Lisa Dawson

Director of Community Outreach

Lisa Dawson is the Director of the Injury Prevention Program within the Division of Health Protection at the Georgia Department of Public Health. Dawson is also an Adjunct Instructor at Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health. She is a member of IPRCE’s Steering Committee and ex-officio member of the IPRCE External Advisory Member. She is the IPRCE Outreach Core Director; and is responsible for leading the implementation of IPRCE’s Outreach aims and objectives. Dawson works closely with the IPRCE Center Director and the IPRCE Program Director to monitor progress of IPRCE activities, ensuring they are responsive to community needs. She also generates interest in IPRCE education and research opportunities by linking community and state public health and injury prevention departments to IPRCE personnel, faculty, and Task Forces.

She has worked in public health and the injury prevention field for close to 25 years. She serves on numerous injury prevention related advisory committees, coalitions, and councils. Her roles at the state level include active participation in the Child Fatality Review as the DPH Commissioner’s Proxy; roles with GA Alzheimer’s and Related Dementia plan; participation in the State Highway Safety Planning Committee and  in both NHTSA sponsored activities, the Traffic Records Coordinating Committee and Georgia CODES project; she holds a gubernatorial appointment as a Commissioner to the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Trust Fund and the Commission on Family Violence. She is a former Advisory Member for Domestic Violence Prevention Project Connect Program, member of the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Georgia and member of SAFE KIDS Georgia.

Selected Career Milestones 

She started her career on a child safety seat grant and transportation safety in the mid-90s. Her work and responsibilities soon encompassed suicide prevention, fire safety, domestic violence prevention and prevention of child abuse and neglect.

Her interests have evolved to  utilize comprehensive applied public health models and evidence based communication tools and mentor students and new professionals in public health and injury prevention.

Education 

Lisa is a graduate of the Rollins School of Public Health inaugural class of Career MPH Program.