Sallie Anne George
Program Officer
Sallie George, program officer, who joined the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in 1996, works in several key areas that support the Foundation’s health, leadership, and public health efforts in communities nationwide. She contributes to the Foundation’s aims to support leadership development across many disciplines and career stages.
Sallie currently oversees the RWJF Clinical Scholars program, which supports teams of clinicians who tackle challenging health problems in their communities. Her work also supports the ASTHO (Association of State and Territorial Health Officials) Leadership Institute, which helps state public health officials advance population health and transformation in governmental agencies. In addition, she is developing a program to identify opportunities to support the dismantling of structural racism in the health system.
In addition to her leadership work, Sallie is committed to achieving impact in her home state, leading the Foundation’s efforts to strengthen the public health infrastructure in New Jersey—including establishing New Jersey’s first public health institute—and supporting the policy and capacity building efforts of nonprofits in advancing a Culture of Health in New Jersey.
Sallie is deeply passionate about leadership development and its impact in improving health. She welcomes “the opportunity to influence health and healthcare by equipping leaders with the supports they need to span boundaries effectively to advance communities toward a better, healthier future.”
During her tenure with RWJF, she has overseen the Culture of Health Leaders Institute for Racial Healing; the Culture of Health Leaders; RWJF Community Health Leaders; Ladder to Leadership; and a program that builds the capacity of local public health officials. She helped lead the Foundation’s early work in workforce development and engaging the corporate sector in health work, in addition to advancing effective policies to combat tobacco use such as smokefree air, cessation policies, and increased excise taxes.
Prior to joining RWJF, Sallie worked in investor relations at the Liposome Company and in public relations at Coleman & Pellet, Inc. She is former president of the New Jersey Public Health Association, and a 2008 Lead New Jersey Fellow. She has also served on several national steering committees and boards, including the Governing Council and Council on Affiliates for the American Public Health Association, in addition to the grants committee for the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund. In her hometown in New Jersey, Sallie serves on the executive board of Upper Freehold Regional Education Foundation and has held several managerial and board positions in the Allentown/Upper Freehold Baseball and Softball League. She also volunteers locally.
Sallie received an MPH degree in sociomedical sciences from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and a BA degree in communications from Seton Hall University.
