Ernie Medina, MPH, DrPH
Ernie Medina, Jr. graduated from Andrews University, and went on to complete his Masters in Public Health (MPH)-Health Education and his Doctorate in Public Health (DrPH)-Preventive Care from Loma Linda Univ. School of Public Health in 1993. For over 21 years, he worked in health education at Beaver Medical Group, focusing on weight loss, diabetes, smoking cessation, and stress management. He led small group classes and saw patients one-on-one for lifestyle behavior change.
In 2015, Dr. Medina, Jr. came back to LLU School of Public Health to join the faculty, teaching in the Masters in Health Education and Wellness Coaching program, and the DrPH in Preventive Care program. He’s also the Alumni Representative for the SPH Alumni Association. He’s a certified exercise physiologist with the American College of Sports Medicine, and a nationally board certified health and wellness coach. Finally, he works with various LLU employee wellness programs for diabetes prevention and smoking cessation. In the summer, he helps lead out in a pediatric obesity summer camp called Operation Fit, a program that teaches health living to kids.
Dr. Medina, Jr. and his family practice what they preach when it comes to physical activity. He currently coaches his Kid’s Mountain Biking Club 2 on weekly rides, and is also a certified pickleball coach, teaching individual and group classes. Finally, he is an adjunct professor at LaSierra Univ where he teaches the pickleball class and guest lectures in several health sciences classes. His wife, Keri, teaches in the LLU School of Nursing and is an avid runner, and his daughter, Summer, is a video producer/editor for Loma Linda Univ Church Media team and is also a runner and mountain biker.