Over 500 public health practitioners and advocates gathered at the Royal Plaza Hotel and Trade Center in Marlboro, MA, on October 21, 2008, to network and learn together at the Ounce of Prevention conference sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH). Dr. Nancy Krieger, a social epidemiologist at Harvard School of Public Health, delivered the keynote address on social inequalities in health. Sergio Matos, Executive Director of the Community Health Worker Network of New York, spoke about the unique contributions of community health workers. Senior Policy Advisor Geoff Wilkinson opened the conference and introduced Commissioner John Auerbach who addressed the impact of the recent fiscal crisis on public health programs. The conference also included a number of workshops on relevant issues and a series of plenary sessions focused on issues of concern to public health practitioners.For more information about the conference, contact Southeast Regional DPH Director Ron O'Connor at 508-984-0615

(Top row, left ) Department of Public Health Senior Policy Advisor Geoff Wilkinson welcomes over 500 participants to the conference. (Top row, center) Dr. Nancy Krieger of Harvard's School of Public Health delivers the keynote address. (Top row, right) Commissioner Auerbach discusses the impact of recent budget cuts on the Department. (Middle row, left and right) Sergio Matos, Executive Director of the Community Health Worker Network of New York, talks about the unique role of the community health worker in public health as Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers (MACHW) Executive Director Lisa Renee Holderby and Rhonda Boudry of the Central Massachusetts Health Directors listen. (Bottom row, left) Fall River Municipal Employee Wellness director Julianne Kelly talks with Ed Dyke, grants director of Mass. DPH, over lunch. (Bottom row, center) DPH Commissioner Auerbach poses with former Fall River Health and Human Services Director Michael Coughlin, Healthy City Fall River Coordinator and DPH Senior Policy Advisor Geoff Wilkinson, after presentation of the Commissioner's Leadership Award to Healthy City Fall River. (Bottom row, right) David Crowley of Social Capital, Inc., leads a workshop on the creation of web sites that incorporate  Web 2.0 technology to create interactive web site to increase  connections among community members.