Dr. Alicia Bazzano Named Special Olympics Chief Health Officer

Special Olympics also announces Jason Teitler as Senior Vice President of Global Communications and Brand.

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Aug 05, 2019, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Special Olympics has announced Alicia Bazzano, MD, PhD, MPH, as Chief Health Officer. Dr. Bazzano is a pediatrician and public health executive who has dedicated her career to improving the health of people with intellectual disabilities (ID).

In her new role, Dr. Bazzano will be a member of the organization's senior leadership team and will be responsible for providing strategic oversight of all health activities around the world to ensure public funding, policies, medical training programs, and health service delivery are inclusive of people with ID.

"We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Bazzano to Special Olympics and our global leadership team," said Mary Davis, Special Olympics Chief Executive Officer. "As we create a world where people with intellectual disabilities have equal opportunities to be healthy, Dr. Bazzano's expertise as a clinician, public health expert, professor, advocate, fundraiser, and organization builder make her a powerful addition to our six million-strong global movement."

Prior to joining Special Olympics, Dr. Bazzano served as Senior Medical Director for Health Policy at Acumen, LLC. She previously was Chief Physician at the Westside Regional Center, the Los Angeles agency charged with serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She is on the faculty of the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, and was deeply involved in the founding, of the Achievable Health Center, a first-of-its-kind federally qualified health center dedicated to developmental disabilities.

Dr. Bazzano served as Clinical Director for Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® Health Promotion for Special Olympics Southern California and secured several grants to educate health professionals. Dr. Bazzano has been published and cited in leading peer-reviewed journals and has been awarded foundation, state, federal and international funding to design, implement, and continually evaluate programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Additionally, Special Olympics announces Jason Teitler as Senior Vice President of Global Communications and Brand. Teitler has deep knowledge of Special Olympics, having previously led public relations agency collaboration with the organization. Teitler will craft and lead the global communications and brand strategy to drive engagement with the movement among influencers, media, private sector leaders, and policymakers.

"I am pleased to welcome Jason Teitler to Special Olympics," said Mary Davis, Special Olympics Chief Executive Officer. "In addition to extensive communications and marketing expertise, Jason brings a keen understanding of the power of the more than six million people in the movement to create an inclusive world where every single person is accepted and welcomed."

"We are thrilled that Jason's horsepower will now be driving communications at Special Olympics," said Kelli Seely, Special Olympics Chief Marketing and Development Officer. "His track record proves he is fearless about challenging conventions, which is exactly what Eunice Kennedy Shriver did 50 years ago when she created Special Olympics."

Most recently, Teitler held the position of Chair, Fan Experience and Executive Vice President, Managing Director in the Brand Solutions practice at BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe), where he led high-profile event activations for leading and emerging brands across multiple industries, and directed sports and entertainment celebrity ambassadors during earned-media and experiential programs, including extensive media tours, social engagement and brand immersions.

Teitler has been responsible for many break-through and highly celebrated campaigns that have taken place on some of the world's biggest stages, and he has media trained some of the most respected celebrities.

Teitler's familiarity with Special Olympics stems from his role as lead for BCW's Special Olympics International philanthropic efforts for six years, including communications and event support for World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 and U.S.A. Games in 2018, and the July 2018 50th Anniversary Celebration in Chicago.

About Special Olympics

Special Olympics is a global inclusion movement using sport, health, education and leadership programs every day around the world to end discrimination against and empower people with intellectual disabilities. Founded in 1968, and celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year, the Special Olympics movement has grown to more than 6 million athletes and Unified Sports partners in over 190 countries. With the support of more than 1 million coaches and volunteers, Special Olympics delivers 32 Olympic-type sports and over 100,000 games and competitions throughout the year. Special Olympics is supported by individuals, foundations and partners, including Bank of America, the Christmas Records Trust, The Coca-Cola Company, ESPN, Essilor Vision Foundation, the Golisano Foundation, IKEA Foundation, the Lane Family, the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics, Lions Clubs International, Safilo Group, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, TOYOTA, United Airlines, and The Walt Disney Company. Click here for a full list of partners. Engage with us on: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and our blog on Medium. Learn more at www.SpecialOlympics.org.