Julia Rae Varnes received her Ph.D. from the University of Florida’s College of Health and Human Performance, also minoring in Research and Evaluation Methodology. A Master Certified Health Education Specialist, Dr. Varnes also holds two masters degrees, one in Health Science Education and one in Public Health. Dr. Varnes is currently the Director of the UF MPH Program, and a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Health Services, Research, Management, and Policy. She is also an Affiliate Professor with the Center for Gender, Sexualities, and Women’s Studies Research.
Prior to becoming faculty, Dr. Varnes worked at GatorWell Health Promotion Services as a Health Promotion Specialist in the area of Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Violence Prevention. Before that, Dr. Varnes was the Tobacco Program Coordinator for the University of Florida Area Health Education Centers (UF-AHEC) Program.
Focusing on psychosocial and emotional health, Dr. Varnes’ expertise is specific to interpersonal violence, objectification, and gender role expectations. Teaching both graduate and undergraduate courses, Dr. Varnes’ teaching is focused on practice-based health education/promotion and psychosocial health. In her teaching, advising, and mentoring, she aims to instill concepts of empowerment, compassion, acceptanace, and cultural competency in future professionals.
I began training in MI in 2008. In 2014, I began teaching others about MI. Through using MI skills and teaching others, I began to realize my passion for truly ‘helping’ others in the way that is person-centered and collaborative. I completed a TNT to become an MI trainer in 2017. I have continued to teach MI skills both in the classroom and outside the classroom. My experiences have allowed me to train and interact with individuals across disciplines including education, healthcare (physicians, physician’s assistants, physical therapists, and nurses), social work, and health education/promotion and public health. The practice of MI is foundational to my philosophy of teaching and health education practice.
