Cheryl L. Perry, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Perry began her career as a junior high and high school teacher, and junior high school vice-principal, in Sacramento and Davis, California. She received her Ph.D. from Stanford University and joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota in 1980.

She has published over 180 articles in the peer-reviewed literature on health promotion and prevention programs with children and adolescents. Her primary research projects have included the Stanford Heart Disease Prevention Program, the Minnesota Heart Health Program, the Minnesota Smoking Prevention Program, the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH), Project Northland, 5 A Day Power Plus, and D.A.R.E. Plus. She was the senior scientific editor of the 1994 Surgeon General's Report on Preventing Tobacco Use among Young People and currently serves as principal investigator of several community-wide health behavior research projects concerning eating patterns, tobacco and alcohol use, and violence among children and adolescents. She served as an Expert Witness for the State of Minnesota in the 1998 landmark trial against the tobacco industry. Her recently published book is entitled Creating Health Behavior Change: How to Develop Community-Wide Programs for Youth (Sage Publications, July 1999).