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Family and Children’s Association Appoints Donna Bacon as New Board Member

The Island Now
Dr. Donna Bacon. Source: Family and Children's Association and fcali.org.

Long Island nonprofit Family and Children’s Association has named Dr. Donna Bacon to its Board of Trustees.

The FCA is a nonprofit agency helping more than 30,000 Long Islanders each year. For the last 135 years, the organization has worked to protect and strengthen vulnerable children, seniors, families and communities on Long Island.

Dr. Bacon is a tenured professor at Nassau Community College in the Health Education department, where she serves as the director of the Health Studies program. She also teaches the courses “Human Sexuality” and “Death Education.” In addition to her department responsibilities, Bacon serves as the director of violence prevention programs, creating and initiating prevention education programs on the NCC campus to reduce the occurrence of intimate partner violence, sexual assault and stalking.

She is also the founding Executive Director of Mid-Nassau Lend a Helping Hand, an organization providing emergency financial services to women undergoing recent breast cancer surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment. Dr. Bacon’s dedication to communities extends internationally with her mission work in Pretoria and Soweto, South Africa, working directly with women that are pregnant and HIV+ as well as training outreach workers in various communities and treatment facilities.

A licensed clinical social worker and Certified Thanatologist, Bacon earned a Master of Social Work from Adelphi University before also earning Master of Science and Doctor of Education degrees in Health and Human Behavior Studies from Teachers College, Columbia University. Bacon is a graduate of the Energeia Partnership Leadership Academy, an organization dedicated to identifying and addressing the serious, complex and multidimensional issues challenging the Long Island region.

Bacon was awarded with a Nassau County Citation for her work with women and minorities on Long Island. She was also the first recipient of the Columbia University Teachers College Lorna Macintyre award. In 2015, she also was awarded the Distinguished Research Group on Disparities in Health Alumni Service Award for her national and international excellence in practice, service delivery, community outreach, research and advocacy on behalf of the most vulnerable populations to foster equity in health for all.

Having worked with underserved populations for over 20 years, Bacon has dedicated her life and work to the education, empowerment and health promotion of underserved individuals and communities.

Board Chair of the FCA Drew Crowley said of Bacon’s appointment, “Dr. Bacon’s years of experience as an educator on Long Island and lifelong commitment to empowerment and health promotion of individuals and communities in need will add great value and guidance in support of the many programs administered by FCA.”

President and CEO of the FCA, Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, commented, “Donna’s life experience, academic credentials, boundless energy and compassion will help shape FCA in the years to come and we are lucky to have her on our team. As we re-double our efforts to advance health, educational success and economic security among Long Island’s young people, Donna’s lifelong commitment to community action and education will serve us well.”

According to Bacon, she looks forward to helping the organization. “It’s an ideal opportunity for me to continue supporting the best interests of Long Island youth and families. I hope it’s evident from the expanse of my career that for me, there’s nothing more meaningful,” said Bacon.

 

Story submitted by Family and Children’s Association.

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