Biography

Jill Sonke, PhD, is currently serving as a US Cultural Policy Fellow with Stanford University. She is also Co-director of the EpiArts Lab, a National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab at UF in partnership with University College London, and Director of Research Initiatives and a Research Professor in the UF Center for Arts in Medicine. 

Dr. Sonke served during the pandemic as a senior advisor to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vaccine Confidence and Demand Team on the COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence Task Force, and served from 2021-2025 as Director of National Research and Impact for the One Nation/One Project initiative. She currently serves on the steering committee and as an Affiliated Researcher in the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, established by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Steinhardt School at New York University, Community Jameel, and CULTURUNNERS, and as an editorial board member for Health Promotion Practice journal.

With 30+ years of leadership in the field of arts in health and a PhD in arts in public health from Ulster University in Northern Ireland, Jill is active in research and policy advocacy nationally and internationally. She is a dancer, amateur musician, and a methods researcher with over 100 publications. She is the recipient of a New Forms Florida Fellowship Award, a State of Florida Individual Artist Fellowship Award, a NISOD Excellence in Teaching Award, a UF Internationalizing the Curriculum Award, a UF Most Outstanding Service Learning Faculty Award, a UF Public Health Champions award, a UF Cross-Campus Faculty Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and over 350 grants for her programs and research.