Remembering Andrew Pleasant’s career and contributions

Abstract

This paper provides reflections on the career and contributions of Andrew Pleasant during his almost 30-year career in the health literacy field, from the perspectives of three of his close friends, Christina Zarcadoolas, Frederico Peres, and Catina O’Leary. As a health literacy professional, Andrew published 75 papers, nine chapters, and one book, becoming, over these years, very active from a local to an international level as a community researcher, university faculty member, and community organization leader. Across diverse settings, he wrote and shared his thoughts formally and informally to generate conversation about health literacy, science communication, environmental sciences, community engagement and public health, among many other topics. It was a labor of love for Andrew to communicate complex health and scientific information to people most in need of understanding information within the context of their lives, always reminding to those who had the privilege to share professional and personal experiences with him that we need to ask people, early and often, if we are getting it right and, when we are not, ask them how to do better. Accompanying his many written contributions to the field, Andrew’s legacy is his passion to appreciate, listen, and learn.