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2007 WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE AWARD RECIPIENTS
Doris Burke | Paula Vogel, ABD, BA | Beatriz E. Perez, MPH
Gemma Guinguing | Women's Fund of RI | Maureen A. McDonough-Roddy
SOCIAL SERVICE
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BEATRIZ E. PEREZ, MPH
Program Manager
Safe RI Violence & Injury Prevention Program, RI Dept. of Health
Beatriz Perez has made primary prevention her life's work. Her passion for preventing violence began in 1989 as one of the developers of the peer leadership program at Dimock Community Health Center in Roxbury, MA. There she met a peer leader who could not escape his violent past and was shot in his home by a young rival. It became clear to Perez that prevention of HIV/STDs, substance abuse, teen pregnancy and risky behaviors would not be possible unless the trauma caused by constant exposure to violence was addressed. In a time when more state and federal dollars are spent on interventions after a person becomes a victim or perpetrator of violence, Perez has been a voice for addressing violence before it happens.
Currently the Manager of Safe Rhode Island at the Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH), Beatriz Perez arrived in the United States from Colombia, South America at the age of 8. Despite being subjected to ridicule and constant bullying as a child because of her broken English, Perez persevered. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from Boston University College of Liberal Arts and a Master of Public Health from Columbia University School of Public Health, Division of Sociomedical Sciences.
She has been a recognized leader in the national violence prevention movement for more than 15 years and is a member of the Urban Networks to Increase Thriving Youth (UNITY) National Consortium. She is a member of the Rhode Island Domestic Violence Enhancement through Leadership and Training (DELTA) Steering Committee. Her work in developing and advocating for strategies to address a range of conditions (individual, environmental, social and political) that promote safe, healthy and nurturing environments for youth has significantly contributed to the field of primary prevention of violence in Rhode Island.
Perez credits her parents Rosario and Rafael, with teaching her humility and the value of being giving and forgiving. In addition to her accomplishments as a Public Health Administrator, Perez is the mother of two sons, Christopher, 10 and Noah, 3.
