FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SAN FRANCISCO—A global health humanitarian, a community-building advocate, and a provider of culturally and linguistically appropriate health care services each will receive a 14th annual Public Health Heroes Award from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health on March 24.
The awardees will receive an honor that is considered to be the only such prize given by a university to recognize individuals and organizations for their efforts to build healthier lives in a safer world. The three awardees are:
- Dr. Tom Lee, cofounder and director of Global Health Access Program, will receive the International Public Health Hero award for his dedication to resolving the health crises in Burma's conflict zones and his leadership in defining new roles for community health workers in inaccessible settings.
- Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and CEO of PolicyLink, will receive the Regional Public Health Hero award for her visionary work promoting equity in health policies and guiding efforts to achieve healthy communities for everyone, especially in low income communities and communities of color.
- La Clínica de La Raza will receive the Organizational Public Health Hero award for its longstanding record of providing high quality, culturally sensitive health care services to diverse and vulnerable communities in California's Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano Counties.
At a ceremony at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Richard Blum, chairman of Blum Capital Partners, L.P., and co-chairman of Newbridge Capital, LLC, will present Lee's award; Dr. Anthony B. Iton, senior vice president, Healthy Communities at The California Endowment, will present Blackwell's award; and Carmela Castellano-Garcia, CEO of the California Primary Care Association, and Dr. David E. Hayes-Bautista, professor of medicine and health services at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, will present the award to La Clínica.
The Public Health Heroes honor was established in 1996 by the UC Berkeley School of Public Health to recognize innovative leaders who have made meaningful contributions to the protection and promotion of health. For information about this year's Public Health Heroes Awards ceremony or to reserve seats, visit http://www.publichealthheroes.org.
About International Hero Tom Lee
Dr. Tom Lee is cofounder and director of Global Health Access Program (GHAP), a Berkeley-based international health nonprofit that serves Burma's conflict-affected and hard-to-access populations by partnering with and supporting local indigenous organizations that provide nearly the sole means of care for these communities.
Lee has recruited a team of international health and other professionals who have dedicated a major part of their lives to problem solving in Burma. Together they support the local Burmese providers who risk their safety, and often their lives, to provide care for their people. The GHAP team and its local partners have published and presented widely about Burma, chronicling interventions that combat infectious diseases, secure reproductive health, and reveal the impact of human rights on health. The resulting evidence base has enabled GHAP and local partners to be tireless advocates for policy change and offer a community-centered, evidence-based model for best practice of public health in remote conflict settings.
In addition to his longstanding work in Burma, Lee's humanitarian service has included providing village health care in a conflict zone of El Salvador and providing care at various free clinics in the United States. In his “day jobs,” Dr. Lee is an associate professor of medicine at UCLA School of Medicine and an attending physician in the Emergency Department of Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, California.
About Regional Hero Angela Glover Blackwell
Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and chief executive officer of PolicyLink, founded the organization in 1999 and continues to drive its mission of advancing economic and social equity. Under Blackwell's leadership, PolicyLink has become a leading voice in the movement to use public policy to improve access and opportunity for all low-income people and communities of color, particularly in the areas of health, housing, transportation, education, and infrastructure.
Prior to founding PolicyLink, Blackwell served as senior vice president at The Rockefeller Foundation, where she oversaw the foundation's Domestic and Cultural Divisions. A lawyer by training, she gained national recognition as founder of the Oakland Urban Strategies Council, where she pioneered new approaches to neighborhood revitalization. From 1977 to 1987, Blackwell was a partner at Public Advocates, a nationally known public interest law firm.
As a leading voice in the movement for equity in America, Blackwell is a frequent commentator for some of the nation's top news organizations, including the Washington Post, Salon, and the Huffington Post, and has appeared regularly on such shows as public radio's Marketplace, The Tavis Smiley Show, Nightline, and PBS's Now. She is the co-author of the forthcoming Uncommon Ground: Race and America's Future and contributed to Ending Poverty in America: How to Restore the American Dream and The Covenant with Black America.
About Organizational Hero La Clínica de La Raza
Since its beginnings as a single storefront operation in Oakland in 1971, La Clínica de La Raza has grown into a sophisticated provider of primary health care and other services, with 25 sites spread across Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano Counties. La Clínica delivers health care services in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner to most effectively address the needs of the diverse populations it serves.
Today, La Clínica delivers an array of services including: medical, dental, optical, women's health, prenatal and postnatal care, preventive medicine, health and nutrition education, adolescent services, mental health, behavioral health services, case management, referral services, pharmacy, radiology, and lab.
With more than 39 years of experience serving the community, La Clínica is one of the largest community-based clinics in the state of California.
About the Public Health Hero Award
The Public Health Hero award was founded to honor pioneers working toward improved health for all and to raise awareness of the field of public health, a field in which many individuals and organizations work with dedication toward the greater good. The 51 previous recipients of UC Berkeley Public Health Hero award have included actor Rob Reiner, who cofounded the I Am Your Child Foundation; Rowe v. Wade attorney Sarah Weddington; and Dr. Paul Farmer, founding director of Partners in Health, one of the primary organizations providing relief in Haiti.
About the UC Berkeley School of Public Health
Building on a campus tradition of preeminent interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary scholarship, education, and public engagement that challenges conventional thinking, the UC Berkeley School of Public Health develops diverse leaders equipped to help solve the health challenges of the 21st century and beyond. The school's mission is to conduct world class, rigorous research; apply knowledge to prevent disease and injury and promote the health of individuals and communities in California, the United States and the world; develop diverse leaders for professional and research careers through undergraduate, masters and doctoral programs; and enhance the knowledge and skills of the public health workforce through continuing education and technical assistance.