WALTHAM, MA | June 1, 2012
EDC Vice President Jerry Reed has received the 2012 Public Service Award from the Society for Prevention Research (SPR), which bestows the award in recognition of extensive and effective advocacy for prevention science and research-based programs. Reed was presented with the award at SPR’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
The award acknowledges Reed for his decades of work in violence and suicide prevention, including his current work as director of the federally funded Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC), which is based at EDC. SPRC provides policymakers, advocates, and the public with assistance in developing and evaluating suicide prevention programs. Reed also leads EDC’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Injury, Violence, and Suicide, which encompasses several projects, including the Children’s Safety Network.
Reed’s work in suicide prevention was recently recognized by the Obama administration when SPRC was selected as a White House “Champion of Change,” part of President Obama’s Winning the Future Across America initiative.
Prior to joining EDC, Reed was executive director of the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA, a nonprofit created to implement a national strategy to address suicide. He spent 15 years as a career civil servant developing programs addressing substance abuse prevention and treatment, family advocacy child and youth development, and social services. Selected as a Congressional Fellow in 1996, Reed served as senior advisor to the Office of Senator Harry Reid (NV) on issues of health care, mental health, suicide prevention, and aging.
Reed speaks nationally and internationally on the topic of suicide prevention and serves on the board of the International Association for Suicide Prevention as chair of the Council of Organizational Representatives.
Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), is a global nonprofit organization that addresses some of the world’s most urgent challenges in education, health, and economic development. EDC manages 350 projects in 35 countries. Visit edc.org.
