co-sponsored by CVParents.org and Castro Valley Unified School District

What's Behind the Wellness Policy?

Gail Woodward-Lopez, MPH, RD

Associate Director, Center for Weight and Health, UC Berkeley

Castro Valley Parent

Gail Woodward-Lopez explained the importance of healthy eating for children and described the epidemic of obesity that is now afflicting our children. Please click here to see her slide presentation.

Gail Woodward-Lopez received her BA in neurobiology and MPH at UC Berkeley with an emphasis in nutrition. She has over 15 years experience developing, implementing and evaluating public health programs in a variety of settings here and abroad. Her current areas of expertise include determinants of obesity and effective strategies to prevent overweight. In her current position she oversees and coordinates the Center's activities and initiatives. She is responsible for research and intervention program development regarding weight-related issues and food security. She also directs activities to gather, synthesize, interpret and disseminate information on topics of concern to the Center. Other areas of expertise include maternal and child health, curriculum development, training , education and evaluation. She is bilingual and has worked extensively with the Latino community in California and Latin America. Her previous positions include: Senior Technical Advisor for Nutrition and Academic Program Development with Wellstart International in San Diego, Population Fellow with The Center for Adolescent Education in Mexico City, Perinatal Director at Vacaville Community Clinic, Education Program Manager for Planned Parenthood of Western Washington and Evaluation Specialist for the Mission Neighborhood Health Center in San Francisco. She has served as a consultant for UNICEF in Nicaragua, the Arizona-Mexico Border Health Foundation in Tucson and PATH ( Program for Appropriate Technology in Health) in Mexico.