College of Education and Human Development
David Anderson Honored By Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax
June 17, 2015
The Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County recently awarded David Anderson the 2015 Volunteer of the Year Award.
Anderson is a professor in the School of Recreation, Health, and Tourism at George Mason University who co-authors national surveys on drug and alcohol prevention efforts at the college, community college, and secondary school level. His volunteer work with the coalition includes strategic guidance in developing and evaluating prevention frameworks.
"For the past four years, our executive director and grants management specialist have met regularly with Dr. Anderson regarding community strategies for decreasing youth alcohol and other substance abuse," says Lisa Adler, president of the coalition's board of directors. "His expertise has been invaluable in helping our organization reach its goals with a major substance abuse prevention grant."
David Anderson (left) with Lisa Adler, president of the United Prevention Coaltion of Fairfax County, and Diane Eckert, M.S.W., deputy executive director.
The coalition addresses the abuse of prescription and over-the-counter medicines, heroin, marijuana, alcohol, tobacco, and club drugs. The nonprofit organization works in partnership with more than 60 community organizations to keep youth and young adults in the Fairfax communty safe and drug free.
"David's contribution to strengthening our evaluation capacity has been significant, especially related to our mass media campaign Don't Drink and Drive that received support from WAVES, residential housing, the Department of Public Health, and Mason's police department," says Diane Eckert, deputy executive director for the coalition. "We strongly believe that the work of our community coalition to reduce binge drinking and risk-related behaviors and the goals of George Mason University in these areas overlap. Our collaboration increases effectiveness and positive change."
Professor Anderson is also director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Health and last year was a featured expert for the Chronicle of Higher Education's week-long series on college drinking.
For additional information:
- CEHD Communications: cehdnews@gmu.edu
- College of Education and Human Development: cehd.gmu.edu
- School of Recreation, Health, and Tourism: rht.gmu.edu
About the college:
George Mason University's College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) includes two schools: the Graduate School of Education, one of the most comprehensive education schools in Virginia, and the School of Recreation, Health, and Tourism. CEHD offers a full range of courses, certificates, and degree programs on campus, online, and on site to more than 4,000 students each year. CEHD is fully accredited by NCATE, and all licensure programs are approved by the Virginia Department of Education. George Mason University, located just outside of Washington, D.C., is Virginia's largest public research university.
Follow CEHD on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MasonCEHD or Twitter at @MasonCEHD.