Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health!
IABC/Toronto is thrilled to award Dr. de Villa the prestigious 2021 Communicator of the Year (COTY) Award for her role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic through excellent leadership and crisis communication. Over the duration of the pandemic, Dr. de Villa has worked tirelessly to ensure Torontonians have the information they need to keep themselves and those around them safe. She has been a trusted, reliable voice, delivering updates about the COVID-19 virus through regular appearances on local media, including a standing weekly segment on CP24 and via Twitter to her 38,600 followers. She has addressed concerns and complex discussions about mandatory masking, vaccine confidence and hesitancy and public health safety guidelines in a thoughtful, non-judgmental and easy-to-understand way that connects with Toronto’s diverse communities.
With the help of her leadership, as of December 9 at 8 a.m. ET, 85.9 per cent of Toronto residents aged 12 and older have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and 88.7 per cent have initiated their vaccinations series by getting one dose. The City of Toronto has also initiated a “get out the vaccine” campaign called “VaxTO”. This innovative program leveraged text messages and auto-calling to promote vaccination uptake. Toronto Public Health and its Team Toronto partners hosted what was believed to be a new world record on June 27, 2021, for the most one-day COVID-19 vaccines given at a single clinic worldwide. The “Our Winning Shot” clinic at Scotiabank Arena saw 26,771 Torontonians roll up their sleeves on that day to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
As the Medical Officer of Health for the City of Toronto, Dr. de Villa leads Toronto Public Health, Canada’s largest local public health agency, which provides public health programs and services to more than 2.9 million residents.
Dr. de Villa holds a Doctor of Medicine and Master of Health Science (MHSc) (Health Promotion) from the University of Toronto and holds a Master of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business. Dr. de Villa is also an Adjunct Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Health at the University of Toronto. She has authored, published and presented research on issues including public health considerations for city planning and emergency preparedness, communicable and infectious disease control, and public health policy development.
Dr. de Villa will formally receive her award at the Communicator of the Year event on Friday, February 4, 2022, where she will share key learnings and takeaways from almost two years of pandemic communication, including a Q&A from the audience.
Fees:
$20: IABC member rate ($22.60 with HST)
$30: Non-member rate ($33.90 with HST)
Note: This is a virtual event. A link to access the event will be provided to all registrants closer to the event date.