Michael O'Donnell is founder and Editor in Chief of the American Journal of Health Promotion, Inc. Founded in 1986, the American Journal of Health Promotion was the first scientific journal to address the health promotion field. It remains the most widely read scientific publication devoted exclusively to health promotion with subscribers in 50 countries:. The Journal also sponsors the annual Art and Science of Health Promotion Conference which attracts over 500 people each year. As editor-in-chief, Dr. O'Donnell has completed composite editorial reviews of over 1600 manuscripts. As President, he has organized 17 national conferences. Dr. O'Donnell is also founder and president of the Health Promotion Research Foundation.

Dr. O’Donnell is also Chief Wellness Officer at the UPMC Health Plan. Previously, he was Director of Health and Wellness at the Cleveland Clinic. Prior to starting the Journal, Dr. O'Donnell worked in hospital management for seven years, and in management consulting for four years. He has served on the faculty of three universities.

During the 1998-1999 academic year, Dr. O'Donnell moved to Seoul, Korea with his family to serve as a Senior Fulbright Scholar and visiting professor in the department of preventive medicine at Catholic University and the Graduate School of Health Sciences at Yonsei University. While in Korea, he was involved in a wide range of strategic planning, organization development, fund raising and research projects. He continues to be involved in a longitudinal study on the relationship between health risk factors and medical care costs in Korea.

After returning from Korea, he organized Health Promotion Advocates, a non-profit advocacy group committed to integrating health promotion concepts into national health policy. Health Promotion Advocates has worked with members of Congress to introduce bills that will enhance health promotion research and planning (S866 &HR5835: Health Promotion Funding Integrated Research, Synthesis and Training (FIRST) Act and provide tax credits to employers who provide comprehensive workplace health promotion programs (S1753&HR3717: Healthy Workforce Act)

Dr. O'Donnell earned a PhD in Health Behavior and Health Education from the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, an MBA in Entrepreneurship and General Management and an MPH in Hospital Administration from the University of California, Berkeley. He completed his undergraduate work in Psychobiology at Oberlin College. During high school, he lived in Seoul, Korea with seven brothers and sisters while his father served in the Peace Corps.

Dr. O'Donnell's publications include over 100 articles, book chapters and columns, books and workbooks. His first book, Health Promotion in the Workplace (John Wiley and Sons, 1984) was the first reference/textbook on workplace health promotion, and was nominated for Books of the Year Award by the American Journal of Nursing in 1985. The second edition (Delmar, 1994) was translated into Korean. The third edition (Delmar, 2002) remains a standard text in colleges and universities around the United States and has been translated into Chinese.

Dr. O'Donnell's awards include Alumni of the Year from Seoul Foreign School (1999), Distinguished Leadership and Service Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Worksite Health Promotion (1997), Young Professional Award from the Society for Public Health Education, Great Lakes Chapter (1990), selection as a Fellow by the Association for Fitness in Business (1985), and the Bausch Lomb Award in Science from the University of Rochester (1970).

Dr. O'Donnell has presented over 200 keynote, breakout, and workshop presentations on six continents, provided consulting services to almost 100 employers, health care organizations, government agencies and foundations and served on boards and committees for 36 profit and non-profit organizations.

He is an avid swimmer and hiker, and has been a vegetarian for more 30 years. He strives to achieve the model of health promotion espoused by the American Journal of Health Promotion: a balance of physical, emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual health.