Celebrating the work of California media advocates

This week at the Childhood Obesity Conference, Strategic Alliance announced the winners of our first-ever Award for Excellence in Media Advocacy. This award honors California advocates who are shaping media coverage that shifts how policymakers and the public understand food and physical activity—as issues that demand policy change, corporate accountability and social justice.

Strategic Alliance 2013 Award for Excellence in Media Advocacy Winners: 
Maria Cabildo & Genoveva Islas-Hooker

• Maria Cabildo, Executive Director, East Los Angeles Community Corporation.
  Maria works to expand access to affordable housing, drive economic development, and foster community leadership in Boyle Heights. Her efforts have led to stories in the media that make the case for a thriving, equitable  community. 
• Genoveva (Veva) Islas-Hooker, Regional Coordinator, Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program.
  Veva has been a tireless advocate and a key leader in the Central Valley, building momentum for healthy and safe communities while also drawing attention to social injustices. In particular, Veva has used media to shed light on stark regional inequities, including lack of access to fresh produce and healthy food within farmworker communities, and issues of safety within underserved neighborhoods.

We'd also like to acknowledge the media work of our three finalists:

• Brandie Banks-Bey, Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program’s media coordinator, works behind the scenes to ensure that local efforts to advance health and equity receive media coverage.
• Jeff Ritterman, former Richmond City Council member, led the charge in a bold effort to promote and pass a sugar-sweetened beverage tax in Richmond last fall.
• Miguel Villarreal, director of Food and Nutritional Services at Novato Unified School District, has effectively used local and national media to build momentum for healthy school food policy, most recently advocating for a city ordinance to put limits on mobile food vendors near schools.

Please join us in congratulating Veva, Maria, and our terrific nominees! For links to the stellar media work of the award winners and finalists, click here.

For more tips and resources to help you make the case for healthy food and activity environments in your community, join our Rapid Response Media Network today.