PGP Leadership
PGP’s Executive Leadership and Board of Directors are widely recognized as some of the top minds and talents in a variety of industries including film & television, civil rights, public health, and education. The team brings its collective expertise and influence to PGP’s mission to create impactful behavior change initiatives.
DR. JOE SMYSER, PHD, MSPH
CEO, The Public Good Projects
Dr. Joe Smyser is the Chief Executive Officer of PGP.
Dr. Smyser has created the strategies for several of the world’s largest and most successful behavior change campaigns and programs. The methodologies he has championed, such as media monitoring for disease surveillance, disseminating health information through community influencers and organizations, and rigorous peer-review regardless of a program’s scale, are now widely recognized as best practices.
He is an advocate for leveraging the tools and techniques of private industry for public health, increasing public-private partnerships, and fostering private industry innovation for the public good.
Dr. Smyser’s academic background includes a PhD and masters in public health and a postdoc at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through its evaluation fellowship. Additionally, he interned at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration within the Office of International Programs. He is a returned Peace Corps volunteer, having served in Swaziland.
A regular and dynamic speaker and trainer, Dr. Smyser frequently delivers keynote addresses and contributes as a panelist with other experts. He has been a full-time instructor at Columbia University and San Diego State University.
Board of Directors
DR. JOE SMYSER, PHD, MSPH
CEO, The Public Good Projects
PHIL MARINEAU
Chair, Public Good Projects; Former President and CEO, Levi Strauss & Co. and Pepsi-Cola North America
RUTH WOODEN
Vice Chair, The Public Good Projects; former President, The Advertising Council and Public Agenda
JOHN HOFFMAN
Former Executive Vice President, Documentaries and Specials, Discovery Channel; Founder and Former CEO, The Public Good Projects
DR. ELLEN WARTELLA, PHD
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor of Communication, Northwestern University
DAVID BRITT, MPA
Retired President-CEO, Sesame Workshop
VICTOR CAPOCCIA, PHD
Senior Scientist, University of Wisconsin Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies
KAYVAN HERAVI, MBA
Managing Director, Sixth Street Former Partner, LNK
DIANA ACOSTA, MPP
Director of Public Health Partnerships, Merck Pharmaceuticals; Former Deputy Division Chief, US Agency for International Development (USAID); Former Program Manager, Montefiore Medical Center School Health Program; Former Global Health Fellow, Pan American Health Organization/WHO; Former Public Health Fellow, Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
JESSICA BROY HUTTON, MBA, MS
Vice President, Morgan Stanley, former Associate Director, Winthrop Capital Partners, former Company Commander, United States Army
DAVID ERTEL, MBA, MPH
Chief Financial Officer, Vizient, former Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, University of Miami Health System and Miller School of Medicine
Javier Sánchez, MD
Physician, Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of California Riverside School of Medicine