Town Hall Meeting Speakers

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Speakers' Biographies

Cria Perrine, PhD

Lead Infant Feeding Team, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC

LCDR Cria Perrine, US Public Health Service, is an epidemiologist in CDC’s Nutrition Branch, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. For the last five years she has been the lead epidemiologist for CDC’s Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care survey, conducting analyses to produce individualized hospital reports, state reports, and web tables about US hospital practices that support breastfeeding. Dr. Perrine originally joined CDC as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer assigned to the International Micronutrient Team in the Nutrition Branch. She received a PhD in nutrition and health sciences from Emory University and has authored more than 50 publications related to nutrition and maternal and child health.

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Susan Karol, MD

Chief Medical Officer, Indian Health Service

CAPT Susan Karol has served as chief medical officer of the Indian Health Service (IHS) since 2008. IHS is the principal federal healthcare provider for American Indians and Alaska Natives. A member of the Tuscarora Indian Nation, she has served as medical director of The Hunt Breast Center, Hunt Hospital, Danvers, Massachusetts, and, from 1996 to 2008, as chief of surgery at Beverly Hospital, Massachusetts. She is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

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Carina Saraiva, MPH

Research Scientist, California Department of Public Health

Carina Saraiva earned a master’s degree in public health with an emphasis in nutrition from the University of California, Berkeley. As a researcher with the California Department of Public Health, she provides support for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health nutrition programs targeting maternal and child populations. As a lead researcher on breastfeeding, she compiles data to monitor progress towards achieving Healthy People 2020 objectives for breastfeeding initiation, duration, and exclusivity, and achieving hospital and worksite support for breastfeeding mothers and infants in California.

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