Jennifer Fassbender

Jennifer Fassbender leads the national Invest Health and regional Building Healthier, More Equitable Communities in New Jersey program initiatives that support multi-sector teams in small to midsized cities working to improve the social determinants of health so all people can thrive. With over 20 years of collective leadership experience in healthcare, research, and non-profit sectors, she has dedicated her career to improving the health and wellbeing of people and communities.

Previously, she worked as a leader for the American Diabetes Association as a subject matter expert, building strategic partnerships; was the Program Director for The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Healthy Weight Program; and was a Senior Research Project Manager for a health disparities research group at the University of Pennsylvania. Her early training as a certified clinical exercise physiologist began her work in healthcare as a clinician in acute and outpatient cardiology and pulmonology rehabilitation.

Currently, Ms. Fassbender serves on the Board of Directors for the Council on Black Health, represents Reinvestment Fund on the National Academies Roundtable on Obesity Solutions and is the 2021 Chair for the Innovation Collaborative on the Integration of Clinical and Social Systems. She has co-authored numerous scientific publications and regularly presents at national conferences. She studied at the Pennsylvania State University and did her graduate work in Exercise Physiology at the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health.