On Friday, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), was recognized by the Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) with the organization’s highest honor, the Paul Revere Award. The award was presented during the MPHA’s 11th Annual Awards Breakfast.
From left to right, Steven Bradley, MPHA Board Chair; Dr. Paula Johnson; Dr. Barbara Ferrer; Toby Fisher, MPHA Executive Director.
“Dr. Ferrer is a tireless and uniquely-effective public health leader,” said MPHA Executive Director Toby Fisher. “Her leadership, innovation, and creativity serve as a national model for attacking the most challenging health problems of our times.”
The award is a tribute to Dr. Ferrer’s leadership in promoting public health and social justice through innovative policies, programs, and partnerships in the city of Boston and across Massachusetts. In presenting the award, the MPHA cited Dr. Ferrer’s work to bring attention to the problem of racial and ethnic health inequities in Boston and leading a comprehensive effort to promote health equity; for heading up innovative initiatives to improve opportunities for healthy eating and active living; for reducing exposure to tobacco; and for addressing violence as a public health problem.
“Dr. Ferrer is a true leader in public health. She has worked for years to make Boston a healthier City and to improve access to healthcare for all,” Mayor Thomas M. Menino said. “I want to congratulate her on this well-deserved honor.”
“I’m deeply honored and humbled to have received this award,” said Dr. Ferrer. “It’s truly a testament to the hard work of the tremendous team at the Health Commission that I have the pleasure of leading. I want to thank the MPHA for its partnership and leadership on some of the most pressing public health issues we face.”
The awards breakfast is the MPHA’s signature event of the year and the largest fundraiser to support the organization’s mission. The breakfast honors visionary individuals and organizations that have made a lasting impact on public health in Massachusetts. It provides an opportunity for public health leaders from across the Commonwealth to salute partners, celebrate accomplishments, reconnect with colleagues, and energize for year ahead.
This year’s other award winners were: Andrew Balder, MD, physician, Baystate Mason Square Neighborhood Health Center and Medical Director, Boston Medical Center HealthNet Plan, Public Health Leadership in Medicine Award; Steven Fischer, MA, Executive Director of the Regional Environmental Council, Alfred Frechette Award; and Lisa Renee Holderby-Fox, LSWA, Executive Director, Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers, Lemuel Shattuck Award
About the Massachusetts Public Health Association
The Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) is a statewide non-profit membership organization engaging communities in advocacy, education, coalition-building and organized action to protect and improve the health of all the Commonwealth’s residents, with a focus on prevention and health equity. MPHA was organized in 1879 as the nation’s first public health association and has become the state’s leading voice calling for high impact public policy solutions to critical health problems.
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