A Trusted Friend in a Complicated World

AP

Aviva Patz

location-pin Montclair, New Jersey

School: Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism; Barnard College

Expertise: Health and wellness, travel and beauty/style

Aviva Patz

  • Executive editor of Reader’s Digest and TheHealthy.com
  • 25 years in media with thousands of bylines, including in Health, Prevention, Women’s Health, Cooking Light, Redbook, SELF and more
  • Coined Reader’s Digest’s tag line, “A trusted friend in a complicated world,” as well as the brand promise
  • Awards and distinctions: MORE Award, Media Orthopaedic Reporting Excellence (2016); Presenter: Media PR Best Practices, EvolveMKD (2023); Gift Guide Best Practices (2019); Panelist, PRSA Travel & Tourism Conference (2017); Guest Lecturer, Fordham University (2016–2018); TV appearances: NBC, Fox News, Inside Edition, Extra (2000); 10 live local radio shows in one day to promote RD title (2018)

Experience

Aviva is an award-winning health and lifestyle journalist with more than 25 years of print and digital writing and editing experience, including as executive editor of Psychology Today. As executive editor of Reader's Digest and TheHealthy.com, she guides digital strategy to reach ambitious cross-channel and cross-platform publishing goals while maintaining high journalistic standards. Under her leadership, Reader’s Digest smashed traffic records for 10 months straight and earned several awards: Finalist, Editorial Team of the Year, Digiday Media (2023); Best Pet’s Article, CAPS (2023); and Google US SEO Visibility Winner, Sistrex (2022). Aviva has written thousands of feature articles in the health and wellness space for top publications including Health, Prevention, Women’s Health, Men’s Health, InStyle, Shape, Fitness, Cooking Light, Redbook, SELF, Parents, New York Magazine, Latina and more. She has written books for Weight Watchers and Weight Loss Buddy, a weekly ezine for Redbook, special-interest publications for American Baby, monthly columns for Health and Latina, branded content for Allergan and other beauty and lifestyle brands, and produced annual natural beauty awards for Prevention. When Aviva gets a chance to write these days, it’s usually about her secret passions: travel, beauty and shopping. She lives outside NYC with her husband, two daughters and a puggle named Hazel, and she fronts the pop-soul band The Hey Honeys.

Education

Barnard College, Columbia University Bachelor’s degree in English and Political Science Graduated cum laude Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism Master’s degree in Magazine Journalism

Articles

Meet the Only City in the World That Straddles Two Continents

An eclectic mix of cultures, traditions, flavors and colors greets visitors to Istanbul, where Europe meets Asia, East meets West, and ancient and modern coexist.

The 12 Golden Rules for Stress-Free Air Travel

From the moment you book your tickets, use this guide to ease your mind and your passage, so you’ll touch down rested, relaxed, and ready for anything.