YALE UNIVERSITY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Education Specialist / Coordinator
Danielle Casioppo is an Education Specialist/Coordinator and certified Yoga Teacher with Being Well at Yale. Danielle focuses on offering experiential programs which increase knowledge, expand awareness, and enrich the well-being of Yale faculty and staff. She received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Albertus Magnus College and a Master of Science in Applied Psychology with a special focus on Community Psychology from Sacred Heart University. Additionally she completed foundational course work in Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and the New York certificate in Applied Positive Psychology program. Related to this, Danielle is a charter certified Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice instructor and a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach. She is also a certified Mental Health First Aid instructor.
Three of Danielle's signature programs are Rise & Shine!, a chair and/or mat-based yoga class which emphasizes accessibility over perfect form, Yale Community Drop-in Meditation which began in 2015, still continues via Zoom with a diverse and supportive group of new and experienced practitioners from across Yale, and How to Help: Tips from Mental Health First Aid, an introduction to the life-saving international course.
Job Titles:
- Director, Being Well of Yale and Yale Well
Lisa Kimmel, MS, RD, CDN, is the Director of Being Well at Yale. She is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Nutritionist. Prior to her current position, she was Senior Manager for Being Well at Yale, the sports nutritionist for Yale Athletics and the coordinator of outpatient nutrition services at Yale-New Haven Hospital where she served on the clinical faculty for over 15 years. She led the Tobacco Free Yale effort amongst other university wellness initiatives to support the program's vision to create and sustain a culture, community and environment in which wellness is a core value and measure of excellence at Yale.
Her portfolio expanded during the 2023-2024 academic year to lead Yale Well, the student wellness program, to build and align wellness resources for the Yale community out of the Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life.
Lisa co-authored, Generation Extra Large, Rescuing our children from the epidemic of obesity, which received national media attention. She has also been extensively published in professional journals and magazines and appeared on national and local television and radio. As an advisory board member for SuperChefs, she helped design Westin Hotel's "Eat Well Menu for Kids" which is now offered world-wide. She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Connecticut Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She is a graduate of James Madison University and completed her dietetic internship at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
In 1997, she was named "Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year." In 2013, she was honored as Yale's "Working Mother of the Year." In 2021, she received the Linda K. Lorimer award for Distinguished Service to Yale University.
Job Titles:
- Dietician / Health Educator
- Member of the Academy of Nutrition
- Registered Dietitian
Rebecca Purcell is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Certified Nutritionist. She received her Bachelor's degree in Dietetics from University of Connecticut and Master's degree in Nutrition from the University of Saint Joseph. Before joining Being Well at Yale, Rebecca worked for over 10 years as a Clinical Dietitian specializing in weight management, renal nutrition, and disease prevention and treatment. During this time, she was an adjunct instructor at Quinnipiac University and a preceptor to dietetic interns at the University of Saint Joseph.
Rebecca is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutritionists Practice Group, and the Connecticut Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.