Dr. Michael Pejsach (PAY-SOCK) has been a professionally prepared health behaviorist and educator for more than 25 years. While teaching public school in Sumter, South Carolina, he started his health education career at the University of South Carolina.  He attended part-time participating in a a state-supported drug education course series (pharmacology, curriculum and counseling).  He began working full time on his Masters with Dr. Murray Vincent, after being awarded an assistantship as a health counselor and educator with the M.R.F.I.T. project (under Dr. Steven Blair). 

His health education experiences include teaching such content courses as Human Sexuality, Health and Wellness, Drug and Alcohol, First Aid and CPR, Environmental Health,  Community Health, Public Health, School Health and Worksite Health.  He also teaches numerous “process courses” including Social Marketing, Planning and Evaluation (PRECEDE/PROCEED), Psycho-social/Behavioral Theories of Health Education, Methods for Weight Management, and Media and Health Behavior. 

In addition to consulting in health behavior, social marketing, and communication, Dr. Pejsach has been teaching martial arts (WTF Tae Kwon Do) since 1990, turning his hobby into a full time endeavor.  With his wife Karen he is the co-owner-operator of  Red Phoenix Martial Arts, located in a stand alone school house, at 4636 W. Esplanade Avenue, in Metairie, Louisiana. 

Other JOBS: One year before beginning his college career, Dr. Pejsach worked at E.F. Hutton, 61 Broadway in the “Wall Street” section of New York City. He started as a “tub puller,” pulling data card for stocks traded during the day. In less than one year at E.F. Hutton he was promoted to and was trained as an IBM 360 computer operator. While a student at the University of Georgia Dr. Pejsach's summer jobs included operating one of the first "multi-tasking" mainframes (RCA Spectra) for NBC-TV (where he actually printed Johnny Carson’s payroll checks!). After college, and before taking his first public school teaching job in Sumter, S.C., Dr. Pejsach was promoted to payroll manager at Gimbels Department Store.

            Notable THEATER Experience: While at UGA (University of Georgia) Dr. Pejsach produced and directed the first ever University of Georgia musical theater production.  A stage was constructed in the ballroom of the University Union. “The Fantastiks,” was a smash hit with a packed house each night of the production. In addition to producing and directing, Dr. Pejsach played Mortimer the “man who dies.”  While at the University of South Carolina he played “El Gallo” for the Town Theater production of "The Fantastiks. Town Theater is one of the south’s oldest community theaters.  Dr. Pejsach has also performed in Guys an Dolls (Sky Masterson- he'll sing a great version of "Luck Be A Lady Tonight," if the fee is right),  The Wall,  Cactus Flower (Igor) , and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, among other stage productions.

            MEDIA INNOVATIONS: Dr. Pejsach attend Temple University for his doctorate. He chose Temple because three of his best teachers at the University of South Carolina, Drs. Vincent, Costello, and Hohn,  were Temple University Alumni.  While at Temple, Dr. Pejsach decided to explore the possibilities of using mass media for health behavior change.  In addition to his required health education doctoral course work he completed 35 semester hours in Radio Television and Film (RTF Department), studying production and aesthetics under Alex Toogood. His doctoral dissertation included the production and evaluation of a health education instructional video program. His co-produced video won the Bronze Award at the International Film and Television Festival of New York (1980).  In the early and mid 1990's Dr. Pejsach also produced several effective public service television ads on Mammography and Pap Tests. Video innovatins can be seen at http://www.healthbehavior.com/coffeeshop/index.html

            COMPUTER INNOVATIONS: Dr. Pejsach is the founder of the first Health Education telecommunications service, the Health Education Electronic Forum, or "HEEF." While a faculty member at Iowa State University in 1983 he set up the system in his home on an Apple //+ with a 300 baud modem. Initially it was available during the hours of 7 and 11 p.m. every night. Innovators merely dialed their modem in using standard software, entered a user name and password, connected and accessed a standard menu similar to menus found typically on the left side of the screen on most web pages. End users could E-mail each other, access software and files (handouts, course syllabi, etc.) and join public bulletin boards, similar to modern list servers. In its first year of operation, 1983, the HEEF had over 50 hits per week.

With a small grant from the American Medical Association and, later, the Association for the Advancement of Health Education, now the American Association of Health Education (part of AAHPERD), the HEEF increased it's capacity; HEEF was upgraded to 5 -28.8 bps modems, and 10MB (not GB!) of hard disk storage , and became a 24-hour service (circa 1986). Unlike thousands of other "Bulletin Board Systems" (BBS's), the HEEF continued online, uninterrupted, until widespread Internet services were available. 

By the end of its run in 1990 the dial in/call-in only BBS and moving to the Internet. The HEEF had accumulated over 30,000 calls, mostly from teenagers: most of the HEEF's public forums were jammed with messages/discussions on sexuality and death and dying.

Currently the "HEEF" resides on the Center of Excellence in Education for Health Web site at http://healthbehavior.com. The Center of Excellence in Education for Health receives over 800,000 "hits" per year from consumers and health professionals world-wide.

"The technologies (methods and applications) we use to help volunteer participants adopt healthier behaviors have changed over the years. It is important for all of us to remember that we do not have to embrace “new technology” blindly. We shouldn't ignore it or deny it either.  If we, professionally prepared health educators, continue to adopt late, becoming late adopters of innovations, as apparently we have done in the past when we feared and/or rejected an array of educational mediums, we will fall further behind other health professionals. We can't afford to fall behind as they will step in and take our place." - Dr. Pejsach 

PERSONAL: Dr. Pejsach grew up in New York City. His mailing addresses included homes in Manhattan, “Kew Gardens,” in Queens, and in Flatbush, Brooklyn.   He met his wife, Karen, in “home room” at Newtown High School, Elmhurst, Queens (his last NYC address). He has been married since 1972 ("he was 12 then!").  Dr. Pejsach has three sons, Tim (born in South Carolina), Josh and Ben (both born in Ames. Iowa). 

Dr. Pejsach has lived in the same house in Kenner for the past 19 years.  After renovating their entire kitchen BEFORE Hurricane Katrina he and Karen persevered and reconstructed the kitchen again, as well as the entire first floor. The first floor and its contents were lost due to the massive flood damage caused when a few politicians decided to turn off the pumps when Hurricane Katrina came into Kenner.

Dr. Pejsach  enjoys sparring, web design, movies, and, of course, family.  If he had his way he would breed Bulldogs (UGA XX, XI, XXII and so forth). 

Dr. Pejsach burning desire is “to have an impact and make a difference in how people perceive and act on behalf of their own personal health.” “There is no easy way to 'do it;' it is not an easy road, but there is a solution for every problem."

Dr. Pejsach’s Key To Success: perseverance, focus and having as much fun as often as possible.