Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 23, 2007

Rhondra O. Willis, Founder and Executive Director of Vision Leadership Institute, was one of four panelists featured at the 2007 Minority Women’s Health Summit in Washington DC on August 23, 2007.  Willis spoke about Teen Dating Violence during the Violence Against Women Institute.  Other panelists included Dr. Gail Wyatt, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, Dr. Phyllis Sharps, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, and Dr. Sujata Warrier, New York State, Office for Prevention of Domestic Violence, New York, NY.  This Summit is the third (1997, 2004) to address health disparities among women of color living in the United States. The goal of this Summit was to focus on the often unrecognized threats to health experienced by women of color, by 1) building on knowledge gained in previous conferences and identifying distinct health issues disproportionately impacting minority women; and 2) highlighting successful models of health promotion and prevention.

The Summit featured workshops on a range of health topics including cancer, HIV/AIDS, breast health, diabetes, violence against women and mental health. The action-oriented workshops will provide opportunities for collective thinking and creative problem-solving and are designed to:

· Increase awareness about health issues of women of color;

· Increase knowledge of strategies to increase positive health outcomes for women of color;

· Explore current prevention strategies, including strength-based approaches that work in various communities; and

· Foster community partnerships to identify and implement the best practices to target prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases that disproportionately affect women of color.

 For more information visit:  http://www.4women.gov/mwhs/