Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
DSTDP/ Los Angeles County Sexually Transmitted Disese Program
2615 S. Grand Ave., Rm. 500
Los Angeles,
CA
USA
90007
ycavalier@ph.lacounty.gov
Biographical Sketch:
I have been working in the field of public health since 1997, devoting the majority of that time to youth related health issues. At a local level, I not only worked as an HIV Educator at the American Red Cross implementing the Act Smart curriculum in five local after-school programs, but also worked as the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coordinator at the Somerset County Health Department working with youth groups, community leaders, churches, schools and parents to coordinate asset building activities for the young people in the county. I conducted various educational classes to include teen sexuality, teen pregnancy prevention, smoking cessation, substance abuse and HIV prevention. These experiences showed me that among teens there is still a lack of basic knowledge of sexuality information and it is crucial that as public health professionals we work with the community surrounding the youth in order to support adolescent health behavior decisions. At the state level, I worked at the Maryland AIDS Administration and Governor’s Council on Adolescent Pregnancy where I developed my presentation skills by participating on informational panels and a youth resource hotline, monitored teen pregnancy grants, provided grantees technical assistance, educated community-based organizations about health education models, implemented a state-wide abstinence media campaign, and worked with community coalitions (Interagency Committees on Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and Parenting, one in each county in the State of Maryland). At the Federal level, I serve as a Public Health Advisor with Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for HIV, STD, TB Prevention (NCHSTP)), Division of STD Prevention (DSTDP), Program Development & Support Branch (PDSB) in Los Angeles, CA where I manage programs that conduct sexually transmitted disease (STD) surveillance focusing on syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and HIV. Prior to the CDC, I worked at the HIV/AIDS Bureau at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) monitoring grants for the AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETCs) and the Peer Education Training Sites and Resource and Evaluation Center (PETS/REC) Programs. I also coordinated the development of a web-based curriculum for health care providers called: Treating Adolescents with HIV: Tools for Building Skills in Cultural Competence, Clinical Care, and Support.
Furthermore, my doctoral dissertation focused on ascertaining and understanding the protective factors in preventing repeat teen pregnancy rather than the risks factors associated with this behavior.