Roger Figueroa, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Sc.

BOSTON (AP) — Judges order the federal government to use contingency funds for SNAP food aid payments during the shutdown.

Photos: Food banks scramble to get ready as SNAP funding deadline looms Some 42 million people in the U.S. who rely on SNAP benefits could soon join the already long lines at the nation's food banks and pantries that are also serving struggling federal workers.

Some 42 million people in the U.S. who rely on SNAP benefits could soon join the already long lines at the nation's food banks and pantries that are also serving struggling federal workers. n.pr/436mKVB

Canvas, the course management platform used by my university (and many others), has been down all day due to the AWS outage. It has prompted some good discussions about how much critical infrastructure is now outsourced to a few companies.

$1.2 trillion divided by 342 million pop. = $3,509 per person in the United States.

Event details: Equity on the Table: A conversation about public health, food access, and climate change. October 23, 5 PM Headshot of Dr. Roger Figueroa, Cornell University and a quote he shares about the panel: "I look forward to engaging in a rich conversation about equity considerations at the intersection of climate change, food security, and public health. We are at a critical point in time where we must bridge diverse perspectives to act in the depths of these intersecting issues."

For #WorldFoodDay today, Metcalf Institute is gearing up for our Fall Lecture next Thursday — Equity on the Table: A Conversation about Public Health, Food Access, and Climate Change! We checked in with panelist @rogerfigphd.bsky.social of @cornelluniversity.bsky.social
www.uri.edu/news/2025/10...

Happening today @1pm ET. Join the discussion if you're able! I'll be starting things off with grounding thoughts on Medicaid & structural racism. The conversation to follow will center on strategies community-based orgs can take to keep folks on Medicaid.

meetattheintersection.org/a-crucial-mo...

Democratic governors form a public health alliance in a rebuke of Trump They're framing it as a way to share data and messages about threats, emergency preparedness and public health policy at a time when the federal government isn't doing its job in public health.

They're framing it as a way to share data and messages about threats, emergency preparedness and public health policy at a time when the federal government isn't doing its job in public health. n.pr/48PdMQj

How to Lead When the Conditions for Success Suddenly Disappear In today’s volatile environment, the conditions for success rarely stay static. Sponsors move on. Budgets shrink. Regulations change. The leaders who endure aren’t those who cling to the original desi...

“There’s no single playbook for resilience. It’s built through a combination of reflection, reprioritization, and readiness.”

How to Lead When the Conditions for Success Suddenly Disappear

hbr.org/2025/10/how-...

Government shutdown threatens food aid program relied on by millions of families Experts say a food aid program that helps 6 million low-income mothers and young children will run out of federal money unless the government shutdown ends within two weeks.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, also known as WIC, will run out of federal money within two weeks unless the government shutdown ends, experts say. The food aid program helps more than 6 million low-income mothers and young children.

Are you a scientist, journalist, or civil society researcher studying New York State's distraction-free school policy, the one that bans internet-enabled devices in schools from bell to bell?

If so, I want to hear from you, as I refine a project to archive & classify published school policies.

Pick one or two lanes and keep at it. You are one person and cannot do everything or take 10 actions a day.

Graphic introducing new SSN member Roger Figueroa. On the left, text reads: 'NEW SSN MEMBER. Roger Figueroa, Assistant Professor in Social and Behavioral Science in Nutrition, Cornell University. Expertise: Inequality, Children & Families, Public Health.' On the right, a photo of Roger Figueroa smiling, wearing glasses, a dark blazer, and light blue shirt, with arms crossed.

We are thrilled to welcome @rogerfigphd.bsky.social of Cornell University to the network! Figueroa’s research examines the role of social services & policies (such as childcare & food assistance), as well as sustainable food systems.

Learn more from his member profile: scholars.org/scholar/roge...

Trump administration uses taxpayer dollars to blame Democrats for government shutdown Federal employees across the government reported seeing similar messages. Experts say the messages may violate ethics laws meant to keep partisan politics out of day-to-day governing.

Federal employees across the government reported seeing similar messages. Experts say the messages may violate ethics laws meant to keep partisan politics out of day-to-day governing.

Data manipulation within the US Federal Government A US Department of Veterans Affairs dataset compiling veteran health-care use in 2021 was quietly amended on March 5, 2025. A column titled gender was renamed sex, and the words were also switched in ...

"Data manipulation by the US Gov...makes crucial datasets untrustworthy and unusable. If the US Government secretly changes datasets for political reasons, researchers relying on the data might erroneously recommend ineffective or counterproductive interventions."
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Tell Democrats to Stand Up for Public Health in the Budget With negotiations on a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open past September 30th at a standstill, Defend Public Health believes that House and Senate Democrats MUST play ha...

