DATE: Jan. 27, 2009.

EVENT: M. Jocelyn Elders, 15th surgeon general of the United States, Richard Carmona, 17th surgeon general, and Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, will deliver the keynote speeches at a day-long event, “Public Health Leadership to Improve the Health of Young People” hosted by the University of Michigan School of Public Health Office of Public Health Practice.

A highlight will be the surgeon generals panel, where Elders and Carmona answer audience questions on public health issues.

In addition, Victor Strecher, professor and director, Center for Health Communications Research at U-M, will deliver the luncheon presentation, “Innovative Approaches for Learning About, Reaching, and Improving the Health of Young People.” Strecher is also the founder of HealthMedia Inc., which was recently purchased by Johnson & Johnson. Strecher also recently received an $8 million National Cancer Institute grant for cancer communication.

INTERVIEWS: Several of the speakers will be available for interviews with the media before or during the event. Contact Laura Bailey at (734) 647-1848 or [email protected] to arrange interviews. Registration is required. Members of the media can also register for the live webcast and e-mail questions to the moderator if they cannot attend, but priority will be given to faculty, staff and students during the panel discussions.

AGENDA: The event begins at 9:30 in the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre in the Michigan League, followed at 10 a.m. by an introduction and welcome from Kenneth Warner, Avedis Donabedian Distinguished University Professor and Dean of the School of Public Health, and Matthew Boulton, associate dean for practice at SPH.

Edelman will speak at 10:30 a.m. followed by a complimentary lunch at 11:45 a.m. in the Michigan League Ballroom. Elders will speak at 1 p.m. in the Mendelssohn Theatre, followed at 2:15 by Carmona.

At 3:30 p.m., JoLynn Montgomery, research investigator in the Department of Epidemiology, will moderate a surgeon general’s panel, where audience members will have the chance to pose questions to Elders and Carmona about public health issues. Montgomery is also the director of the Michigan Center for Public Health Preparedness.

At 4:15 p.m., Boulton will deliver closing remarks.

REGISTRATION: The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Those who do not register by Jan. 20 cannot be guaranteed a lunch spot. Participants can register for either the on-site presentation, or the webcast registration. Those who register for the webcast will receive a URL a few days before the event. Everything but the lunch talk will be webcast.

PARKING:Palmer commons is the nearest parking structure.

SPONSORS: SPH Office of Public Health Practice. Funders include the Michigan Center for Public Health Preparedness and the Michigan Public Health Training Center.

• Registration
• Speaker bios
• Full agenda