Lesley L. Rennis

Picture of Lesley Rennis


Professor
Chairperson
Health Studies

EMAIL: lrennis@bmcc.cuny.edu

Office: N-799R

Office Hours:

Phone: +1 (212) 776-6564

Professor Lesley Rennis earned an MPH from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and an Ed.D. in health education at Teacher’s College, Columbia University, and has gained over 18 years’ experience in public health research and evaluation. In 2014, Rennis was selected as a BMCC Presidential Scholar to work with a senior faculty mentor and develop a grant proposal to support her work in health education. She also co-coordinated an interdisciplinary Faculty/Staff Interest Group that provided workshops and resources to enhance the physical and mental well being of faculty and staff at BMCC, exploring topics such as such as stress relief, smoking cessation, and weight management. As a professor of health, community health, and public health courses, Rennis guides students to explore issues from both a societal and individual perspective. Her students examine their own health-related behaviors and develop an awareness of how the United States compares with other countries in its approach to public health, situating health behaviors, and views in a historical context. Prior to joining the BMCC faculty, Rennis spent more than 13 years in public health research and evaluation, serving as Vice President of Health and Social Services at the Abyssinian Development Corporation, a nonprofit community development organization in Harlem. She has also taught at the Columbia University School of Public Health, Teachers College, and the College of Mount St. Vincent, emphasizing to students in each setting the impact of health decisions on their ability to achieve personal, professional, and academic success.

Expertise

Urban Public Health, Health Promotion, Complementary and Alternative Therapies, Community/Public Health Workforce

Degrees

  • Ed.D. Teachers College, Columbia University, Health and Behavior Studies
  • M.P.H. Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Population and Family Health
  • B.S. Michigan State University, Microbiology

Courses Taught

Research and Projects

BMCC Public Health Academy

HuffPost: How to Optimize Your Diet 

Is the pandemic over? Public health officials say not yet

Publications

Peer –reviewed Articles/Book Chapters
  1. Green-Rennis L, Grace L, Thrower A.  Chronic Stress and Autoimmune Disorders.  In KB Holden & CP Jones, (Eds), Resilience: Black Women and Public Health, SUNY Press (2022).
  2. Fullilove M, Rodríguez L, Sember R, Kaufman M, Maruyama A, Rennis L, Murdock A, Chaudhury N, Thompson J, Chapin D Fullilove R.  (2022) “What is ours to do?”: Connection during a pandemic’s time of shelter in place. Urban Geography, 14.
  3. McNamara G, Rennis L, Hansen H, Grace L. (2019) Personality and diet among community college students.  Health, Wellness, and Society.
  4. Rennis L, McNamara G, Seidel E, Shneyderman Y. (2015) Google it!: Urban community college students use of the internet to obtain self-care and personal health information.  College Student Journal.  49(3), 414-426.
  5. McNamara, G., Rennis, L. & Carlson, L. (2014). Impact of socio-environmental factors on college students’ vending food and beverage purchasing behaviors. The Food Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 3(3), 89-100. ISSN: 2160-1933.
  6. McNamara G, Rennis, L, Wiseman, C. (2014). Measuring college students’ sustainable practices, beliefs and attitudes.  International Journal of Sustainability Education, 9, (3), 31-46.
  7. Ethan D, Rennis L, Samuel L, Seidel E, Basch C. (2014). A review of college-level health textbooks for coverage of type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, and metabolic syndrome.  Health Education Journal, 72(2), 217-227.
  8. Fullilove M, Green-Rennis LL, Hernandez-Cordero L, Fullilove, R. (2006). Obvious and not-so-obvious strategies to disseminate research.  Health Promotion Practice, 7(3): 306-311.
  9. Green-Rennis L, Fullilove M, Fullilove R. (2005). Remembering the lizard: Reconstructing sexuality in the rooms of narcotics anonymous.  Journal of Sex Research, 42(1): 28-34.
  10. Green-Rennis L, Fullilove M, Evans D, Shepard P. (2002). Hey, mom thanks: Use of focus groups in the development of place-specific materials for a community environmental action campaign.  Environ Health Perspectives, 110 (suppl 2): 265-270.
  11. Evans D, Fullilove M, Green-Rennis L, Levison M. (2002). Awareness of environmental risks and protective actions among minority women in Northern Manhattan.  Environ Health Perspectives, 110 (suppl 2): 271-275.

Book Chapters

  1. Green LL, Fullilove MT, Fullilove RE. (2014). Remembering the lizard: Reconstructing sexuality in the rooms of narcotics anonymous. In JA Inciardi & K McElrath, (Eds.), The American Drug Scene, 7th Edition, (pp. 361-371).   New York: Oxford University Press.
  2. Green-Rennis LL, Hernandez-Cordero L, Schmitz K, Fullilove M. (2013). “We have a situation here!”: Using situation analysis for health and social research. In AE Fortune, WJ Reid, RL Miller, (Eds.), Qualitative Research in Social Work, 2nd Edition, (pp. 192-212).  New York: Columbia University Press.

Honors, Awards and Affiliations

CUNY Career Success Fellow

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute

New York University Faculty Network Summer Program

CUNY Community College Research Grant

BMCC Faculty Leadership Fellow

BMCC Teaching Academy, Master Teacher

PSC-CUNY Research Award Program, Health Sciences Panel Chair

BMCC Presidential Scholars Award

NIDA Women & Gender Junior Investigator Award

 

Additional Information