Community Partners

Our collaborations with our community partners are the foundation of our Center's mission. They have increased the quality and relevance of our work and enhanced the community's capacity to partner in research and meet the health needs of adolescents and their parents.

The Center's community collaborations/partnerships are directed by our Community Liaison, Jennifer Hawes-Dawson. She ensures that community members know about our activities, assesses community research needs, facilitates community partnerships, visits CAB members at their sites, and attends community meetings.

The Center's Community Committees

We have two main community committees, a Community Advisory Board (CAB) of adult representatives from community and school groups from the Carson-Wilmington area, and a Youth Advisory Board of adolescents in grades 10-12. Both committees have the same broad mission, structure, and organization, with age-appropriate adaptations. Each is described below.

Community Advisory Board (CAB)

The main CAB has a core group of 20 members who are actively involved in our Center and who attend meetings regularly. We also have many CAB members who serve as an expanded resource pool, providing guidance and contacts as needed. Members are informed of our activities through mailings and conversations with our Community Liaison, and they often attend meetings.

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CDC Prevention Research Centers' National Community Committee

The Center has a designated CAB member who serves as our representative to the CDC Prevention Research Centers' National Community Committee (NCC) to facilitate sharing of information among all of the Prevention Research Centers and their CABs. At least one CAB representative attends the annual NCC meeting and participates in monthly conference calls and other NCC activities. The CAB representative also gives the full CAB and the Center regular progress reports on NCC activities and shares information about promising programs, policies, and interventions that the NCC identifies. The CAB representative also has monthly meetings and regular email communications with the Center's Director, Community Liaison, and Managing Director to keep the Center leadership team informed of NCC activities.

Currently, Sheila Lamb, LCSW, serves as our CAB representative to the NCC. Ms. Lamb also co-chairs CAB meetings with the Center Director (or other designated Center staff) and participates in agenda setting and planning for quarterly CAB meetings.

Youth Advisory Board

The Youth Advisory Board provides a forum for 9th-12th graders to convey their opinions and perspectives as we plan and implement new research studies and programs. The current board consists of 22 high school students from the Los Angeles area; members are expected to remain active for at least one year and preferably through high school. Visit the Youth Advisory Board website for more information.

Project CABs

The Center also has project CABs that advise on the design and implementation of individual studies. CAB membership varies by project but commonly includes a subset of the following: representatives from the target population, key members from the Center-wide adult CAB, local community-based organizations that serve LA youth and their families, county departments and agencies, school officials, public health officials, social service agencies, health care professionals, parent groups, religious leaders and other interested community members from LA County. We recently formed a new project CAB, the Healthy Living Advisory Board (HLAB) that consists of 24 members and representatives from the following LA City and County agencies and CBOs:

• California Food Policy Advocates
• Center for Food & Justice at Occidental College
• LAUSD Student Health and Human Services
• LAUSD Health Education Programs
• LAUSD Physical Education Programs
• LAUSD Food Services Branch
• LAUSD School Board
• LAUSD Organizational Facilitators and Nurses
• Nutrition Network
• Faith-Based Nutrition Network Programs
• LA Best
• LA Chamber of Commerce
• LA Commission for Children, Youth, and Their Families
• LA Department of Parks and Recreation
• LA Department of Health Services
• USC Community Diabetes Initiative

Other Major Partners

Our diverse partners include representatives from the following state and local agencies:

• California Department of Health Services (CDHS)
   
  Drew Johnson
  Chief, HIV Education and Prevention Services Branch
  Office of AIDS
   
  Donald Lyman, MD, DTPH
  Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention
   
  Michelle T. Parra, PhD
  Director, Injury & Violence Prevention Program
  
• Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (LADHS)
   
  Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, MBA
  Director of Public Health and Health Officer
   
  Belinda Townes, MD, MPH
  Interim Medical Director of Public Health
   
  Kimberly West, MD, MPH
  Medical Director, Child & Adolescent Health (CAH) Program
  
• Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)
   
  Rene Gonzalez
  Assistant Superintendent
   
  Michelle King
  Superintendent, Local District 3
• Children's Council of Los Angeles County
   
  Sharon Watson
  Executive Director
• Santa Monica Unified School District