Boston Public Schools District Wellness Council Appointed Membership, 2013-2014 Andria Amador, Boston Public Schools As the Assistant Director of Behavioral Health services, Ms. Amador is responsible for the coordination of behavioral health services (BHS) across the district. BHS provides direct services, research based interventions and professional development in several areas including assessment, crisis support, counseling, and the development and intervention of Comprehensive Behavioral Health Model. Allison Bauer, The Boston Foundation Allison Bauer has been with the Boston Foundation since January 2007 and leads the foundation s health strategy. This strategy focuses on supporting healthy behaviors through increased access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity. The work is both programmatic, as well as policy driven. Allison has been the architect of the strategy to bring physical activity to the schools through community partners such as Playworks, Community Rowing and others Michelle Brooks, Boston Public Schools Meg Campbell, Boston Public Schools Meg Campbell is a former Boston Public School teacher and parent (Rafael Hernandez, Marshall School and Boston Latin School). She was a lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Education and founding executive director of Expeditionary Learning before founding and directing Codman Academy Charter Public School serving grades 9-12 located inside Codman Square Health Center. She served on the Boston Public Library's Compass Committee developing principles to inform the library's strategic plan and recently helped found the Margarita Muniz Academy, an innovation school, and the city's first two way bilingual high school. A thirty year resident of Dorchester, Meg's training is in early and elementary education from Wheelock College where she earned a Master's degree. She holds a bachelor's degree in History and Literature from Harvard and a C.A.S. from Harvard Graduate School of Education. A poet, she is the author of Solo Crossing (Midmarch Arts Press) and the forthcoming More Love (Midmarch Arts Press). Her intention as a Boston School Committee member is to follow Emily Dickinson's advice: "Dwell in possibility. Jill Carter, Boston Public Schools Jill is the Executive Director of Health and Wellness for Boston Public Schools. She currently leads a seventeen-person department that is responsible for leading a district-wide Coordinated School Health Approach, health and physical education, health promotions, and wellness policy implementation in the Boston Public Schools. For the past 14 years, she has worked on policy, curriculum development, implementation, training and research of schoolbased nutrition and physical activity programs. As the Curriculum Development Coordinator for the School-based Wellness Initiative at the Harvard School of Public Health, she co-authored Page 1
Planet Health: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum for Teaching Middle School Nutrition and Physical Activity. Jill s years of experience as a high school and middle school science teacher provided her with the experience to design a curriculum that encourages active, inquiry-based learning across multiple disciplines. From 1998 to 2002, she managed curriculum dissemination research projects for the Harvard Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity. She earned here Master of Education degree in teaching and curriculum from Harvard University and her Master of Arts degree in exercise physiology from the University of Iowa. Angie Cradock, Harvard School of Public Health Prevention Research Center Dr. Cradock is a Deputy Director at the Harvard Prevention Research Center and a Senior Research Scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Key Interests: Dr. Cradock s research is primarily focused on the social and environmental factors associated with physical activity and nutrition behaviors among youth. Specific areas of interest include school and neighborhood environments, community-based interventions, and policy research. Sam Depina, Boston Public Schools; Co-Chair of the District Wellness Council Tolle Graham, Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health As Labor and Environment Coordinator at MassCOSH, Ms. Graham has 20 years of experience providing training, technical assistance and advocacy on school environmental safety and health including multiple granted projects through the EPA Tools for Schools Indoor Air Quality Program and initiatives on greening schools through design, maintenance and operations. She is Co-Chair of the citywide Healthy Schools Taskforce, a partnership with BPS, BPHC and community health advocates to address policies and procedures to improve environmental health conditions in the Boston Public Schools. And, she is Chair of the Healthy Schools Committee for the Boston Healthy Homes and Schools Collaborative and MAAP (MA Asthma Advocacy Partnership). Ana Impellizeri, Parent Myrna Johnson, Boston Schoolyard Initiative Myrna Johnson is currently Executive Director o the Boston Schoolyard Initiative. She is a nonprofit executive with expertise in urban greening and public media. BSI has renovated 88 schoolyards, providing resources for learning, physical activity, gardening, and play in Boston Public Schools. Carleton Jones, Boston Public Schools Sheri Kasper, Action for Healthy Kids, New England Dairy and Food Council Sheri Kasper is a registered dietitian and nutrition specialist at New England Dairy & Food Council and is the co-chair of Massachusetts Action for Healthy Kids. Over the past 5 years, her work with both organizations has focused on increasing student access to healthy foods and physical activity before, during and after school. Sheri is also a member of the School Nutrition Association of Massachusetts and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Michelle Keegan, Partners Healthcare, Brigham and Women s Hospital Page 2
Waleska Landing-Rivera, John F. Kennedy Elementary Donnie Lucente, Edison K8 School Donnie is a 13 year Special Education teacher educating students with social, emotional behavioral challenges. During the past 5 years he has begun advocating for change in our public schools and communities focusing on healthy choices, policy changes and physical activity. Donnie strongly links his work combating childhood obesity to the work of Alliance for a Healthier Generation, and is one of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation s national networking ambassadors. Anne McHugh, Boston Public Health Commission Anne is the Director of the Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Division at the Boston Public Health Commission. Over the past decade, she has been the Principal Investigator/Project Director for several CDC-funded community obesity prevention programs, including Boston Steps, Communities Putting Prevention to Work and Strategic Alliance for Health. In each of these, BPHC partnered with Boston Public Schools and leveraged federal dollars for BPS to support physical activity, physical education and healthy foods. Anne is particularly proud that these dollars contributed to the establishment of a