Voting Member
Dr. Amelia Burke-Garcia is an award-winning digital expert, health and behavior change communicator and researcher, author, and keynote speaker. With nearly 20 years of experience creating innovative and impactful interventions that move people to action, she is a leader in the digital communication and behavior change sector. She has worked with renowned organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the CDCFoundation, the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Pfizer, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Cadbury Confections, GEICO Insurance, Danone North America, The Institute of Technology at Carlow (Ireland), The Australian Market & Social Research Society, and The University of Aalborg(Denmark). With both domestic and international work experience, Dr. Burke-Garcia is an influencer amongst public health professionals, communication experts, business leaders, and entrepreneurs globally. She offers keen insight into the areas of health communication, behavior change and persuasion, digital and social media, and measuring impact.
Over the course of her career, Dr. Burke-Garcia has spearheaded some of the most innovative digital communication initiatives on a variety of topics. Examples include investigating perspectives and motivations of non-vaccinating online influencers, designing a targeted social media intervention with mommy bloggers to help social media users lower their risk for breast cancer, leveragingMeetUpgroups and the Waze mobile application to support flu vaccination and HIV testing, respectively, and running GEICO’s first-ever brand awareness campaign working with YouTube influencers. Currently, Dr. Burke-Garcia is a program area director at NORC at the University of Chicago where she has been working under CDC’s COVID-19 response to build and direct the award-winning How RightNow/QueHacerAhoracampaign, which is aimed at increasing people’s ability to cope and be resilient amidst the pandemic. Earlier roles have included acting as director for CDC’s National Influenza Vaccination campaign and co-Principal Investigator on a study that aimed to understand messages and motivations of vaccine-hesitant or refusing social media influencers. Dr. Burke-Garcia is based in the United States and has international experience working with partners in Europe, the UK, Australia, and South America.