Faculty and Academic Staff

Wes Alles, PhD, is the Director of the Health Improvement Program (HIP) at the Stanford Prevention Research Center (SPRC), where he has championed and advanced community and worksite health promotion for over 20 years. Dr. Alles received his BS from West Chester State University and both a master’s degree in health education and a doctoral degree in health and safety from the University of Illinois.

A true health advocate and researcher, Dr. Alles and his team disseminate SPRC research, conduct outreach, and facilitate the adoption and implementation of health promotion programs on the local, national, and global level. Under his leadership, the Health Improvement Program has provided education to over 2 million individuals, through worksite health promotion programs, community health coalitions, collaborative and consultative relationships with schools, nonprofit organizations, departments of public health, hospitals, health plans, and universities. For more than a decade Dr. Alles worked with the YMCA of the USA to develop, implement, and evaluate health promotion programs that are being delivered throughout the nation.

Dr. Alles has co-authored four college textbooks and many articles in peer-reviewed journals. He has served as the Chair of the California Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Coalition, an organization that promotes heart health through research, teaching, and advocacy. For more than ten years he has been the Chair of the advisory committee to the California Department of Public Health on the chronic disease block grant funding. Dr. Alles has served as the President of the South Bay Business Group on Health. He served on the Board of Directors for a 525-bed District Hospital and during that time served as Board Chair for two years. Dr. Alles has represented Stanford at significant meetings held in Beijing, China; Tokyo, Japan; Lugano, Switzerland; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.