RI Dept of Health Institute
Mar 26, 2024
Amy Nunn, Executive Director
RI Dept of Health Institute

Dr. Amy Nunn is Executive Director of the Rhode Island Public Health Institute (RIPHI). She is also a Professor of Public Health and Medicine at Brown University. She is best known for her Dr. Nunn is best known for her innovative community partnerships and advocacy to promote health equity and social justice. She started Open Door Health in 2020, the state's first and only LGBTQ clinic. The clinic now has about 7,000 patients and recently began a statewide behavioral health program. 

In 2021, in partnership with over 40 other institutions, Dr. Nunn launched NOURISH RI. NourishRI is a statewide advocacy campaign promoting a SNAP incentive program. This program proposed doubling the value of SNAP for Rhode Islanders when they use SNAP to purchase fruits and vegetables. This advocacy initiative continued in 2022, and in June 2022, the RI legislature appropriated $11.5 million to fund the nation's first statewide SNAP incentive program. The program will reach approximately 140,000 Rhode Islanders who use SNAP in retail grocery stores across the state, including 40,000 children and 60,000 older adults. 

In 2022, Dr. Nunn led a Rhode Island advocacy effort to sponsor legislation that limits out of pocket costs for HIV prevention medications, and to allow pharmacists to prescribe PrEP.  In June 2022, Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee signed the bill into law at Open Door Health; Rhode Island now has one of the most progressive PrEP laws in the country. 

Dr. Nunn holds masters and doctoral degrees from the Harvard School of Public Health and is a former Fulbright Scholar. She speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese. She is the proud mother of Agustin Velasco (15) and Valentina Velasco (12). 

Dr. Nunn is a proud alumna of Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas and also loves working on racial justice issues.