Dr. Rishi Manchanda, Author and Public Health Advocate, to Address Walden University Doctoral Students

Minneapolis—May 27, 2015— Public health innovator Dr. Rishi Manchanda will speak to more than 900 doctoral students at Walden University’s academic residency on Saturday, May 30, 2015, at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta hotel. Dr. Manchanda is a practicing physician, author, and public health advocate who is aiming to revitalize the primary care field.

Dr. Rishi Manchanda

A self-proclaimed “upstreamist,” he encourages physicians to look at the social and environmental factors that can trigger illness instead of just treating the resulting symptoms. In his TED Book, The Upstream Doctors, Dr. Manchanda explains the importance of tackling sickness at its source by addressing factors such as job stress, poor nutrition, relationship problems, or even a lack of fresh air.

For the past decade, Dr. Manchanda has worked as a doctor for vulnerable populations in underserved communities. He was the first director of social medicine at a community clinic in South Central Los Angeles, where he and his staff provided primary care to low-income families. He subsequently built and served as medical director of primary care clinics for homeless veterans within the Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. He currently serves as the chief medical officer for Roll Global, where he is leading efforts to improve employee and community health in California's Central Valley.

In addition to being an active practitioner, Dr. Manchanda is the president and founder of HealthBegins, a social network that empowers practitioners to improve health by addressing factors in the home and workplace environments. He is also founder of RxDemocracy, a nonpartisan coalition that aims to register voters in healthcare clinic settings.

Academic residencies at Walden support students’ academic and professional goals by connecting them with individual faculty mentors, student support staff, and hundreds of peers. During academic residencies, students from all doctoral and select master’s degree programs have the opportunity to conceptualize and develop research that contributes to positive social change.

Walden’s plenary sessions are an integral part of the residencies and are led by speakers from around the world who share their experiences and viewpoints to inspire insightful debate and lively conversation. These sessions are intended to provide Walden students, faculty and staff members with the opportunity to hear perspectives on a variety of topics that are meaningful and relevant to their lives as both scholars and practitioners.

For more information about Walden University, visit www.WaldenU.edu.

About Walden University
For 45 years, Walden University has supported working professionals in achieving their academic goals and making a greater impact in their professions and their communities. Today, more than 47,800 students from all 50 states and more than 150 countries are pursuing their bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees online at Walden. The university provides students with an engaging educational experience that connects them with expert faculty and peers around the world.

Walden offers more than 80 degree programs with more than 370 specializations and concentrations. Areas of study include health sciences, counseling, human services, management, psychology, social work, education, public health, nursing, public administration and information technology. Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. For more information, visit www.WaldenU.edu.

Walden is the flagship online university in the Laureate International Universities network—a global network of more than 80 campus-based and online universities in 29 countries. For more information, visit www.laureate.net.