Deborah Prothrow-Stith

Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith is a nationally recognized public health leader who has extensively worked on framing youth violence as a public health issue. As a physician in inner-city Boston, she pioneered the approach of treating violence as a health problem rather than solely a criminal justice concern. During her tenure as the first woman Commissioner of Public Health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1987, appointed by Governor Dukakis, she founded the first Office of Violence Prevention in a state department of public health. Her efforts expanded prevention programs for HIV/AIDS and increased drug treatment and rehabilitation programs.

Dr. Prothrow-Stith has been active in forming and nurturing partnerships with community-based organizations both in the United States and internationally. She has developed various programs such as the Partnerships for Preventing Violence satellite broadcast training series and has worked with institutions like Florida A&M University and University of Massachusetts (Boston) to reduce health disparities, funded by the NIH-National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities. She has also played a significant role in international public health, hosting delegations from France and Latin American countries to discuss violence prevention models, and spending two-and-a-half years in Tanzania working on local health initiatives.

Currently, Dr. Prothrow-Stith serves as the Dean and Professor of Medicine at the College of Medicine at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. Her academic role complements her continued advocacy for violence prevention, exemplified by her development of The Violence Prevention Curriculum for Adolescents. She has authored influential books such as "Deadly Consequences," which discusses the public health perspective on violence, and "Murder is No Accident," offering a blueprint for community-based violence prevention. Her work, including over 80 publications, consistently supports the application of rigorous scientific methods to bolster violence prevention efforts.

A graduate of Spelman College and Harvard Medical School, she is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has received ten honorary doctorates alongside numerous awards like the 1993 World Health Day Award and the 1989 Secretary of Health and Human Service Award. Dr. Prothrow-Stith's commitment to public health and violence prevention continues to influence both national and international health policies and practices.