For the last twenty years, Linda Usdin’s work has concentrated on neighborhood development and community change. She has worked extensively in the neighborhoods of New Orleans, where she was born and raised.

During the last ten years, Dr. Usdin has worked for local and national foundations as a program development and evaluation consultant. Since 1998, she has worked for the Annie E. Casey Foundation in evaluating and capturing the knowledge gained from the Making Connections Initiative. In addition, she has taught courses for the South Central Public Health Leadership Institute, the Centers for Disease Control, and Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

Dr. Usdin served as the lead strategic planner for a citywide violence prevention initiative in New Orleans and has facilitated planning processes for groups such as the National Network of Public Health Institutes, the Louisiana Public Health Institute, and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

Dr. Usdin graduated magna cum laude with a BA from Duke University, and then earned her master’s degree in public health from the University of California at Berkeley and a DrPH from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. The focus of her academic work has been on the planning and evaluation of community development and change initiatives.