Newman's Own Foundation Names Dr. Rafael Pérez-Escamilla to Board of Directors
WESTPORT, Conn., Jan. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Newman's Own Foundation has announced the election of global public health expert Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, PhD, to its board of directors. The Foundation continues the work of its founder, actor and philanthropist Paul Newman, by turning all net profits and royalties from the sale of Newman's Own products into donations, totaling more than $570 million to date.
Dr. Pérez-Escamilla is Professor of Public Health, Director of the Office of Public Health Practice, and Director of the Global Health Concentration and the Maternal Child Health Promotion Program at the Yale School of Public Health. As Principal Investigator of the Yale-Griffin CDC Prevention Research Center, he conducts health inequities research to assess the impact of community health workers at improving health outcomes in vulnerable communities.
Dr. Pérez-Escamilla has served as a senior advisor to maternal and child community nutrition programs and household food security measurement projects funded by numerous organizations. These have included the World Health Organization, the Pan American Health Organization, UNICEF, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Agency for International Development, The U.S. National Institutes of Health, The World Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and governments in Latin America & the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Europe.
A member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, Dr. Pérez-Escamilla has published more than 300 research articles, three books/monographs, and numerous journal supplements, book chapters, and technical reports. He is a graduate of the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, where he earned a BS in Chemical Engineering. He earned an MS in Food Science and a PhD in Nutrition at the University of California at Davis.
"Rafael's research has contributed to improvements in maternal, infant, and child nutrition, as well as household food security and early child development globally. We are delighted to have a public health expert of his stature on the Newman's Own Foundation Board of Directors," said Board Chair Michael Clayton. "He will bring his vast knowledge and expertise on children's wellness and food and nutrition security to the Foundation, and we are grateful that we will now benefit from his guidance as part of the Board."
"I am thrilled to lend my experience to further the mission of Newman's Own Foundation," said Dr. Pérez-Escamilla. "I am inspired by Paul Newman's vision and the impact the Foundation is making on the lives of children in the U.S. and abroad."
About Newman's Own Foundation
Newman's Own Foundation gives all net profits and royalties from the sale of Newman's Own products to impactful organizations around the world. Since actor and philanthropist Paul Newman created the first Newman's Own products in 1982, more than $570 million has been donated. For more information, visit www.newmansownfoundation.org.