Michael Yonas

Michael Yonas, DrPH, serves as Vice President of Public Health, Research, and Learning at The Pittsburgh Foundation while holding an adjunct faculty role as Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health's Department of Health Behavior. His work focuses on participatory research addressing social determinants of health, community violence, asthma disparities, and racial inequities. He co-teaches a harm reduction course and advises on special projects involving student research supervision.

Education includes a DrPH (2004) and MPH (1999) from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a BA in Fine Arts from Dickinson College, and post-doctoral training at UNC-Chapel Hill as a Kellogg Foundation Fellow. His research employs mixed-methods approaches to study neighborhood stressors on childhood health, particularly asthma, and eviction impacts in Allegheny County.

Grants and initiatives led by Yonas include public health research portfolios and policy development through The Pittsburgh Foundation. He actively collaborates with communities on violence prevention, juvenile justice system reforms, and asthma interventions. His volunteer work as a firefighter and EMT in Allegheny County underscores his commitment to community health.