Child health and the 83rd Texas Legislature: What to expect
Series: Child Health in the 83rd Texas Legislature
Speaker: Lauren Dimitry, MPA, Deanna Hoelscher, PhD, RD, LD, CNS
Length: 33:52 minutes
Our guest speaker, Lauren Dimitry of Texans Care for Children and The Partnership for a Healthy Texas, will present The Partnership's legislative priorities as well as her own insights into the process of health advocacy in the Texas Legislature. Dr. Deanna Hoelscher will discuss how scientific research can be used to inform policy decisions, and the role of the academic community in the policy making process.
About our panelists:
Lauren Dimitry, MPA
Texans Care for Children
Partnership for a Healthy Texas
Lauren joined Texans Care in 2010 to focus on child health issues leading up to the 82nd legislative session. Lauren previously worked as an editorial assistant at the Austin American-Statesman, as an AmeriCorps member with survivors of domestic violence, and as a sustainability consultant focused on corporate social responsibility. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas in Government and received her Master's of Public Affairs from UT's Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs in 2010.
Deanna Hoelscher, PhD, RD, LD, CNS
Director, Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living
John P. McGovern Professor in Health Promotion
The University of Texas School of Public Health
Dr. Hoelscher has been recognized by state, national, and international organizations for her expertise in child nutrition and physical activity research. Her research interests include child and adolescent nutrition, school- and child care-based health promotion programs, dietary and physical activity assessment methodology, evaluation of child obesity policies, and dissemination of school health programs. She is principal investigator of the Texas Child Obesity Research Demonstration (Texas CORD) project, funded by the Centers for Disease Control to develop, implement and evaluate an integrated, systems-oriented approach to obesity prevention and weight management for underserved, ethnically diverse children ages 2 to 12.
