CDC’s Dr. Don Lollar to Serve as Ad Hoc Board Member

(ALEXANDRIA, VA) Nancy McFarlane, CTRS President of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) recently announced that the 2004-2005 ATRA Ad Hoc Board Member will be Don Lollar, Ed.D, a Senior Research Scientist, for the Division for Human Development and Disability at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. McFarlane stated, “We are honored this year to have Dr. Don Lollar as our Consumer Advisor.”

Dr. Lollar spoke at the 2003 ATRA Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA and challenged recreational therapy professionals to address the need for intervention on the growing epidemic of obesity in this county. As the Consumer advisor, Dr. Lollar will be able to offer insight to the ATRA Board of Directors, specifically related to healthcare policy. Lollar currently serves as the co-lead of the HEALTHY PEOPLE 2010 workgroup on Disability and Secondary Conditions and is the CDC representative to the advisory committee for the Child and Adolescent Measurement of Health Initiative and the Surgeon General's Task Force on Children's Mental Health. Dr. Lollar is an initiator and member of the World Health Organization task force to adapt the international classification (ICF) for children and youth with disabilities. According to the CDC, Dr. Lollar has spent the past seven years developing public health science and programs to increase participation in society among people with disabilities by promoting health and preventing secondary conditions. According to McFarlane, Dr. Lollar is a leading advocate on health issues in the United States. McFarlane states, “We are very excited to have him join our Board in this advisory capacity.”

The American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) is the national membership organization representing the interests and need of recreational therapists. ATRA has a long history of active involvement with healthcare policy issues and the board is very excited at the prospect of working closely with Dr. Lollar in the upcoming year.

For more information, please contact the ATRA National Office at (703) 683-9420 or access the ATRA website at www.atra-tr.org

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The American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) was founded in 1984 to advance the profession of therapeutic recreation. ATRA is a non-profit, professional membership organization dedicating 100% of resources and efforts to promote therapeutic recreation professionals in health care and human service settings. For more information, please contact the ATRA National Office.