Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, joined members of the Health Sciences Campus community for the USC Women in Management Luncheon on July 28 at the Norris Medical Library.

Ferrer, who was appointed as director in January by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, served as the chief strategy officer for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, where she oversaw key program areas, including food, health and well-being. She also has been a senior leader of public health agencies in Massachusetts, particularly in Boston. One of her main objectives in her work for the county will be to address health inequities among residents.

“When black babies are dying at four times the rate of white babies, that’s a health inequity, and that’s something that can be changed,” she said.

— Leigh Bailey

Barbara Ferrer was appointed as director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in January by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. (Photo/Ricardo Carrasco III)