Evonne Kaplan-Liss, MD MPH

Dr. Evonne Kaplan-Liss serves as Director of the Center for Compassionate Communication at UCSD's Sanford Institute for Empathy & Compassion, bringing a unique blend of journalism and medicine to healthcare communication training. Her remarkable career began at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, leading to work as a researcher for ABC News Nightline, before pursuing medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She holds board certifications in both pediatrics and preventive medicine, complemented by an MPH from Columbia University. As the Founding Medical Program Director at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, she trained thousands of healthcare professionals in empathetic communication. Before joining UCSD, she made history as the first dean-level position focused on communication training at TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, where she developed The Compassionate Practice® curriculum. Her Coursera course "A New Communication Framework for Healthcare" integrates practices from theater, narrative medicine, journalism, and public health to teach compassionate communication skills. Her innovative approach combines her expertise in journalism, medicine, and public health to transform how healthcare providers communicate with patients, colleagues, and the public.