Applying a Health Lens to Transportation Planning

Bio: Shireen Malekafzali, Associate Director at PolicyLink, works to advance land use, transportation, infrastructure and economic development policies that promote healthy, equitable communities. She works with community organizers, funders, advocates, public officials and institutional leaders, advocating for policies, providing technical assistance, conducting research, and managing grantmaking initiatives. She currently leads an approximately three million dollar national grantmaking and technical assistance initiative that supports innovative grantmaking in the arenas of built environment and food access policies that promote equity and health. Shireen has worked on equitable transit-oriented development, health impact assessments, federal transportation policy advocacy, rezoning policies, and other planning and policy efforts. Prior to joining PolicyLink, Shireen worked at the San Francisco Department of Public Health on the Health, Equity and Sustainability team conducting health impact assessments, and advancing healthy built environment policies. She teaches courses at San Francisco State University (SFSU) including health policy, environmental health and research methods

Education: Shireen holds an MPH from SFSU and a BS in environmental studies from University of California, Santa Barbara.

Key Publications: Shireen has authored a number of publications including, Healthy Corridor for All; Healthy, Equitable Transportation Policy: Recommendations and Research, and; Promoting Equity through the Practice of Health Impact Assessment.

Past Assignments: Convergence Innovation Fund: Impacts and Lessons Learned at Grantmakers in Health Conference, San Francisco, CA, March 2013 Development without Displacement at Sustainable Communities Initiative Grantee Event, Washington DC, December 2012 Equity in Health Impact Assessments at National Health Impact Assessment Conference, Washington DC, Sept 2012

Bio: At Human Impact Partners I've conducted several health impact assessments on land use and policy proposals, while also training and mentoring others on how to conduct HIA.

Education: Master of Public Health (environmental health sciences), University of California, Berkeley, 2008. Bachelor of Arts, (geology major, sociology minor), Macalester College, 2000.

Past Assignments: American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, 2012. "Inserting health indicators into California's climate change and regional transportation planning process." Transportation Research Board Summer Conference: Transportation-Related Environmental Analysis, Ecology, Air Quality, and Environmental Justice. Little Rock, 2012. "Applying HIA to Transportation Projects."

Bio: Associate Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota (August 2004 - present); Visiting Assistant Professor Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture, Clemson University (August 2003 - June 2004); Long-range Planner, Community Development Department, City of Henderson, NV (April 2001 - July 2003); Planner, DSU, Inc., Minneapolis, MN (June 2000 - December 2000, June 1997-July 1998)

Education: PhD - Urban and Regional Planning, Florida State University; Master of City and Regional Planning, Clemson University; BA - Individualized Study, Winona State University

Key Publications: Research is focused on public involvement and decision-making related to environmental, land use, and transportation planning. Publications includes articles in the Journal of Planning Education and Research, Journal of Planning Literature, Environmental Management, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, among others.

Past Assignments: Recent presentations at numerous conferences including Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, American Planning Association, International Symposium for Society and Resource Management, and Transportation Research Board. Additional local presentations at state planning and design conferences.