AHCJ board elects Hobbs to fill vacant position

Suzanne Havala Hobbs

CHAPEL HILL – Suzanne Havala Hobbs has been named to the board of directors of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. Hobbs is associate director of the Doctoral Program in Health Leadership for the Department of Health Policy and Administration in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Hobbs was elected by the current board to fill the position vacated by Patricia Simms of the Madison, Wis. Simms, who was serving as board secretary, resigned earlier this month citing a change in work duties that significantly reduced the amount of her time spent on journalism. She took a leave of absence from the Wisconsin State Journal to assist the University of Wisconsin’s entrepreneur program

“Association with this group and the people on the AHCJ board has been a significant part of my life for the last few years,” said Simms. “I have made some wonderful and hopefully lifelong friends. And I have been involved in some profound decisions for AHCJ and its future. I am delighted that we have come so far.

The decision to ask Hobbs to join the board was an easy one, said board members. Hobbs has long been involved in volunteer activities for AHCJ and currently serves as chair of the FOI and Advocacy Committee, which focuses on First Amendment issues.

Hobbs has been practicing in the field and writing about health for 25 years. A licensed, registered dietitian, her diet and health column, “On the Table,” appears weekly in The(Raleigh, N.C.)News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer. She is the author of nine books and is a contributing writer for Bottom Line Personal. She has written for numerous magazines including SELF and Vegetarian Times, where she serves on the editorial advisory board.

“It’s an honor to be invited to serve the association in this way, and I am very excited about the opportunity to contribute to the work of this dedicated and visionary group of leaders,” said Hobbs.

Hobbs will serve out Simms’ term which ends in June 2006. She will formally join the board next week at the board’s fall meeting, which is being held at the association’s new home on the campus of the Missouri School of Journalism.

For further information please contact Ramona DuBose by e-mail at ramona_dubose@unc.edu.