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Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission to step down

Barbara Ferrer, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, will step down from her position in October and will then begin working as Chief Strategy Officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BOSTON PUBLIC HEALTH COMMISSION
Barbara Ferrer, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, will step down from her position in October and will then begin working as Chief Strategy Officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BOSTON PUBLIC HEALTH COMMISSION

Dr. Barbara Ferrer will step down as executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission at the beginning of October after holding the position since 2007, a Monday press release stated.

Since accepting her position, Ferrer has led the city to make the health of all residents a priority by improving childhood obesity rates, decreasing asthma rates in public housing and contributing to a decline in African-American infant mortality rates.

“I am proud of what the BPHC staff, our partners, and the city, have accomplished with and for Boston’s residents,” Ferrer said in the release. “I am excited to take what I have learned here in Boston and translate it into a national and international philanthropic agenda that will help support communities improve education, health and economic security from a multifaceted approach.”

Ferrer will become the Chief Strategy Officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, an organization that provides grants to educational initiatives and institutions. Before serving as the BPHC’s executive director, she worked on the committee as its deputy director.

“Barbara Ferrer has been a vital member of our City’s leadership team,” said Boston Mayor Martin Walsh in the release. “She has made countless contributions and has played an instrumental role directing initiatives that have improved every aspect of health in Boston – from decreasing infant mortality rates to improving access to substance abuse treatment.”

Following Ferrer’s departure on Oct. 3, 2014, BPHC co-chairs Dr. Paula Johnson and Dr. Howard Koh will lead a formal committee comprised of board and non-board members to determine Ferrer’s successor.

BPHC Medical Director Dr. Huy Nguyen will begin as interim executive director while the committee conducts its search.

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