Christine W. Thorpe

Chairperson, Human Services Department
New York City College of Technology, CUNY
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Age: 38

As chair of the Health and Human Services Department at New York City College of Technology (City Tech), Christine W. Thorpe says her goal is “to educate and inspire the next generation of health and human services professionals to work diligently to meet the needs of populations in need.” Aside from managing her department’s daily operations, she is an assistant professor, teaching such undergraduate courses as child welfare, women’s health issues, HIV/AIDS counseling, community health, and child and adolescent health.

Thorpe is a former consultant for Accenture and former director of supplemental educational services at the Urban League of Essex County. The most important lesson she learned from all of these experiences and from her mentors is, “building relationships is fundamental to building business.” She counts among her mentors Howard University associate professor Earl Bloch; Diane Adams, founder and chair of Health Informatics Information Technology; Dean Barbara Grumet and President Russell Hotzler at City Tech; and friend Jennifer Fennema-Bloom, an assistant professor at the University of Findlay.

 
A certified wellness coach, Thorpe has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Syracuse University and a doctorate in health education and master’s in international educational development from Teachers College, Columbia University. She takes her mission to educate people about health beyond City Tech. “I provide health and nutrition workshops to community organizations and churches,” she says. She created the beauty, health and wellness website CrisSimone.com and is founder of Cris Simone Consulting Group, which provides training, research and education to health and human services organizations.

Fun Facts
Favorite food: Caribbean
First job: Summer camp counselor
Favorite book: The Help