·         IN MEMORIAM:  Long-time MCH Section member Dr. Greg Alexander died Feb. 20, 2007 of heart failure.  He was a professor of public health and pediatrics at the University of South Florida in Tampa, where his wife, Donna Petersen, is dean of the USF College of Public Health.   As a perinatal epidemiologist, Greg was a strong advocate for children and a dedicated teacher and scientist.  He earned his bachelor’s degree at the College of Charleston, his MPH from the University of South Carolina, and his doctorate from Johns Hopkins.  In addition to USF, Greg also taught at Hopkins, the University of Hawaii, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Alabama.  He was also director of the MCH Leadership Skills Training Institute.  Donations in his memory can be made to the Greg R. Alexander Fund for Young Scholars in Maternal and Child Health, and sent to the University of South Florida, MDC-70, 12091 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa, 33612, or call (813) 974-3676.  Our condolences go out to Donna and his family.

·         MCH Section Chair-Elect JoAnne Fischer, executive director of the Maternity Care Coalition, in Philadelphia, has been selected by the students, faculty and university leadership of Thomas Jefferson University to receive their Excellence in Community Service award. The award is presented to a community leader in recognition of untiring efforts and commitment to improve the lives and health of local communities in Philadelphia and surrounding regions.  Congratulations, JoAnne!

·         Dr. Dorothy C. “Dot” Browne, the director of the Prevention Sciences Research Center at Morgan State University in Baltimore (which houses the Drug Abuse Research Center and the Center for Health Disparities Solutions) has accepted a position with Dr. Stanley Battle, the Chancellor of North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, N.C.  Browne, a professor of public health, will be responsible for promoting and enhancing public health research and programs on the campus of A&T.  Dot began her position with A&T on August 11, 2007.  She is happy to be returning to North Carolina, where she was a member of the tenured faculty at UNC-CH and had numerous collaborative projects with faculty from UNC-CH and other local educational institutions.  Good luck, Dot, in your new position!

·         April Stubbs-Smith of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave birth to twins on August 8, 2007.  Congratulations to April and her family on the birth of her two charming babies, Noah Alexander Smith (left) and Victoria Noelle Smith (right).

·         Erika Shankland, a recent graduate of the Maternal and Child Health program at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, began working for the Health Department of Northwest Michigan as the Family Health Supervisor in August 2007.  She is supervising the work of the health educators employed through the health department, initiating a Community Wellness project, and working on the needs assessment and program planning for the Teen Health Project, a program aimed to address adolescent health needs in northwest Michigan.  The Health Department of Northwest Michigan operates in four counties in northern Michigan — check out the Web site for more information: www.nwhealth.org/.

·         Richard Allan Aronson was honored recently by the Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds and the American Academy of Pediatrics as the 2007 recipient of the Ray Helfer, MD Award.  Dr. Aronson, whose career of MCH leadership and service in three states as MCH Medical Director (Vermont, Wisconsin, Maine) spans 30 years, remembers his early years as a developmental pediatrician in the public health system in Vermont. “A number of children whom I saw showed significant delays due to child abuse and neglect,’’ Aronson said. “I remember vividly a child who was ‘failing to thrive’ due to inadequate parenting and nutrition. It affected me very deeply, and I became determined to the prevention of and healing from such traumatic experiences.”  The award was named after a distinguished pediatrician who was a pioneer in the field of identifying and treating child abuse and neglect as a medical and public health issue. Helfer was instrumental in the founding of Children’s Trusts, which now exist in all 50 states.  “The award is humbling, because there are so many partners in Maine and throughout the world who do great work in this arena,’’ Aronson said. “I consider this a representative award. Because it is named after and honors Ray Helfer, it means even more to me. I studied his work in medical school and my early years as a pediatrician, and it has inspired me throughout my career.”  Aronson has continued his lifetime of public health service, currently as the medical director of Maternal and Child Health for Maine. He sees great value in educating parents and providing resources to help them along their journey of raising healthy, resilient, and thriving children.  He approaches the child abuse and neglect in much the same way that his colleagues address conditions such as influenza and HIV, as a major public health issue, because preventing abuse and neglect is essential to the overall health of a child and family, and for society as a whole.  Since 1993, Dr. Aronson has used and practiced Future Search as a dynamic and uniquely participatory leadership and planning tool to foster such partnerships.

·         Ndidi Amutah, a first year doctoral student at the University of Maryland, is originally from Trenton, N.J. She completed her undergraduate education at Rutgers University, where she earned a BS in Public Health and a BA in African Studies. She then attended George Washington University where she received her MPH in Maternal and Child Health. Ndidi's current research interests include maternal mortality and morbidity, health disparities, reproductive health, and HIV/AIDS in ethnic minority populations. While earning her MPH, Ndidi worked as a research intern at the Baltimore City Health Department, where she studied asthma among children living in the city. She also investigated workplace injuries in immigrant adolescents for NIOSH. After earning her doctorate, Ndidi envisions working for an agency like USAID or the World Health Organization, where she can implement and evaluate national and international MCH programs, particularly focusing on regions in sub-Saharan Africa.