Keynote Speaker
Victor F. Garcia, M.D.
Founding Director, Trauma Services, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Victor Garcia MD is a full-time pediatric surgeon at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics, at the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine.
He received a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy in 1968 and his Doctor of Medicine with honors from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1974. He completed his residency training in pediatric surgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia under C Everett Koop MD, former Surgeon General of the United States in 1981. He served 20 years in the U.S Army, retiring from the military in 1988 as Chief of General Surgery and Pediatric Surgery Services at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
He is on the Board of Cincinnati Public Radio CNET, and served on the Board of the Cincinnati Partnering Center, Cincinnati United Way, and Mount St Joseph College.
Vic is the author or co-author of nearly 100 publications focusing on childhood injuries, pediatric obesity, and community-based interventions to prevent childhood and adolescent injury and illness. He founded and until 2010 directed the Southwest Ohio’s only Level I Pediatric Trauma System. He also led the effort to establish the first children’s hospital-based Center for Adolescent Weight Loss Surgery and was the Center’s initial Director. Most recently, he is focused on applying the principles of ‘systems thinking’, ‘learning organizations, and ‘Theory U’ to address the social determinants of the increasingly complex, interrelated and self-reinforcing health and social disparities in the urban core.
For his work in the community, Vic has received numerous awards and commendations. He has twice been awarded the Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award and was invited by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges to be the keynote speaker for the 36th National Conference on Juvenile Justice in 2009. He was awarded the National Jefferson Award for Outstanding Community Service for his central role in the development and implementation of the Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence. Working directly with an eclectic group of urban sociologists, criminologists, experts in systems dynamics and complex adaptive systems, Vic introduced a new way of thinking about social and health disparities, the ‘context and the content’ of violence, going beyond the individual and addressing the ‘systems’ at work and the social ecology (environment) that drives and enables violence and the related thinking and behaviors.
Vic has an uncompromising belief in the human spirit and the ability of individuals and communities to solve the seemingly most intractable problems we face as a society through and with the disciplined application of new insights into how ‘systems thinking’ and ‘theory U’ can offer essential insights on how to bring about profound and sustained change in complex adaptive human systems. It is a personal belief that is empirically based and personally witnessed.
Moderator
Jim Scott
Member, Board of Trustees of United Way of Greater Cincinnati
Named the No. 1 radio personality of the past 40 years by The Cincinnati Enquirer
For nearly 50 years, Jim Scott was the voice of Cincinnati morning radio.
Jim Scott began his Cincinnati radio career in 1968 as morning show host for the iconic pop radio station 1360 WSAI-AM in Price Hill. He joined 700 WLW in 1984.
During his morning time slot from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m., Jim interviewed countless dignitaries and celebrity newsmakers, from Presidents and civic leaders to top movie stars and sports figures. He routinely talked with news correspondents from around the globe, including those reporting from the White House and posts from London to Baghdad.
Jim is a true public servant and an inspiration to us all. He has been a long-time volunteer leader of the United Way and he has served on many boards, including Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, the March of Dimes and Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
Jim is Cincinnati’s voice of volunteerism – whether he’s ringing the bell at the Red Kettle for The Salvation Army, serving as emcee for your favorite fund raiser, or welcoming Presidents and foreign dignitaries to the Queen City.
Jim has been recognized with many awards, including the Neil H. McElroy Award from the United Way, the William Booth Award from the Salvation Army, and the Silver Medal of the Cincinnati Ad Club. In 1996 and 2000, the U.S. Olympic Committee named Jim “A Community Hero,” and he was thrilled to be a torch-bearer in the Olympic Torch Relay.
Jim delivered the 2017 spring commencement at Mount St. Joseph University, where he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. Inspired by this, Jim than enrolled at the Mount and completed the BA in Political Science degree that he began working on 56 years before.
Jim Scott dominated morning show ratings in every decade since the 1970s, and in 2002 he was the winner of the prestigious Marconi Award for Radio Personality of the Year. In 2013, The Cincinnati Enquirer named Jim the No. 1 radio personality of the past 40 years.
Jim Scott remained on the air until his “favorite day of the year,” the Cincinnati Reds Opening Day, on April 6, 2015. On that day, Jim walked in the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade to say thank you to his fans. On April 2, 2018, you can count on seeing Jim walking in this year’s parade. It will be his 50th year in the parade.
He led the successful 2017 Salvation Army Red Kettle “Love Your Neighbor” Campaign. He also serves on the board of trustees of United Way of Greater Cincinnati and lends his support to many non-profits. Jim and his wife, Donna, live and play on their farm in Dearborn County Indiana.
While his daily “good morning and thanks for listening” greeting is missed, you can hear his voice on many radio/TV commercials, run with him in local 5K’s, or meet him on a golf course. Jim assures us that he isn’t going anywhere except to bed by a reasonable hour and waking up 8 hours later…what a novel idea.