URGENT! Write your Democratic Senators and Reps with a plea to stand firm in the budget negotiations. If we don’t prevail now, we will end up with huge budget cuts to public health programs and workforce and loss of health care access for millions.
actionnetwork.org/letters/tell...

Thanks for the incredible support. Couldn’t have done it without Dominik and Rachel on your team!

"When countries spend more on social services like Head Start, everyone’s health outcomes are better."

@rogerfigphd.bsky.social (Cornell) writes on the precarious future of Head Start in NY & urges state policymakers to treat it not only as an education program, but also as a public health one. ⤵️

Commentary: As feds cut public assistance, New York can act to protect Head Start eligibility Changing how families become eligible can keep them in the program. And that's important, because Head Start boosts not only kids' learning, but their lifelong health.

Pleased to share my latest Op-Ed published in @timesunion.com. In this piece, I examine how funding cuts to public assistance programs may impact Head Start and eligible families. Huge S/O to @scholars.org for their guidance editing and pitching the article.

www.timesunion.com/opinion/arti...

"Health losses attributed to anthropogenic climate change," a brief communication in the journal Nature Climate Change. There's a map showing regions of the world, and pie charts of relevant studies as they apply to different health impacts like "heat-related deaths" and "maternal and child health"

🚨 NEW: Climate change is already causing 30,000 deaths per year - a global annual economic loss of $100-350B USD - but the true damage is probably 10x higher. Out TODAY in Nature Climate Change: the first systematic look at the science of "health impact attribution" 🔓 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

When the state can bully organizations to cancel television shows and fire people for speech, we don’t live in anything close to a functioning democracy.

UC employees, not waiting on leaders, sue Trump for 'financial coercion' over UCLA cuts University of California faculty, students and staff on Tuesday sued President Trump over a $1.2-million penalty against UCLA and federal demands over campus changes. They argued that the actions camp...

BREAKING:

A historic coalition of national & California labor unions led by the AAUP filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging the illegal & coercive use of civil rights laws to attack the University of California system & the rights of their members.

Happy Mexican Independence Day, Illinois.

Inflation climbs in August as grocery and gas prices jump Inflation accelerated in August as Americans paid more for gasoline and groceries. Over the last 12 months, consumer prices have risen 2.9%.

Inflation accelerated in August as Americans paid more for gasoline and groceries. Over the last 12 months, consumer prices have risen 2.9%.

One of the country's foremost food policy experts said Tuesday that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again report is "a report about intentions. It's not about actions."

Opinion | It’s Not You, It’s the Food

Today in @nytimes.com , @juliabelluz.bsky.social and I share our thoughts on our toxic food environment, what to do about it, & how MAHA leadership is falling short by promoting wellness products & industry cooperation instead of better science, policy & regulation. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/o...

Solidarity-based Epidemiology: A guest post Re-distributing power inside and outside of the field

Public health is under attack. It’s not enough to fight back, we need to make our field better for everyone.

Today’s E is for Epi guest post by @jessieish.bsky.social & Nadia Abuelezam asks “what would a solidarity-based epidemiology look like?”

Read it here: open.substack.com/pub/epiellie...

Northeastern states consider regional approach to vaccine guidance after CDC changes Shifting national vaccine policy under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has Massachusetts and other states exploring a regional approach.

At this point, I know of NM & New England states. I'm sure we'll see more... "Health officials from MA, ME, VT, CT, RI, NY, NJ, and PA met this week to consider coordinating their own vaccine recommendations, separate from the federal govt."
🛟😷 Lawsky Medsky health policy

Assistant/Associate Professor (2 Vacancies)

I am chairing the search for two (2) Tenure Track positions at the Department of Health Services, Policy and Management at
@uscarnoldschool.bsky.social

We are looking to move relatively fast so please get your applications in quickly

#HealthPolicy
#AcademicSky

uscjobs.sc.edu/postings/194...

#Psychjobs
My former institution Colby College is hiring a tenure track in intergroup relations, broadly defined & open to many psych areas (not just social). This is my replacement line. I truly enjoyed my time at Colby and it's a great dept! Happy to answer Qs if I can.
apply.interfolio.com/172552

Opinion | America First? Not When It Comes to Your Health.

The @NYTimes has done a fantastic job on explaining what the Trump administration’s savage
cuts to biomedical research mean: cures that won’t happen. Please share this widely. This is a catastrophe. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/o...