SILVER SPRING, MD, November 29, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Delores L. Parron, PhD, with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Dr. Parron celebrates many years' experience in her professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in her field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Dr. Parron's career spans federal government, academia, and clinical practice. Early in her career, she was an adoption selection social worker for Spence Chapin Adoption Service in New York and for the adoption division of the Washington D.C. Department of Human Resources. She moved into a position as psychiatric social worker with the Hillcrest Children's Center of the D.C. Children's Hospital, now the Children's National Medical Center. Her experiences served as the base for her next position as assistant professor and co-director of the division of behavioral science in the department of psychiatry at the Howard University College of Medicine from 1971 to 1978.
In 1977, after completing a PhD, Dr. Parron spent a year as a social science analyst for the President's Commission for Mental Health at the White House. Her next challenge came as a senior program officer for the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences. She was a key member in the launch of a new Division of Metal Health and Behavioral Medicine, an unprecedented feat given its multifaceted nature, and resulted in her publication of "Health and Behavior Frontiers of Research in the Biobehavioral Sciences" with David A. Hamburg and Glen R. Elliot in 1982. The work influenced new initiatives in medicine adopted by the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other respected institutions.
Dr. Parron was the first person to fill the legislatively mandated position of associate director for special populations at the National Institute of Mental Health from 1983 to 1999. She is recognized for her research and policy development in women's health and health disparities among ethnically diverse minority populations. She was also instrumental in creating Public Law 103-43, the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993, which created inclusion requirements for subpopulations and women in clinical research and trials supported by the NIH. The law played a key role in the formation of the Culture and Psychiatric Diagnosis Group, which authored "Culture and Psychiatric Diagnosis: A DSM-IV Perspective" published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Dr. Parron's leadership and office has yielded research reflected in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV" (DSM-IV) that better ensure culturally specific and appropriate services for ethnically diverse communities. Other highlights in her career include service with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as deputy assistant secretary of planning and evaluation, as well as scientific advisor for capacity development at the NIH Office of the Director.
Dr. Parron was a trustee of Georgian Court College, now Georgian Court University, for five years, and a trustee of the Center for the Advancement of Health for six. She was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in 2001, and is a longstanding member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the American Psychological Association.
Dr. Parron has been featured in Who's Who of American Women and Who's Who in America, and received Special Recognition Awards from the assistant secretary for health with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 1992 and 1993. That year, Georgian Court established the Delores Parron Scholarship, a four-year award for minority woman in the top 10% in their class, followed in 2008 with induction into their Court of Honor in recognition of distinguished service, leadership, and achievement that brought distinction to the university. Georgian Court awarded her a 2011 Alumni Service Award as well, which she also received in 1993 from the Catholic University of America. In 1998, Dr. Parron received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Minority Fellowship Advisory Committee and a Distinguished Leader for Women honor by the Committee on Women in Psychology, both of the APA. The organization also awarded her a 2003 Meritorious Research Service commendation. Dr. Parron received a 2013 NASW Social Work Pioneer honor in recognition of exceptional contributions to the social work profession and ability to meet the needs of all people.
Dr. Parron earned a bachelor's degree from Georgian Court in 1966, an MS in social work from the Catholic University of America in 1968, and a PhD in social work and behavioral science from the same in 1977. She holds certificates from the Brookings Institution, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and the Federal Executive Institute. She was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, and is married to Colonel Sherman L. Ragland (USARET).
In recognition of outstanding contributions to her profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, Delores L. Parron, PhD, has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor.
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America , Marquis Who's Who has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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