Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 12-8-17

Feature
REACH-UP President/CEO Gets March Of Dimes Lawton Chiles Award
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
The March of Dimes re- cently named the recipient of the 2017 Lawton Chiles Advocacy and Service Award. This year’s recipient is Estrellita “Lo” Berry, President and CEO of REACHUP, Inc. The award will be presented on Friday, December 15, 2017, during a Holiday Open House at the REACHUP, Inc. office.
The award, created by the March of Dimes in 1999, recognizes an individual whose work has positively influenced the advancement of maternal and child health in the state of Florida in sev- eral areas.
Anyone who knows Es- trellita “Lo” Berry, knows that she has a passion for
ESTRELLITA ‘LO’ BERRY
....2017 March of Dimes Lawton Chiles Award Recipient
maternal and infant health. The hectic scheduled that keeps her on the go, is all to help moms and infants to get the latest resources and health information.
Mrs. Berry, better known as “Lo,” was a founding member of the Hillsborough Healthy Kids, Inc., Board of Directors and chaired its committee to re- cruit foster parents. She is currently a member of the Hillsborough Healthy Start Coalition Board of Directors and numerous Coalition committees. As past presi- dent of the National Healthy Start Association (NHSA) Board of Directors, Mrs. Berry continues active serv- ice on the Board.
She also is a member of the Blue Ridge Institute for Southern Community Serv- ice Executives. Lo has also actively participated on the Adolescent Health Advisory Board, Pregnancy Associ- ated Mortality Review (PAMR), Fetal Infant Mor- tality Review (FIMR), Home Visiting Advisory Commit- tee, Black Infant Mortality Work Group, 2016-2021 Hillsborough County Title V Service Delivery Plan, and National Health Equity In- stitute. She is a very active volunteer with her church ministries (New Mt. Zion M. B. Church) and has won many awards as well.
She is also a member of Gamma Theta Omega Chap- ter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Mrs. Berry is a nation- ally recognized leader in the field of maternal and child health with a proven track
record for leading commu- nity based programs to real- ize positive maternal and infant health outcomes among minority populations and for documenting results through rigorous scientific research.
In leading REACHUP, Inc., Mrs. Berry realized that the maternal and child health arena (MCH) has tra- ditionally ignored the criti- cal role of fathers in improving birth outcomes. In “bringing the ‘F(ather)’ to MCH”, she is a national trailblazer, with REACHUP, Inc. staff serving as key facil- itators of NHSA’s “Dads Matter Initiative.”
Under her leadership REACHUP, Inc. continues to be involved in various na- tional efforts.
She said about being the award recipient: “I am hum- bled and grateful to the dis- tinguished March of Dimes for this prestigious award. It is such a tremendous honor because I was hired by the Lawton & Rhea Chiles Cen- ter for Healthy Mothers & Babies in 1998 and worked there until we transitioned from USF/COPH to REACHUP, Inc. in 2009.
“Additionally, what has really blessed my heart is the joy this award brings to so many special people on my behalf.”
Mrs. Berry is the daughter of Mrs. Bertha Washington and the late Samuel Washington. She is the wife of Rev. Dr. George Berry, mother of Aaron (Tiffany Greene) and grandmother to Bryson.
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