Public Health Heroes Awards Ceremony

In addition to serving as director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Injury and Violence Prevention Program, Ms. Weiss is the executive director and a founder of the Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles. She holds a BS in molecular biology from California State University, Fullerton, and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from UCLA.

Ms. Weiss is an authority on public health surveillance of violence and violence related injuries. In addition, her work includes the epidemiology of gang homicides and assaults, intimate partner violence, pedestrian injuries among pre-school children, iron poisoning, drowning, evaluation of programs to reduce teen relationship and gang violence, and parenting for violence prevention. Ms. Weiss has designed and implemented grand rounds training and home visitor training for physicians and nurses to identify, diagnose, report, and refer victims of domestic violence. Ms. Weiss is a member of the Interagency Gang Task Force, Los Angeles County Family Violence Task Force, The Domestic Violence Council, the Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Death Review Team, the Los Angeles County Child Abuse Death Review Team, the American Academy of Pediatrics Poison Prevention and Injury Control Committee in Region 2, Women Against Gun Violence, the National HELP Network, and many other organizations directed toward reducing community violence and abuse. In addition, she has authored numerous papers, three book chapters, and is frequently called upon to make presentations to scientific, professional, and community conferences and meetings on the topic of violence as a public health issue.

Award Presenter

Ms. Weiss will be presented with her Public Health Hero Award by two Berkeley alumni, Lorraine and Jerry Factor, whose interest in helping to improve society for their children and grandchildren motivated them to become active supporters of the Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles. Their generosity of spirit and desire to make a difference is also evidenced by the support they’ve extended to both the UCLA and UC Berkeley Schools of Public Health.

The Challenge: Violence

Our nation's epidemic of violence was not even considered within the purview of public health until 1985 when then Surgeon General C. Everett Koop conducted the ﬁrst national workshop on violence and public health. Today, despite recent reductions in crime statistics, violence continues to threaten the lives of millions of Americans each year, disproportionately affecting children, adolescents, young adults, minority population and women. This fact is confirmed by a number of alarming statistics, including: homicide is the second leading cause of death for persons 15-24 years of age and is the leading cause of death for African-Americans in this age group; approximately 1.5 million women and 834,700 men are raped and/or physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually; and overall, suicide is the eighth leading cause of death for all Americans, and the third leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24.

The School of Public Health Responds

A number of activities undertaken at the Berkeley School of Public Health address violence as a public health issue, including the establishment of courses such as "Violence Prevention: A Community-Based Approach," which provides both a broad overview of this topic and specific sessions on research methodologies, data acquisition and analysis, program and policy development, and multidisciplinary approaches to violence prevention. Another course offering, titled "Health, Behavior and the Family," looks at family violence and examines approaches for public health interventions.

Under the direction of Dr. Linda Neuhauser, the University of California recently collaborated with the California Children and Families Commission, parents throughout the state, and many public and private partnerships, to produce the “Parents Guide” – a published resource that provides information to parents on what they can do to protect themselves and their children, what to do if attacked, and ways to prevent violence.

Due to a special grant program established by the Max Factor Family Foundation that offers stipend support, several MPH students have completed field placements with the Los Angeles Department of Health Services in the Injury and Violence Prevention Program. Student projects have ranged from Firearm Injury Taskforce Surveillance and Violence Prevention to Domestic Violence Epidemiology and Safe Communities. This practicum experience combined with classroom competencies, provides the student with the necessary tools to become community leaders in addressing the epidemic of violence.

The Emily Dion Endowment Fund, named in memory of a local child who was tragically the victim of a violent crime, provides fellowship support to students pursuing the study of violence as a public health issue.

	2001 Regional Hero Billie Weiss, M.P.H. Director, Injury and Violence Prevention Program Los Angeles County Department of Health Services	Other 2001 Heroes International Karl M. Johnson, M.D. National H. Jack Geiger, M.D., M.Sci. Hyg. Organizational San Francisco Department of Public Health
2001 Regional Hero -Billie Weiss, M.P.H. In addition to serving as director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Injury and Violence Prevention Program, Ms. Weiss is the executive director and a founder of the Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles. She holds a BS in molecular biology from California State University, Fullerton, and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from UCLA. Ms. Weiss is an authority on public health surveillance of violence and violence related injuries. In addition, her work includes the epidemiology of gang homicides and assaults, intimate partner violence, pedestrian injuries among pre-school children, iron poisoning, drowning, evaluation of programs to reduce teen relationship and gang violence, and parenting for violence prevention. Ms. Weiss has designed and implemented grand rounds training and home visitor training for physicians and nurses to identify, diagnose, report, and refer victims of domestic violence. Ms. Weiss is a member of the Interagency Gang Task Force, Los Angeles County Family Violence Task Force, The Domestic Violence Council, the Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Death Review Team, the Los Angeles County Child Abuse Death Review Team, the American Academy of Pediatrics Poison Prevention and Injury Control Committee in Region 2, Women Against Gun Violence, the National HELP Network, and many other organizations directed toward reducing community violence and abuse. In addition, she has authored numerous papers, three book chapters, and is frequently called upon to make presentations to scientific, professional, and community conferences and meetings on the topic of violence as a public health issue. Award Presenter Ms. Weiss will be presented with her Public Health Hero Award by two Berkeley alumni, Lorraine and Jerry Factor, whose interest in helping to improve society for their children and grandchildren motivated them to become active supporters of the Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles. Their generosity of spirit and desire to make a difference is also evidenced by the support they’ve extended to both the UCLA and UC Berkeley Schools of Public Health. The Challenge: Violence Our nation's epidemic of violence was not even considered within the purview of public health until 1985 when then Surgeon General C. Everett Koop conducted the ﬁrst national workshop on violence and public health. Today, despite recent reductions in crime statistics, violence continues to threaten the lives of millions of Americans each year, disproportionately affecting children, adolescents, young adults, minority population and women. This fact is confirmed by a number of alarming statistics, including: homicide is the second leading cause of death for persons 15-24 years of age and is the leading cause of death for African-Americans in this age group; approximately 1.5 million women and 834,700 men are raped and/or physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually; and overall, suicide is the eighth leading cause of death for all Americans, and the third leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24. The School of Public Health Responds A number of activities undertaken at the Berkeley School of Public Health address violence as a public health issue, including the establishment of courses such as "Violence Prevention: A Community-Based Approach," which provides both a broad overview of this topic and specific sessions on research methodologies, data acquisition and analysis, program and policy development, and multidisciplinary approaches to violence prevention. Another course offering, titled "Health, Behavior and the Family," looks at family violence and examines approaches for public health interventions. Under the direction of Dr. Linda Neuhauser, the University of California recently collaborated with the California Children and Families Commission, parents throughout the state, and many public and private partnerships, to produce the “Parents Guide” – a published resource that provides information to parents on what they can do to protect themselves and their children, what to do if attacked, and ways to prevent violence. Due to a special grant program established by the Max Factor Family Foundation that offers stipend support, several MPH students have completed field placements with the Los Angeles Department of Health Services in the Injury and Violence Prevention Program. Student projects have ranged from Firearm Injury Taskforce Surveillance and Violence Prevention to Domestic Violence Epidemiology and Safe Communities. This practicum experience combined with classroom competencies, provides the student with the necessary tools to become community leaders in addressing the epidemic of violence. The Emily Dion Endowment Fund, named in memory of a local child who was tragically the victim of a violent crime, provides fellowship support to students pursuing the study of violence as a public health issue.