Prevention Matters

Robert J. Gould, a behavioral scientist who has helped lead some of the nation’s most successful social marketing campaigns, has been named president of Partnership for Prevention. The appointment by Partnership’s board of directors was announced today by Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding, chairman of the board.

“Rob’s unique combination of behavioral science expertise, proven leadership, achievements in applying social marketing to health promotion and his passion for the mission of Partnership make him the right choice,” said Fielding, who is Director of Los Angeles County’s Department of Public Health and chairman of the US Community Preventive Services Task Force.

“I look forward to helping Partnership maintain the momentum it has gained in making science-based prevention a priority as policymakers grapple with re-shaping our country’s approach to health and health care,” said Gould. “Americans don’t just want better health care. They want and deserve health policies and programs that help them stay healthy.”

Gould brings to partnership more than 30 years of experience in health promotion, including more than 20 years with global communications firm Porter Novelli.

As leader of Porter Novelli’s Health and Social Marketing practice, he worked on anti-tobacco accounts that included the award-winning ‘truth’ campaign with the Florida Department of Health and the follow-on national ‘truth’ campaign with the American Legacy Foundation. He also worked with public and private non-profit organizations that included the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Heart Association. In the early ‘90s, Gould was the lead researcher in the development of the now iconic Food Guide Pyramid for the United States Department of Agriculture.

From 2001 to 2007, he was a partner at Porter Novelli and managing director of its Washington office – the second-largest operation within the firm.

In 1978, he received a PhD in social psychology at the University of Maryland, where he subsequently developed and taught a four-course marketing specialty track for its Masters of General Administration Degree program. He also taught in the Executive Masters program and administered its masters thesis program. Gould graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Bucknell University in 1973.