Prevent Child Abuse America, June 18, 2019.
Chicago—Prevent Child Abuse America (PCA America) announced today that after a nationwide search its board of directors has selected Dr. Melissa Merrick (right) as the organization’s next president and chief executive officer. Merrick brings more than 18 years of clinical, research and leadership experience related to the etiology, course and prevention of child abuse and neglect. Merrick currently serves as a senior epidemiologist at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and will begin with PCA America on July 15.
“We’re pleased to have found an individual so uniquely qualified to assume leadership of the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit organization focused on the primary prevention of child abuse and neglect,” said PCA America Board Chair Andrea Robertson. “Dr. Merrick has strategically framed the prevention of early adversity as an urgent public health need, directly connected to positive child welfare, social and economic outcomes in her work at CDC. We’re thrilled she’ll be leading the next chapter of PCA America’s important work.”
“PCA America’s dedication to abuse and neglect prevention through the promotion of safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for all children and its network of state chapters can propel true data-driven prevention action,” explained Merrick. “This infrastructure and the organization’s evidence-based approach are among the critical factors that will advance the next generation of prevention work and ensure the conditions for strong and thriving children, families and communities across the country. I’m eager to begin this exciting new journey.”
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