Robert Berger, MSJ
Robert Berger, MSJ is project director of CA4Health, the California statewide Community Transformation Grant from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention for which PHI serves as lead agency. CA4Health partners with the California Department of Public Health and 42 rural counties to establish smoke-free multi-unit housing, reduce consumption of sugary beverages, promote chronic disease self-management, and enhance community walkability through strategies such as safe routes to schools.
Berger previously served as project director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s Communities Putting Prevention to Work tobacco prevention grant. Prior to joining LA County, Berger was president of Healthier Solutions, an L.A.-based policy and media advocacy firm he founded in 1993, where he directed statewide and county grants that addressed health disparities through communications and systemic change. Berger served as a consultant with the American Lung Association, USC’s Tobacco Education & Materials Lab, and the Network for a Healthy California.
A social marketing campaign Berger created for the California Department of Public Health to promote breast cancer early detection among low income, limited English-speaking Asian American women won an ASTHO Vision Award. Berger received his bachelor’s in marketing from NYU and master’s in Journalism from Northwestern.
CA4Health
CA4Health covers CTG implementation in 42 California counties with populations under 500,000, of which 12 receive direct funding through sub-awards. PHI and CDPH coordinate technical assistance contractors to work with counties on implementing strategic directions at the local level. CA4Health utilizes PHI's Public Health Data Solutions as a customized online tool for its partners to stay connected, store and share materials, and visualize data.
Support for Coordination of a Statewide Community Transformation Learning Community
This project will facilitate policy advocacy and collaboration among California's Community Transformation Grant (CTG) awardees and statewide sharing of CTG lessons learned and resources developed. It will reach all health jurisdictions in the state, including CTG grantees and non-grantees as well as large and small counties, and support The California Endowment's efforts to reverse California's obesity epidemic and support healthy communities.