she has had a major role in the development of many new initiatives linking public schools, NYAM and the private sector. In her prior role as Associate Director, Ms. Eichel was responsible for all program development and implementation, and curriculum development in the Office of School Health Programs. She served as Senior Editor on all School Health Programs publications. Ms. Eichel first joined NYAM as a Project Director and was responsible for launching a middle school initiative.

Ms. Eichel has also worked as a teacher, adjunct faculty at City University of New York, health counselor, and senior project director with The New York City Department of Health, Bureau of School Children and Adolescent Health.

She received her Masters degree in Health Education and Human Sexuality from New York University, during which time she interned at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine Human Sexuality Program. Ms. Eichel has published in peer-reviewed journals and has been invited to make presentations both locally and nationally on comprehensive health education programs in schools.

Contact information
jeichel@nyam.org; (212) 822-7224