For Immediate Release
ST. LOUIS, MO– Dr. Fredrick Echols, the recently appointed Chief Executive Officer of Cure Violence Global, was featured on “Destined II Soar,” a television newsmagazine dedicated to highlighting the success of entrepreneurs and community leaders. Destined II Soar is produced by Angelia Bills, President & CEO of Eagle Productions, LLC, a full-service marketing firm in St. Louis, Missouri.
Cure Violence Global is an organization that aims to reduce violence globally using disease control and behavior change methods. Before his promotion, Dr. Echols served in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County’s Health Departments as Health Commissioner, Director of Health, and Director of Communicable Disease, Vector, and Veterinary Programs. In addition, he also served as Chief of Communicable Diseases for the Illinois Department of Public Health and Physician for the United States Navy.
During the interview, Dr. Echols reminisced about how his experience directing various health departments through the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Ebola epidemic, and other crises prepared him to address the global problems of crime and violence in communities. While working for St. Louis City during the Pandemic, Dr. Echols used a staff of 85 to serve more than 300,000 residents with health information, vaccines, treatments, and community partnerships.
Dr. Echols’ experience in medical crisis management often mirrors the goals of Cure Violence Global, which is to use a rigorous scientific approach to help communities implement violence prevention programs that effectively reduce violence.
“Crime is a medical crisis that often pervades urban communities, and we must take a scientific approach to its absolution. Homicide is the #1 cause of death for African American men aged 1 – 44, according to the Centers for Disease Control. We are truly in the midst of a crime epidemic,” said Dr. Fredrick Echols.
Dr. Echols succeeds Dr. Gary Slutkin, the founding CEO of CVG, who will remain actively involved in Cure Violence Global as a CVG Board of Directors member. Under Dr. Slutkin’s leadership, Cure Violence evolved from insight to a proven concept and an increasingly widely adopted approach. CVG teams designed, piloted, replicated, and demonstrated the scientific validity and effectiveness of the public health/epidemic control approach to violence reduction.
The Cure Violence approach is implemented in over 30 U.S. and Latin American cities. It is being adapted to address other types of violence, including gender-based violence, election and political violence, and violence in conflict zones. Over the years, CVG has worked with partners in the U.S., Latin America & the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Dr. Frederick Echols is a Boston University School of Medicine and Clark Atlanta University graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Pre-Med. He also has additional training in the Center for Disease Control’s Population Health Training in Place Program.
