Betty Holt is Superwoman: Revere Award 2010

When an army of people - your staff, your boss, your colleagues, your interns -- rush to salute you, to heap whole helpings of praise upon you - you know you must be somebody special. Superwoman, perhaps.

For more than 20 years, Betty has been a fixture at the Boston Public Health Commission and, for many of those years she's been the face of adolescent health. She has literally touched the lives of countless young people through the Adolescent Wellness program, the HealthCrew she helped to develop, the Peer Leadership Institute, and other programs -- forever teaching, prodding, coaching, believing, and believing in Boston's young people when others would not dare. They know they can count on Ms. Betty to speak on their behalf, and they can count on her to teach them to speak for themselves.

Ask Betty Holt's colleagues how she is to work with and they described someone who is ``dedicated and committed,'' `` wise and inspirational'' ``strong and graceful'' and a person who you always know where she stands. She's the person who keeps them up-to-date on the latest news about the health care system and about public health. She makes sure that they are registered to vote - and actually vote. Before health insurance became law in Massachusetts, Betty Holt strongly encouraged all of her staff, whether you were a manager or a trainee, to have health insurance. If you could not afford it from Blue Cross or Harvard Pilgrim, she made sure you were signed up for MassHealth.

Betty is not frayed by the challenges that come her way. She wasn't when she was confronted with integrating the various aspects of a newly created department, relocating a large portion of her staff, and juggling her own job and the BAHEC director's job before that position could be filled. She used her personal struggle with breast cancer to raise awareness about the importance of early screening and detection.

``Feel the fear and do it anyway,'' she has been known to say. ``You are 100 percent responsible for getting your needs met,'' is another one of her famous quotes.

Long after others have raised the white flag and left the fight to others, Betty has remained committed to making her community and her city better.
And today, the Boston Public Health Commission is proud to honor this genealogist, historian, spokesperson, diplomat, musician, teacher, praise singer, adviser, advocate, and heartfelt caregiver with its highest honor, the Revere Award.

Video produced by BPHC Office of Communications: Script- Ann Scales, Graphics- Lisa Costanzo, Videography- Margaux Joffe, Editing- Margaux Joffe, VO- Keith Gross

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Nonprofits & Activism

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• Betty Holt
• Boston
• public health