Dr. Roopa Kalyanaraman Marcello is a public health strategist and storyteller. Her career has spanned issue areas from food policy to infectious diseases and sectors including government, health care, academia, and nonprofits. She has designed and led programs, shaped policy strategy, led research, and developed the communication strategies that determine whether people act on any of it.
Roopa draws on that range to build systems, teams, and initiatives that address pressing and emergent issues. At the nation’s largest public hospital system, she built a population health research and evaluation unit, launched and led initiatives for healthy food access, and, during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, assembled a team to conduct health disparities research that informed outreach strategies and national discourse on Asian American health.
As a communication strategist, Roopa has shaped understanding of major health issues, advances, and crises over the past two decades, including building a coalition for action on ultra-processed foods, raising public awareness of the first medication approved to prevent HIV, and developing and delivering trainings for health care staff to encourage Covid-19 vaccination and combat misinformation.
A collaborative and strategic leader, Roopa has consistently served as a trusted bridge between internal teams, organizations, and sectors to advance initiatives that require balancing competing priorities and values. From her work with community and healthcare organizations on the development of a new school and health center in East Baltimore to collaborating across NYC agencies to rapidly develop and implement a school-based H1N1 influenza vaccination program, Roopa’s thoughtful approach to working with diverse partners has been critical to the success of numerous initiatives.
Roopa earned a Doctor of Public Health, a Master of Public Health, and certificates in Health Communication and Vaccine Science & Policy from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she received the Excellence in U.S. Public Health Practice Award. She holds a Bachelor of Science in molecular biology from Yale University, where she also studied violin and vocal performance and played violin with the Yale Symphony Orchestra. She is certified in public health by the National Board of Public Health Examiners. A lifelong New Yorker, Roopa lives in Brooklyn with her family, rescue dog, and many plants.
