Who We Are
Wes
Alles, PhD, Director
Wes has been the Director of HIP since 1989. Before joining the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention, Wes was a tenured Associate Professor at Penn State University, and before that, he was an Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico.
For the past ten years, he has been a group facilitator for the Meyer Friedman Institute of UCSF, an organization that conducts research providing behavior modification programs for people with Type A behavior patterns. Wes has conducted research throughout his career and has co-authored four textbooks and many articles in professional journals.
While at Stanford, Wes has served as the Chair of the California Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Coalition, an organization that promotes heart health through research, teaching, and advocacy. HE has served as the President of the South Bay Business Group on Health, and now serves on two advisory committees for the California Department of Health Services. Recently, Wes received an award from the March of Dimes for his volunteer efforts in developing a prenatal education program and then training volunteers and staff throughout the U.S.
Wes enjoys traveling, especially to Europe. On weekdays during the lunch hour you can find him at Arrillaga gym in the weight room or jogging around Lake Lagunita. In the summer, Saturday mornings are reserved for Great America roller coasters. In the Fall, Saturdays are reserved for college football-- especially when the Nittany Lions of Penn State are playing.
E-mail him at: wes.alles@stanford.edu
Joyce Hanna, MA, MS, Associate Director
Joyce
has been with HIP since 1991. She is an exercise physiologist, nutritionist, health
educator, health promotion specialist, and former competitive marathon runner.
Joyce initiated and is the Director of the Living Strong, Living Well program, a fitness/strength training program for cancer survivors and patients. She is also the program Director of the popular Stanford Alumni Healthy Living Retreat for Women held annually at Fallen Leaf Lake.
Joyce has worked extensively as a behavioral health consultant, helping people make positive lifestyle changes. She has designed and conducted health education seminars with a focus on healthy aging, women's health, nutrition, exercise physiology, and behavior change in a wide range of settings from academia to corporate work-sites.
Her community leadership is valued as a consultant to the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, the Stanford Health Library Advisory Board and past President of Fifty-Plus Fitness Association, a national organization involved in research and education on physical activity and aging.
She especially enjoys spending time with her six young grandchildren, family and friends. She also enjoys mountain hiking, running, biking, golfing, tennis, reading and going to good movies.
Joyce has graduate degrees from Stanford in Education, and Cal State Hayward in Exercise Physiology, and Nutrition.
E-mail her: joyce.hanna@stanford.edu
Julie Anderson, MPH
Julie
is HIP's Manager of Health Promotion. She coordinates the health & fitness
assessment program, the healthy living classes, and manages the Health Promotion
Resource Center print materials. Julie is also the Assistant Director of Living
Strong, Living Well, a strength training program for cancer patients (http://livingstronglivingwell.stanford.edu).
Julie started working at HIP in 1991. She completed her Master's degree in Public
Health from San Jose State University in May 2003.
Originally from Chicago, she received her degree in Health Fitness from Springfield College in Massachusetts. She is certified from the American College of Sports Medicine as a fitness instructor and personal trainer.
Julie enjoys reading, hiking, knitting, and training for and participating in triathlons and marathons. She also loves to travel.
E-mail her: julie.anderson@stanford.edu
Deborah Abrams Balfanz, PhD
Debbie
has been with HIP since January 2002. Currently, she coordinates the Stanford
Behavior Change/Weight Management Program, a 10-month behavior change program
that helps participants gain a healthier lifestyle.
Originally from Philadelphia, she received her BA in Psychology from University of PA, and a Ph.D in Social Psychology from Princeton University.
An East Coast person her whole life, Debbie appreciates the California weather. She enjoys jogging, strength training, and shopping as a competitive sport. She also gets exercise chasing after her young sons, Alex and Luke.
E-mail her: dbalfanz@stanford.edu
Jerrie Moo-Thurman, MA
Jerrie
is the Fitness Program Manager for Health Improvement Program. She coordinates
the efforts of 25 fitness professionals who instruct over 60 fitness classes per
week at Stanford University. She also instructs a variety of fitness and health
education classes for HIP.
She is a 25 year veteran of the fitness industry and is a former presenter at many local and international fitness conventions. Some of her professional accomplishments include: M.A. degree in Instructional Technology; B.S. degree in Human Performance/Exercise Physiology; American College of Sports Medicine Certified Exercise Leader and Health/Fitness Instructor; Community College Teaching Credential.
As a mother of three children, she keeps busy with after school sports and activities with the older two children, and playtime activities with the youngest one. In her spare time she enjoys doing sports and fine arts activities.
E-mail her: jerrie.thurman@stanford.edu
Jane Rothstein, MSW, ACSW,LCSW
With
HIP since 1993, Jane has over 20 years combined experience in the fields of health
education, psychotherapy, and research. A graduate of both the University of Michigan
and the University of Washington, Jane is a licensed psychotherapist in private
practice, and a health educator/behavioral counselor for HIP. She also provides
classes in corporate, municipal, and other educational settings. Her specialty
as a counselor is in helping people make health behavior changes which will last,
often requiring an exploration of psychological barriers to such changes.
For HIP, she designs classes, helps with program development, teaches, and counsels on a wide variety of topics. Topics include stress management, weight management, nutrition, environmental health, and psychological issues related to health behavior. Lately, she is particularly interested in helping people simplify their lifestyles, both for their own health and for the health of the environment. For her fitness and stress management, Jane hikes, bikes, runs, weight trains, dances, and sings.
E-mail her: jane.rothstein@stanford.edu
YANN A. MEUNIER, MD
Yann Meunier, MD is a Health Improvement Manager at the Health Improvement Program of the Stanford Prevention Research Center. His primary areas of interest are Preventive Medicine, Public Health and Tropical Diseases.
He was an Assistant Professor in Public Health at Rene Descartes University and Tropical Medicine at Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine at George Washington University and Lecturer on "Urbanization and Public Health in developing countries" at the George Washington University Center for International Health.
He was a Medical Doctorate thesis director and advisor on Public Health topics such as: "Epidemiological study and screening of cervix cancer by PAP smear in Lifou, New Caledonia". As the Chief Medical Officer for a U.S. corporation in Papua New Guinea, he created and implemented a Public Health program for about 10,000 villagers in the Kutubu area of the Southern Highlands province. For a charity organization in Singapore, he led a medical team pioneering a Public Health program for the Yi people in the Yunnan province of China. As the first and only private general practitioner on the island of Lifou, New Caledonia, he wrote a report on "Public Health priorities", which incited the French government to address potable water and other issues. He has field experience in epidemics of AIDS, malaria, dengue fever, SARS, Japanese encephalitis and meningitis. He is widely published on Preventive Medicine issues such as: "Struggle against cholera", "Precautions to take before traveling to a tropical country", "Hepatitis B: Who must be immunized?" He is Editor Manager of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Member of the Editorial Board of the Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine, Fellow of the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine and Honorary Member of the Brazilian Academy of Medicine. He received his Medical Doctorate from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and holds Specialty Degrees in Tropical Medicine from Pierre and Marie Curie University and Emergency Medicine from Creteil University, France.
E-mail
him: ymeunier@stanford.edu