Hollywood, Health & Society Director Sandra de Castro Buffington delivered a keynote address about working with scriptwriters to create global health storylines at the Vaccines and New Media “Film Festival” on Friday, March 16 in Washington, D.C. She presented clips of TV storylines created with HH&S input, including vaccines on NBC's “Law & Order: SVU,” traumatic brain injury on Lifetime's "Army Wives" and HIV/AIDS on CBS's “The Bold and the Beautiful. ”The event, presented by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) and SmartGlobalHealth.org, explored how global health organizations and private foundations are making the case for U.S. investments in worldwide immunization—using online videos and social media to reach policymakers and the American public.
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Sandra de Castro Buffington, director of Hollywood, Health & Society, was invited to address the creative team and advisory board of the Hub TV Channel on Jan. 20 in Burbank. The Hub TV Channel, a joint venture of Discovery Communications Inc. and Hasbro, creates straight-on programming for children, and Buffington's presentation centered on health and safety messages, and the role HH&S has played in working with kids show.
The Norman Lear Center's Hollywood, Health & Society program was among the co-sponsors of the 5th International Entertainment Education Conference, which was held at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi in November. The event sought to inspire the entertainment industry, public health programmers, academics, donors and government officials to improve health and well-being around the world. A panel discussion titled "Insiders for a Day" featured Christopher Keyser, president of the Writers Guild of America, West; Zoanne Clack (Grey's Anatomy); Vinta Nanda (Tara); filmmaker Michael Nash; Walt Disney Feature Animation executive Karen Tenkhoff; and Sandra de Castro Buffington, director of Hollywood, Health & Society. Nash also screened his documentary Climate Refugees.
Medical leaders, global health workers and researchers convened in Seattle on Nov. 1-2 for a conference sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, titled “Achieving Lasting Impact at Scale: Social and Behavioral Change and the Spread of Family Health Innovations in Low-Income Countries.” Among those participating were Sandra de Castro Buffington, director of the Hollywood, Health & Society program; Neal Baer, executive producer of A Gifted Man (CBS); Dr. Gary Darmstadt, director of family health, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Melinda French Gates, co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Dr. Nana Twum-Danso of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement; and Dr. Nicholas Christakis.
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama topped the guest list at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's 34th Annual Awards Gala, which drew an array of the Washington elite, including House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, White House officials and members of Congress. Also among those in attendance was Hollywood, Health & Society Director Sandra de Castro Buffington, who shook the president's hand. The event raises critical funds for the organization's award-winning programs, and highlights the many contributions that Latinos make to the country.
Experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discussed the science behind the movie "Contagion" and the CDC's round-the-clock efforts to protect Americans from deadly outbreaks of disease. The event was hosted by the CDC Foundation, whose mission is to help the CDC "do more ... faster," and was held at Union Station in Washington, D.C. The panelists were CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden; Dr. Ali Khan, director of CDC's Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response; and Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Sandra de Castro Buffington, director of the Hollywood, Health & Society program, participated in a Q&A session following the panel talk. Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson served as honorary host.
liz fowlerThe Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Public Policy Conference held in Washington D.C. brought together national leaders, elected officials, corporate executives, community activists and educators to discuss critical issues facing the Latino community and the nation. Sandra de Castro Buffington, the director of the Hollywood, Health & Society program of the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center, delivered an address on the power of popular TV health storylines to reach the Latino community at the CHCI conference on Sept. 13. She was joined by moderator Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard; Dr. Elmer Huerta, director of Cancer Preventorium, Washington Hospital Center; Liz Fowler, special assistant to the president for health care and economic policy; and Chef LaLa, a nutritionist.