Dr. Holly Atkinson Speaker Biography
Award-Winning Medical Journalist
Dr. Holly Atkinson is Clinical Professor in the Department of Medical Education and Academic Affairs at the CUNY School of Medicine in New York. Prior to joining the faculty at CUNY, Dr. Atkinson was at Mount Sinai for 10 years, where she was Director of the Human Rights Program. In that capacity, Dr. Atkinson founded and directed the Mount Sinai Human Rights Program.
Human Rights
Dr. Atkinson has a broad background in human rights, having served on the board of directors of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization Physicians for Human Rights for more than 16 years, including four years as President. She now serves as an expert medical advisor to the organization and is a member of PHR’s asylum network. Her research focuses on documenting the linkages between the human rights violations and health outcomes, especially as it applies to the well-being of women and girls.
Medical Journalist
Dr. Atkinson brings a unique blend of experience and skill to her work; she has medical expertise, business acumen, media savvy, and editorial proficiency. She has degrees in both medicine and journalism, and broad international business experience. She has worked in print, broadcast television and web-based technologies for both the medical professional and consumer audiences. She has extensive experience as a medical correspondent, including assignments with NBC and CBS News, Lifetime Medical Television, and the PBS health show BodyWatch. She is a noted public speaker who has engaged national audiences on a wide range of wellness topics for over 25 years.
Education and Affiliations
Dr. Atkinson graduated Phi Beta Kappa with Honors in Biology from Colgate University. She has an MD from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and stayed at Rochester to complete her internship in internal medicine at the Strong Memorial Hospital. She also has a MS in journalism from Columbia University. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the AOA Honor Medical Society and the American Public Health Association. In addition, she is a Fellow of the American Medical Women’s Association, where she helped launch AMWA’s Physicians Against Human Trafficking (PATH) initiative. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Dr. Holly Atkinson Speaking Topics
Consumer Health Care Trends and the Internet
The consumer revolution continues to alter the healthcare landscape. And of course, it is now fueled by the power of the Internet. Having worked in the Internet space since 1993, Dr. Atkinson explores the current consumer healthcare trends, especially those driven by the worldwide web. The Web is empowering patients today in a way that is causing radical shifts in how healthcare is practiced and delivered. Information, education, chat forums, blogs, support groups, drugs on line, eprescribing, direct-to-consumer lab and genetic testing, report card medicine—all of this instantaneously at your fingertips. In this speech, Dr. Atkinson explores the world of health on the web and explains how it is revolutionizing healthcare. She delivers this speech for both a consumer and a business audience to rave reviews.
Medicine and The Media
With over 15 years of experience as a medical journalist, Dr. Holly Atkinson gives a fascinating talk on medicine and the media. She explores the challenges that consumers face today in sorting through the glut of medical information reported by the nation's press. One week the headlines rave about the benefits of antioxidant vitamins; the next week these vitamins are panned. Should you eat butter or margarine, which is best? So, how much exercise do you really need? Should menopausal women take hormones? Dr. Atkinson gives practical tips on how to read the medical news and sort through the clutter, and in the process, gives answers to many of burning questions that the health conscious audience is dying to ask.
The 5 Keys to Maximum Health
We are living in “a land flowing with milk and honey” and it’s killing us. Our Western lifestyle drives inflammation in the body, which plays a primary role in the development of our killer diseases. Our society also promotes shallow and self-centered behavior, leading to depression and despair. Our deliverance, insists Dr. Atkinson, will come not from diet or exercise alone, but from expanding our sense of what it means to live a good life. Revolutionary new studies reveal that “doing good is good for you.”
In this hard-hitting and life-changing session, participants discover how to:
•Achieve their best physical health, including goals of losing weight, looking better and feeling younger;
•Cool the flames of inflammation and unleash natural sources of healing and energy;
•Infuse purpose and meaning into their lives thereby creating more joy and fulfillment.
This speech delivers the bottom line on how to achieve maximum health in these difficult times.
Breast Health & Wellness
With breast cancer one of the leading cancer killers of women, it especially important for today's women to understand breast health and wellness. Dr. Atkinson gives an information and delightful talk on the female breast and how to take care of it! The audience will learn about the normal anatomy and physiology of the breast (who ever taught us?), the signs and symptoms of common conditions and diseases of the breast and warning signs of breast cancer. Most importantly, the audience will learn how to maintain good breast health, gain an appreciation of self-exam, clinical examination, and mammography, and learn what steps to take if they note any changes.
Women, Stress and Fatigue: Effective Solutions to this Very Real Problem
Stress and fatigue are problems that increasingly plague American women. And too often, we are not taken seriously. Increased economic hardship—added to balancing work and family, caring for aging parents, and coping with the daily onslaught of demands, just to name a few—have all contributed to unprecedented levels of stress and fatigue. But the good news is something can be done. Speaking from her own experience and myriad other women, Dr. Atkinson reveals the major energy drainers and major energy boosters, and gives powerful practical pointers on how to beat stress and tip the energy balance.
Participants will learn:
•A potent method that reveals their sources of stress and fatigue;
•What to do to boost their mental and physical energy levels;
•How to build energy reserves so there’s something left for themselves.
Women come away from this speech having laughed a lot and learned a lot not only about how to conquer fatigue, but how to live their best life.
Health and Human Rights
As we enter the 21st Century, the belief in human rights as fundamental to life everywhere on the globe has taken center stage. Violations of human rights have a particularly devastating effect on people's mental and physical health. As Past President of the non-profit group, Physicians for Human Rights, Dr. Atkinson gives a fascinating talk on the intersection of Health and Human Rights. She argues passionately that by protecting and promoting human rights both home and abroad, we can have a major impact on protecting and promoting health: our own health, the health of our children and the health and well-being of our planet. Promoting human rights is not just a luxury, but a necessity that is in our own best interest. Dr. Atkinson delivers this presentation for college audiences, business audiences and health care professionals.
Dr. Holly Atkinson Books
Women and Fatigue–Effective Solutions to This Very Real Problem
Purchase BookDr. Holly Atkinson Videos
Dr. Holly Atkinson Speaker Testimonials
"You did a fabulous job on Saturday and I've received so many compliments on your keynote address. A couple of people also approached me after the event inquiring for more information about you as they have events coming up! Your keynote address was so factual, real and motivating. As an attendee, you truly motivated me to make some positive changes in my lifestyle. You can count that I will be watching more carefully my diet and exercise! Thank you again for your help in making Healthy Women, Healthy Lives a successful event!"
- | Michelle Vanderburg, Presbyterian Healthcare System
"Your presentations were thoughtful, sensitive to the audiences, and provided excellent guidance for those seeking to improve their lives. On top of all that, you were a delightful dinner guest on Saturday evening. Let's keep in touch...and perhaps we can book you for a return engagement in 2005."
- | Michael Traphagan, Preferred Care
"It was awesome. Dr. Atkinson was certainly the right choice for our group--she was intellegent, entertaining and very personable. Everyone enjoyed meeting her and becoming educated on women's health issues."
- | Jamie Pickrell, Experience Events
