Faculty Member
Dr. Georgia Halkia holds a Ph.D. in Public Health with a concentration in Global Health from the University of California, Irvine, where she also earned the H&H Lee Foundation Fellowship in Public Health for Excellence in Research. She also earned a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, and a Bachelor's degree in Human Services with a minor in Gerontology.
An accomplished educator, Dr. Halkia is a UCI Division for Teaching Excellence and Innovation Pedagogical Fellow and recipient of the Jeffrey L. Fortuna Outstanding Lecturer Award from California State University, Fullerton (2019). She graduated with honors and has been recognized for both her teaching excellence and research contributions.
She directed and developed the Community Health Worker (CHW) program that was implemented across the Coast Colleges in California, where she collaborated with regional partners such as CalOptima and First Five to create digital credentials that translated into workforce-ready skills and became a model for other institutions. She also served as Director of Operations for the CSU Fullerton Center for Healthy Neighborhoods, leading initiatives to reduce health and educational disparities by providing free services, building skills, and connecting residents to essential resources.
In academia, Dr. Halkia has taught undergraduate and graduate courses, including Research Methods, Statistics, Epidemiology, Global Burden of Disease, and Program Design and Evaluation. Her research focuses on health disparities, program design and evaluation, and building community capacity to advance equity.
Major: Public Health
Major: Public Health
Major: Human Services
Major: Design
Epidemiology, Fall 2025
Health and Diversity, Fall 2025
Health Promotion for Older Adults, Fall 2025
International Health, Fall 2025
Health and Diversity GI, Summer 2025
Personal Health and Wellness, Summer 2025
Program Implementation and Evaluation WE, Summer 2025
Epidemiology, Spring 2025
International Health GI, Spring 2025
Personal Health and Wellness, Spring 2025
Program Implementation and Evaluation WE, Spring 2025
Senior Capstone, Spring 2025
Special Topics in Public Health, Spring 2025
While serving as Director of the Center for Healthy Neighborhoods at California State University, Fullerton, I was honored to receive multiple recognitions in acknowledgment of my work in community health and advocacy. I was awarded a State Senate Award for Outstanding Community Advocacy, highlighting my efforts to address health and education disparities in underserved populations. In the same year, I also received Certificates of Recognition from the County of Orange, the California State Assembly, the California Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives. These honors reflect the collective impact of our center’s work and the partnerships we built to empower families and improve community well-being across Southern California.
In 2021, I was awarded the H&H Lee Foundation Fellowship in Public Health for Excellence in Research. This competitive fellowship recognizes outstanding scholarly contributions and research potential in the field of public health. Receiving this award affirmed the significance of my work and supported the continued development of research focused on advancing health equity and evidence-based community interventions.
In 2019, I was honored to receive the Jeff Fortuna Lecturer Award, established in recognition of Jeff Fortuna’s enduring contributions as a distinguished and deeply respected lecturer in the Department of Public Health. This award is given to a lecturer faculty member who exemplifies excellence in teaching, student engagement, research, and community service—areas to which Jeff devoted his career, particularly in the prevention and treatment of substance use. I am proud to have been recognized for my commitment to these same principles.
In 2018, I received the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from the Department of Public Health at the University of California, Irvine. This award is given to graduate teaching assistants who demonstrate exceptional instructional support, commitment to student success, and strong pedagogical contributions to the department’s teaching mission.
