20 Oct Dr. Julie Elginer Honored With Bruin Excellence in Civic Engagement Award
UCLA Alumni Affairs proudly recognized Dr. Julie Elginer, an Adjunct Associate Professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health (FSPH), with the prestigious Bruin Excellence in Civic Engagement Award – 2025. This annual honor celebrates exceptional Bruins who are actively serving in civic positions, demonstrating visionary leadership, and significantly improving the quality of life in our communities.
Dr. Elginer has dedicated her post-doctoral career to civic service and public health advocacy since earning her Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) from UCLA in 2011. Her commitment spans four key civic leadership roles at both the state and local levels, underscoring her broad impact across California.
At the state level, Dr. Elginer has been instrumental in professional oversight and consumer protection. From 2012 to 2017, she was a gubernatorial appointee to the Board of Chiropractic Examiners, where she provided crucial regulatory oversight for approximately 13,000 licensees across California. Demonstrating continued trust and expertise, in 2024 she was appointed by California Assembly Speaker Rivas to the Board of Dental Hygienists, extending her oversight to the state’s 22,000 licensed professionals to ensure consumer safety.
Locally, Dr. Elginer has shaped policy in the City of Calabasas. She served five years on the Environmental Commission, including terms as Chair and Vice Chair, advocating for conservation efforts that earned her the Carl Gibbs Environmental Award in 2022. Since 2021, she has also been a driving force on the Calabasas Parks, Recreation and Education Commission, where she currently serves as Chair.
Within the UCLA FSPH, Dr. Elginer is a valued faculty member in the Department of Health Policy & Management and Community Health Sciences. She teaches “Building Advocacy Skills: Reproductive Health Focus” in the Executive MPH and “Healthcare Marketing” in the MHA and Executive MPH programs, directly integrating her real-world civic expertise into the curriculum.
Congratulations to Dr. Elginer, a remarkable alumna and Adjunct Associate Professor, for this well-deserved recognition of her decades of civic engagement and public service.