CRGE:  who we are
Dr. Bonnie Thornton Dill, CRGE DirectorDr. Amy McLaughlin, CRGE Assistant DirectorDr. Tomni Dance, QRIG Co-Director
 AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jackie Donaldson
October 4, 2006   301-405-5223

Latino Health Expert Ruth E. Zambrana Speaks at Congressional Hispanic Caucus Public Policy Conference

COLLEGE PARK, MD—Dr. Ruth E. Zambrana, Director of the Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity (CRGE), spoke at an Oct. 2 panel on the importance of culture for quality health care, research and data collection. The panel was part of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Public Policy Conference held in Washington, DC.

Dr. Zambrana discussed the role of culture in understanding health disparities. She emphasized that to uncover when culture matters in health care, those who are committed to improving the health of Latinos and other economically disadvantaged groups must engage the community.

“Community participatory research approaches do provide a forum and avenues of meaningful participation, open deliberation, civic problem solving and capacity building,” she stated. “Yet, to my knowledge, only a few scholars engage this approach.”

Formerly the Research Director for CRGE, Dr. Zambrana holds joint positions as Professor in the Women’s Studies Department at University of Maryland, College Park. Additionally, she is Adjunct Professor of Family Medicine at University of Maryland Baltimore, School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine. Dr. Zambrana earned her Ph.D. from Boston University in 1977 and has worked in the area of health disparities of low-income women and children for over 25 years.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute assembles elected officials, policy experts, academic scholars, corporate executives and community leaders each October for Hispanic Heritage Month to discuss issues of importance to the Hispanic community. The two-day Public Policy Conference takes an innovative approach with a concurrent summit series format that facilitates discussion on the most significant issues affecting the Hispanic community.

CRGE is a nationally prominent research organization that promotes scholarship as well as faculty and graduate student development across the University of Maryland campus. CRGE’s interdisciplinary work explores the intersections of race, gender, ethnicity and other dimensions of difference as they shape identities, behavior and complex social relations.

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