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Community Advisory Board

Purpose

The HHPC Community Advisory Board (CAB) is a coalition of Harlem residents and health professionals who provide leadership and guidance to the HHPC. Specifically, the CAB’s purpose is to advocate for the creation and utilization of best health promotion and disease prevention practices in the Harlem community, facilitate the dissemination of best health practice information resulting from study and research to the residents of the Harlem community, and collaborate with other PRC/CABs in furthering the goals of the PRCs and the benefits of community-based research.

Harlem Health Promotion CAB Center Vision Statement

We envision a Harlem free of health disparities where all residents can access and utilize the necessary resources to lead healthy productive lives. As we strive for a healthy Harlem, our vision for the Harlem Health Promotion Center is to be a center of excellence in health communication and education that will provide consumers with the knowledge, skills and motivation necessary to adopt healthier lifestyles.

Role in HHPC Planning and Activities

HHPC’s CAB has been involved in HHPC activities since its inception, and is directly involved in all aspects of HHPC activities in an advisory capacity. As active advisors, CAB members assist in determining HHPC’s overall direction and scope of services. They also participate in subcommittees and research projects that support HHPC’s overall mission. Close ties with the community provide critical mechanisms for bi-directional communication between diverse community constituents and HHPC faculty and staff. Board members are active in suggesting potential areas of investigation, as well as identifying potential community partners and sites. Further, the CAB has constructed a community-specific dissemination plan for HHPC findings. In addition to guiding the direction of HHPC research and service, CAB members work on sub-committees that foster CAB-HHPC collaboration and further support the HHPC mission. Four standing committees, Scientific Collaboration, Dissemination, Advocacy and Membership/By-Laws, along with ad-hoc committees, allow for efficient and consistent collaboration. With quarterly board meetings and frequent subcommittee meetings, each board member has the opportunity to contribute their expertise in a direct and ongoing manner.

Officers Chair: William S. Witherspoon, Jr. Advocacy Committee: To be named Bylaws/Membership Committee: Debra Jackson Capital Development/Space Committee: Muriel Petioni Dissemination Committee: Goldie Watkins-Bryant Scientific Collaboration Committee: Mario Drummonds

Members   Each CAB member has a distinguished record of service and advocacy in the Harlem community, and CAB members maintain direct linkages to elected officials through the administration of their leadership roles. Imam Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid is the religious and spiritual leader of The Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood in Harlem, New York City. He has been a Sunni Muslim since 1971, a member of the mosque since that time, and its imam since 1989. Imam Talib is also the Amir (leader) of the Harlem Shura (a coalition of seven Harlem mosques), served for a decade as the chairman of the Justice Committee of the Majlis Ash-Shura (Islamic Leadership Council) of New York, has just been appointed its Vice President, and serves nationally as the Deputy Amir of The Muslim Alliance in North America as well as advising several interfaith bodies located in New York City. Imam Talib has also has served the city and state prisoners of New York as a Muslim Chaplain, since 1977. As a religious activist for human rights, social justice, and the liberation of his people, Imam Talib is a member of the National Committee to Free Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (the former H. "Rap" Brown).   John L. Brown is an attorney and practices labor and employment law. He has been resident of Harlem for over 45 years, and is a member of Community Board 11.   Mario Drummonds, MSW is the Executive Director of the Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership, a local maternal and child health agency working to improve the health status of pregnant and parenting women in Northern Manhattan. He is also the founder of Chocolate Chips Electronic, Inc., a full-service information technology and marketing company. The mission of Chocolate Chips is to spread the knowledge and use of information technology throughout poor working class neighborhoods in Brooklyn, NY.   Marina Febres is a translator and liaison for the Hispanic Community at Basic Housing, and provides escort services to government agencies. She has previously served as an Outreach Worker for Central Harlem Healthy Start Program at Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership.   Conrad Graves, PhD is a Retired professor in the Department of Social Work at Kean University. He is the founder and President of Central Harlem Inter-Agency Propuns, Inc, a project created to introduce a health prevention program within the Central Harlem community.   Debra Jackson studied engineering at the City College of New York. She is a Production Manager for Teachers College Press, and has served as an officer of the Convent Avenue Baptist Church and as a Girl Scout Leader. She is also a consumer advocate.   Sydney Moshette, MSW is a retired Director of Reality House, Inc., a substance abuse prevention and treatment services facility. He served as a charter member of Youth in Action anti-poverty program, and vice chair of the Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership.   Ademola Olugebefola, PhD is an internationally renowned artist and has lectured, presented papers, taught, and served as artist in residence. He has presented his multimedia presentation, "From Horus to Hip-Hop: The Creative & Cultural Evolution of the African Diaspora," at many colleges and universities.   Benjamin Ortiz, MD is Assistant Attending Physician and Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Population and Family Health at the Columbia University Medical Center-The Affiliation at Harlem Hospital Center (HHC) and the Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Ortiz's clinical responsibilities include general pediatrics in the Pediatric Ambulatory Center of HHC. His clinical research responsibilities include being co-Principal Investigator and Medical Director of the Harlem Children' Zone Asthma Initiative, and Project Director of a childhood obesity prevention program at HHC. He is a consultant for the American Lung Association as an educator in the Open Airways in Schools program and as Medical Director of the SuperKids Summer Experience. He sits on the boards numerous community-based and citywide public health organizations.   Muriel Petioni, MD is a retired family practice physician at Harlem Hospital in New York City. Dr. Petioni has been a formidable force in the Harlem community for over 47 years, as reflected in her vast community affiliations and her commitment to community medicine, social justice, health care for the disadvantaged and aged, black medical education and women' issues.   Hanif Shabazz, DGA is Executive Producer of Light Action Production, a community based organization that produces films, documentaries, industrials and motivational video cassettes. He is also vice president and director of marketing for the Homeowners Assistance Corp., where he is responsible for overseeing the marketing end of their print, radio and television division.   Zoilo Torres is is the Director of Community Relations for the Partnership for the Homeless. He has been a community labor and political organizer for thirty-five years, specializing in communications program development and social marketing.   Goldie Watkins Bryant, MPH is a retired Program Director for the Central Harlem Healthy Start Program of the Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership, Inc. She retired from the New York State Department of Health in 1995 as Associate Commissioner responsible for the New York City Regional Office which included the provision of Family Health and HIV/AIDS programs to New York City, Long Island, Westchester, Putnam and Rockland County residents. During her 27-year tenure with the Department of Health, as the first African American Health Physicist in the country, she developed New York State's radioactive materials control program which was initiated under Governor Nelson Rockefeller.   William S. Witherspoon Jr., LMSW is a health care executive whose life long commitment has been dedicated to helping people reach their fullest potential. For the past 12 years, he has worked as the Executive Director of the Upper Manhattan Mental Health Center, which is a community-based behavioral health care organization that provides an array of human services to thousands of children, adults and senior citizens each year.