Millennium Magazine_5th Ed

214 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine S usan Silliman Addiss received a BA from Smith College in 1951, and upon a friend’s recommendation, she went back to school and received two degrees in 1969. Ms. Addiss attended Yale University, where she obtained a Master of Public Health and a Master of Urban Studies. Dedicated to the health industry, Ms. Addiss retired in 1995 after serving as health commissioner for the Connecticut Department of Public Health. Prior to this appointment, she was a health director of the Quinnipiack Valley Health District from 1985 to 1991 and health planning bureau chief at the Connecticut Department of Health Services from 1976 to 1985. Additionally, from 1972 to 1976, Ms. Addiss was a health director at the Lower Naugatuck Valley Public Health District, and from 1969 to 1972, she was a health educator at the New Haven Health Department. With her vast experience in the field, Ms. Addiss taught at Yale University and the University of Connecticut Health Center between 1970 and 1995. For excellence in her career, Ms. Addiss was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumna Award from the Association of Yale Alumni in Public Health in 1994, and she won a Smith College Medal in 1981. Ms. Addiss recognizes her mentors the late Bill Kissick, Priscilla Kissick and the late Lowell Levin for their unparalleled guidance over the years. Ms. Addiss’ career highlight was being “drafted” into a rewarding career of public service and social justice in public health. The main goal of her career was to improve social justice and equity, and all of her daily activities were part of the local fabric of the community. At the local level, she felt a sense of fulfillment, knowing that her work directly improved the quality of life in her community. Ms. Addiss was president of the American Public Health Association in 1984, president of the Connecticut Public Health Association from 1985 to 1987, and president of Quota International of New Haven from 1996 to 1997. She was also board chair of Planned Parenthood of Connecticut from 1999 to 2002 and is a life member and sits on the board of governors of the Westover School. SUSAN SILLIMAN ADDISS PUBLIC HEALTH COMMISSIONER (RETIRED) Connecticut Department of Public Health Hartford, CT HEALTH AND WELLNESS