TOPEKA — Tatiana Lin, a senior analyst and strategy team leader at the Kansas Health Institute, has been elected president of a national organization that supports health impact assessment work.

Lin will serve a two-year term as president of the Society of Practitioners of Health Impact Assessment (SOPHIA), an international association that serves 370 members spanning 14 countries.

An HIA is a policy tool that uses research, data and community input to estimate a decision’s potential positive and negative effects on health. An HIA can be used to inform the decision-making process, but it does not take a position on policy.

“We congratulate Tatiana on being elected by her peers to serve as president of SOPHIA. Her diverse experience in policy research and knowledge of the HIA field will be a great asset to the organization,” said Robert F. St. Peter, president and chief executive of KHI. “Tatiana’s leadership will raise awareness of HIAs as an important policymaking tool not only in Kansas but worldwide.”

Lin has worked at KHI since 2007 and leads its community health improvement strategy team, setting direction for projects promoting the health of Kansas communities.

Since 2010, she has emphasized opportunities to incorporate the Health in All Policies approach into policymaking at the state and local levels. Her HIA work at KHI includes “Potential Health Effects of Casino Development in Southeast Kansas,” which received numerous awards, including the Best HIA of 2012.

“I am excited about the opportunity to serve as the president of SOPHIA,” Lin said. “It is an honor to lead the organization committed to advancing the health impact assessment field and supporting HIA practitioners from around the world. I look forward to fostering this mission, exploring new horizons and bringing my knowledge back to Kansas.”

KHI is the parent organization of the editorially independent KHI News Service.