Harlem J. Gunness

Harlem has a long standing career in public health serving community-based organizations, hospitals, local, state and federal health departments, private industries and universities. Currently, he holds the position of Director, Public Health Program, at St. John’s University. Prior to this assignment, he was a Senior Officer with the US Public Health Service working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There, he conducted disease surveillance and epidemiological investigations on highly communicable disease like MERS-Covi, MDR-TB, SARS and the unprecedented Ebola Entry Screening Program. Dr. Gunness’ passion lies with eradicating health disparities in marginalized, hard-to–reach urban populations that are often overlooked in the public health system. He received his MPH at Hunter College and doctorate in Urban Health Systems at Rutgers University. He joined the Board in 2016.