Health Communication News
HRiA Honors Two Boston Teens
From left, HRiA President Ray Considine, Abi Richardson and Tamaki Sakakibara.
March 3, 2009
Health Resources in Action honored Derrikka Gillenwater and Abi Richardson with its Community Health Award at the organization's 51st Annual Meeting and Reception at the Moakley Courthouse in Boston.
Derrikka Gillenwater, a Jamaica Plain resident, is a junior at Media Communications Technology High School where she excels in both academics and extra curricular activities.
At Health Resources in Action, she is a peer leader for Healthy Girls, Healthy Women, a project that trains young women to educate their peers about health issues. Derrikka, with other peer leaders, developed and implemented workshops for girls in various neighborhoods across Boston including Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, Mattapan, and Roslindale. Through these workshops, the peer leaders educated over 500 girls about physical activity, nutrition, body image, and healthy relationships.
Since getting involved with Healthy Girls, Healthy Women, Derrikka has become involved with numerous other HRiA projects. She volunteered to be a youth representative for the judging panel for last year's The 84 film-shorts contest and also volunteered at the film-shorts festival. She continues her leadership role at HRiA through The 84 Crew, a tobacco prevention youth advisory group, in which she serves as secretary of the Executive Committee. In this group, she has been actively involved in educating youth about the effects of tobacco products.
Abi Richardson lives in Roslindale and is a senior at Boston Latin Academy in Dorchester. She has been an intern with Health Resources in Action's Health Communication Services since October 2008. Abi was also a part of the youth advisory group for the Youth Action Initiative (currently Mass Youth Against Tobacco) during the 06-07 school year.
She currently works on The84.org, an online, statewide youth tobacco prevention movement. Assisting in content management for the website, online research, staying on top of marketing trends, and providing an insightful youth perspective, Abi has become a valued member of the Health Communication team. In addition to being actively involved in both extracurricular school activities and church activities, Abi also works at Niketown Boston. She has been accepted to many of her top college choices and plans on studying communications this fall.
Derrikka Gillenwater, a Jamaica Plain resident, is a junior at Media Communications Technology High School where she excels in both academics and extra curricular activities.
At Health Resources in Action, she is a peer leader for Healthy Girls, Healthy Women, a project that trains young women to educate their peers about health issues. Derrikka, with other peer leaders, developed and implemented workshops for girls in various neighborhoods across Boston including Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, Mattapan, and Roslindale. Through these workshops, the peer leaders educated over 500 girls about physical activity, nutrition, body image, and healthy relationships.
Since getting involved with Healthy Girls, Healthy Women, Derrikka has become involved with numerous other HRiA projects. She volunteered to be a youth representative for the judging panel for last year's The 84 film-shorts contest and also volunteered at the film-shorts festival. She continues her leadership role at HRiA through The 84 Crew, a tobacco prevention youth advisory group, in which she serves as secretary of the Executive Committee. In this group, she has been actively involved in educating youth about the effects of tobacco products.
Abi Richardson lives in Roslindale and is a senior at Boston Latin Academy in Dorchester. She has been an intern with Health Resources in Action's Health Communication Services since October 2008. Abi was also a part of the youth advisory group for the Youth Action Initiative (currently Mass Youth Against Tobacco) during the 06-07 school year.
She currently works on The84.org, an online, statewide youth tobacco prevention movement. Assisting in content management for the website, online research, staying on top of marketing trends, and providing an insightful youth perspective, Abi has become a valued member of the Health Communication team. In addition to being actively involved in both extracurricular school activities and church activities, Abi also works at Niketown Boston. She has been accepted to many of her top college choices and plans on studying communications this fall.
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Jodie Silverman, MPA
