FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Christine Rogers
(919) 256-9593
Two New Members Join North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation Board
(Raleigh, NC) – The North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation announces the appointment of two new board members; Colleen Bridger, MPH and Cynthia Redd, M.Ed. Bridger is the Gaston County Health Director where she is responsible for the administration of the department's 200 employees and over 20 different public health programs. She started out as a maternity care coordinator in 1990 with a program that was working to reduce the state’s high infant mortality rate. "Now, nearly twenty years later, I am still passionate about working on strategies to reduce infant mortality," says Bridger. "One of the constants in this effort has been the North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation. When I received the call to join the Foundation’s board, I was honored and thrilled to join such an esteemed group of volunteers."
Bridger is currently pursing her Ph.D. in Health Services Research at UNC-Charlotte. She has a Bachelor of International Development degree from the School for International Training in Vermont and a Masters of Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to coming to Gaston County in 2002, she served as the Stokes County Health Director for five years.
Cynthia Redd is an Infant and Family Specialist with WakeMed’s Hospital to Home Intervention Program. "I have the opportunity to observe and support the magic between mothers and fathers and their premature infants," says Redd. "Providing families with information and resources needed to meet whatever challenges or obstacles they face is one of the most important things we can do to ensure healthy children, happy families and stronger communities. When one of my former "preemie moms" asked me to join the NC Healthy Start Foundation board I was thrilled to have the opportunity to broaden my reach to help all young children and families in North Carolina."
Prior to her work at WakeMed, Redd was a
Pre-K/Kindergarten teacher with Wake County Public Schools. Redd has her Maters of Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.A. from UNC-CH in Psychology and Recreation Administration.
"We are delighted to draw upon the knowledge and experience of these two new directors," says Janice Freedman, Executive Director for the North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation. "Both of these talented professionals are dedicated to our mission of improving the health and well-being of women and infants across North Carolina."
The N.C. Healthy Start Foundation, a
nonprofit organization established in 1990, conducts
ongoing public education campaigns, advises state and
local policy makers, and provides technical assistance
and professional training focused on reducing infant
death and illness and improving the health of women
and young children in North Carolina.