sustainable Health and Wellness Department at BPS. Anne is a former BPS parent. Her experience with both BPS elementary and high schools from this perspective reinforces my commitment to the role of the Boston Public Health Commission in supporting healthy school environments for students. She holds an M.S. in Health Policy and Management and has more than 25 years experience in public health and health care program development and management. Huy Nguyen, Boston Public Health Commission; Co-Chair of the District Wellness Council Dr. Huy Nguyen joined the Boston Public Health Commission as medical director in December, 2011. Among other projects, he is working on improving the integration of the city s public health initiatives with Boston s many primary care resources. Since 2003, he has worked as a primary care pediatrician at the Dorchester House Multi-Service Center, a community health center in Fields Corner, Dorchester. His focus has been on promoting early childhood literacy and culturally competent care for families of different backgrounds. Dr. Nguyen has also worked to create a teen-friendly clinic environment by ensuring that adolescents have ready access to care that acknowledges their increasing independence and concerns for confidentiality. He continues to provide pediatric primary care part-time at the Dorchester House. Dr. Nguyen received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed his pediatric training in Seattle at the University of Washington. He lives with his wife and two children. Alex Oliver-Dávila, Sociadad Latina Kalise Osula, Student Michael Peck, Boston Public Schools John Riordan, Children's Hospital, Boston Page 3
As Director of Community Partnerships for Boston Children s Hospital, John has worked with Boston Public Schools to improve health and education outcomes by establishing a comprehensive behavioral health plan for the district and educating students and families about healthy lifestyle choices that reduce the risk of obesity and overweight. Previously, John served as Vice President of Boston Children s Museum, where he oversaw education programs, including a partnership with BPS that made use of museum exhibits and programs to reinforce BPS learning standards. While serving as Director of Business and Civic Affairs for Blue Cross/Blue Shield, John chaired the Chamber of Commerce s Education Subcommittee. As Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Boston, he helped fashion policy changes that transformed BPS operations and governance to support student performance and improve academic outcomes. Liz Salomon, Fenway Health Center Liz Salomon, EdM is Project Director for Connect to Protect Boston -- a community-based research project that is working to examine the power of community mobilization and structural change (changes to programs, policies and practices) as a means of HIV prevention for Boston youth. Ms. Salomon began her career as a special education inclusion aide and, in graduate school, moved in to focusing on the inclusion of LGBT youth in schools. Ms. Salomon has been working in the field of HIV prevention and sexual health research with youth and adults for more than 15 years. Her current work focuses on HIV prevention among young men who have sex with men and transgender-identified youth and is strongly informed by the lenses of health equity and racial justice. Maureen Starck, Boston Public Schools Maureen Starck, Assistant Director Health Services, has been in BPS as a school nurse for over 20 years and served as the Assistant Director for 5 years. Health and wellness are important priorities in the nursing domain with disease prevention and health maintenance as a focus in the school setting. Advocacy for both students and families is an important role nurses practicing in the school setting fulfill. As an administrator, she has supported and encouraged participation in the many health and wellness initiatives across the district to help improve health outcomes for all BPS students. Jon Sproul, Boston Public Schools Jonathan Sproul has worked for the Boston Public Schools (BPS) for the past 10 years. He currently serves BPS as the Director of Institutional Advancement and Partnership. He previously served BPS as Assistant Director of the BPS Health and Wellness Department; Director of Development for Monument High School; and an Assistant Program Director for the Department of Extended Learning Time, Afterschool and Services. In addition to working for BPS, he was a high school math teacher at Barnstable High School, a non-profit program manager for Boston Partners in Education, and the Director of the Boston Police Activities League s Public Safety Internship. Jonathan actively engages in a wide-variety of volunteer and community activities; he served as an elected member of the North End Waterfront Neighborhood Council, the Co-Chair of Boston Leaders for the Future of Education, a Big Brother for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay and on the Board of Directors for the North End Waterfront Health Center.. He received a bachelor s degree from Columbia University in Film Studies and a master s degree in School Leadership from Harvard University s Graduate School of Education. Stephanie Trilling, Boston Area Rape Crisis Center Page 4
Stephanie Trilling, LCSW is the Senior Coordinator of Youth Programs and Adolescent Clinician for the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC). In that role, she works both clinically and in educational settings with young people who have been impacted by sexual trauma. Further, she has worked with the adults and systems surrounding young people to build their competency and capacity to address issues of sexual violence in the lives of youth. Cheryl Watson-Harris, Boston Public Schools Caren Walker-Gregory, Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers The Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers is a college preparatory high school for Boston Students exploring careers in the health and health related fields. EMK students and staff would like to be a model for other Boston Public Schools, as it relates to the importance of health and wellness - Dr. Caren Walker Gregory, Headmaster Pauline Yee, Quincy Elementary Ms. Yee has worked for the Boston Public Schools for over 20 years in Physical Education, and is presently teaching in the Josiah Quincy Elementary School. She has taught in other schools in Boston, including Philbrick, Lucy Stone, Endicott, Haley, Holland and Lee schools. As the Physical Education teacher, she is also the school Wellness Champion. Ms. Yee enjoys encouraging faculty, parents and students to take part in activities during school and before school. Outside of public schools she has taught in Parochial School for special needs and regular education in Physical Education. In the private sector, she taught pre-school gymnastics. Physical Education is a very important part of the students wellness. The health of the child is the foundation to the child s success in school. Being on the District Wellness Committee is my professional endeavor to encourage the need for student wellness to be apart their education. Pauline Yee Page 5