Announcement from Sara Elnakib, chair of the Department of Family and Community Health Sciences
Erin Comollo.
Please join me in welcoming Erin Comollo to Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) as a Family and Community Health Sciences (FCHS) Assistant Professor of Teaching. In this role, she will support the FCHS undergraduate minors, Health Equity and Holistic Wellness, manage our experiential learning internships, and lead special projects such as the New Jersey Healthy Communities Network and the FCHS programming at Healthy Harvest.
Before transitioning to community-engaged research, Comollo was a classroom teacher for more than 12 years. She holds a doctoral degree in Education from Rutgers University, where her dissertation focused on teacher professional development for child health promotion, and a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education and Supervision from The College of New Jersey. This interdisciplinary background informs her approach to creating research that bridges academic rigor with community relevance.
Comollo’s work centers on helping communities improve health equity through evidence-based strategies and collaborative partnerships. She has worked extensively with schools, communities, and organizations across New Jersey to implement nutrition, fitness, and community-based health initiatives. Her research and programming emphasize equity frameworks, social determinants of health, and community engagement practices. She helped develop Rutgers’ interdisciplinary Health Equity and Holistic Wellness minors, which equip undergraduate students with the knowledge and skills to address health inequities through coursework in social determinants of health, equity frameworks, and community engagement practices.
Beyond her academic work, Comollo is a Certified CrossFit Trainer and head nutrition coach. In this capacity, she supports member retention, provides individual nutrition coaching, and coordinates community events that promote fitness and nutrition. This hands-on work complements her research by keeping her connected to the practical realities of behavior change and health promotion. Comollo believes everyone deserves the opportunity to grow healthy and strong and is dedicated to working with others to make that happen through both research and practice.
Please join me in welcoming Erin Comollo to the RCE.
