Emily Piltch, MPH, is an Associate Scientist promoting physical activity and healthy communities through built environment and policy change strategies. Before joining the PRC, Ms. Piltch completed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Public Health Prevention Service (PHPS) three year fellowship program. While at CDC she evaluated the first US–based Health Impact Assesssment (HIA) training and also conducted an in-country evaluation of the Kenyan Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program. Ms. Piltch's two–year field placement through the PHPS program was at the Tacoma–Pierce County Health Department in Tacoma, Washington, where she coordinated safe routes to school capital improvements, promoted community walkability, conducted a local HIA and built capacity for urban agriculture and community garden development. Ms. Piltch holds a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience and a Bachelor of Arts in women's studies from the University of Rochester and a Masters in Public Health with a conentration in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her masters thesis "Community Gardening as a Health Promotion Strategy: a Conceptual Model Connecting Urban Neighborhood Context, Social Process and Obesity Prevention" brought together a variety of public health topics important to her: access to healthy food as a basic human right, environmental justice and building social capital. In her free time, Ms. Piltch enjoys gardening, doing Bikram's yoga and exploring new places.