Deborah Prothrow-Stith, MD

Deborah Prothrow-Stith, MD, is a nationally recognized public health leader. As a physician working in inner-city Boston, she broke new ground with her efforts to have youth violence defined as a public health problem. In 1987, she was appointed as the first woman Commissioner of Public Health in Massachusetts, and established the first Office of Violence Prevention in a state department. She has authored and/or co-authored over 80 publications. She currently serves as Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Professor of Public Health Practice at the Harvard School of Public Health. A Spelman College and Harvard Medical School graduate, she has received ten honorary doctorates, 1993 World Health Day Award, 1989 Secretary of Health and Human Service Award and a Presidential appointment to the National Commission on Crime Control and Prevention.