Puentes Consortium at Rice to discuss public health in the US-Mexico border region Feb. 26

MEDIA ADVISORY

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Jeff Falk
713-348-6775
jfalk@rice.edu

Puentes Consortium at Rice to discuss public health in the US-Mexico border region Feb. 26

HOUSTON – (Feb. 17, 2015) – Leading experts from the United States and Mexico will explore the challenges and opportunities of public health efforts in the U.S.-Mexico border region at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Feb. 26. The event will feature a panel discussion with two members of the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission and conclude with a keynote address by Dr. Julio Frenk, Mexico’s former minister of health and now dean of the faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health.

The event is part of the Puentes Consortium’s annual symposium. It is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Who: Panelists: Cristina Rabadán-Diehl, director of the Office of Americas in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Global Affairs, and Gudelia Rangel Gómez, coordinator of comprehensive strategy for migrant health in the Mexican Ministry of Health.

Jill Guernsey de Zapien, associate dean for community programs in the University of Arizona’s Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, will serve as moderator. David Leebron, president of Rice University, will provide welcoming remarks.

Keynote speaker: Dr. Julio Frenk, Mexico’s former minister of health and now dean of the faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health. He will be introduced by Luis Ernesto Derbez, rector of Universidad de las Américas Puebla and Mexico’s former minister of foreign affairs.

What: “Puentes Symposium 2015: U.S.-Mexico Border Health and Well-Being.”

When: Thursday, Feb. 26, 5-7 p.m.

Where: Rice University, James A. Baker III Hall, Kelly International Conference Facility, 6100 Main St.

The Puentes Consortium is made up of six universities from Mexico and the U.S.: Rice University, the University of Arizona, the University of California at San Diego, Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey and Universidad de Monterrey. It provides a distinctive voice for the binational community of scholars who research issues affecting both countries. For more information, visit www.puentesconsortium.org.

Members of the news media who want to attend should RSVP to Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

The public must register to attend this event at http://bakerinstitute.org/events/register/1701/?submit=RSVP.

For a map of Rice University’s campus with parking information, go to http://www.rice.edu/maps. Media should park in the Central Campus Garage (underground).

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