September Program Agenda

The Council meets on the second Thursday of each month at 8:00am at the
Alpert Jewish Community Center unless otherwise noted

Program:

"Latina Health"

Speaker:

Britt Rios-Ellis, Ph.D, bellis@csulb.edu - is a Professor in the Department of Health Science at California State University, Long Beach and Director of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR)/CSULB Center for Community Health, Evaluation, and Leadership Training.  The NCLR/CSULB Center was established by a congressional earmark in 2006 spearheaded by current Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis through the Congressional Hispanic Health Task Force.  She is currently the Co-Principal Investigator for the CSULB Hispanic Serving Institution Project Mi Casa: Mi Universidad and the Director of the Latino Health Professionals Project, a scholarship and training program for first generation-educated Latinos designed to ameliorate the lack of Latinos in health leadership positions. She teaches courses in Latino health care access and status, human sexuality, community health, research methods, and maternal/child health promotion.  In addition, she directs several health related projects targeting underserved Latino communities nationwide with an emphasis on Latinos and HIV/AIDS, women’s health, maternal/child health, and obesity.  She has worked as a consultant for the U.S. Office of Minority Health, the Health Resources Services Administration, the Pan American Health Organization, and the Ethiopian Community Development Council among others.  She currently serves as a member of the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Women’s Health Task Force and was recently elected to the leadership of the National Latino AIDS Action Network (NLAAN).  In 2008 she was the recipient of the Office of AIDS Prevention and Planning Sol Award for her work in Latino HIV/AIDS prevention.  She currently resides in Long Beach with her husband Enrique and their three children Xóchitl, Enrique, and Itzél.

Overview
It is vitally important for health and human service professionals to have a clear understanding of the various contextual issues affecting Hispanic women’s and family health.  Dr. Rios-Ellis will provide an overview of Latino health issues with an emphasis on those most often presented in the social work setting.  She will discuss innovative culturally and linguistically relevant strategies to meet the needs of Latino families, such as the utilization of community health workers, as well as present the Hispanic Health Communications Model as a potential framework from which to build Latino-focused projects and programmatic efforts.

Opinions expressed are those of the speaker and not necessarily those of the Council and its membership.
For information about End Abuse Long Beach, please visit www.EndAbuseLB.org or contact the Program Chair:
Paul Sharpe (562) 434-1345 or email Paul@EndAbuseLB.org