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As the sister of a man whose obesity cost him his life, Pamela Green-Jackson became all too aware of how nutrition and exercise patterns developed during adolescence can lead to tragic health issues in adulthood. While Pamela watched her brother suffer and finally die at the young age of 43, she became determined to keep her children and others from experiencing the same tragedy as her brother. She set out to learn all she could about healthy lifestyles and youth and created YBH (Youth Becoming Healthy) in her spare time to help young people to develop healthy patterns that would serve them both today and into the future.
Pamela can be credited with building a community coalition, removing barriers and increasing access for low income and minority youth to physical fitness, and nutrition programs. As well as increasing awareness of this epidemic, reducing obesity among youth, and expanding this program with very limited funding.
Her success in the schools spilled over into the community. She has also spearheaded a community initiative – The Albany Savannah Family Wellness Challenge– designed to educate and engage the entire community in making healthy lifestyle and behavior changes. This initiative focused on making lifestyle changes in the entire family in order to ensure success and created a support system.
In addition, Pamela Green-Jackson has distinguished herself with exceptionally superior service through her role as a Public Affairs and Community Relations Specialist at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Ga., earning her the recognition of the Department of Defense’s 2010 Women’s History Month STEM Winner for the Marine Corps.
Her leadership in planning programs for career development of both women and minority youth from our local community, in conjunction with command-sponsored youth orientation and job-shadowing visits, demonstrates her drive to push those she mentors to succeed. Her unique abilities as a role model and mentor can clearly be seen through her interaction with visiting youth, fellow civil-service employees, and military service members and commanders alike.
Ms. Green-Jackson was selected as a 2009 CNN Hero, one of only 28 chosen from a pool of more than 9,000 nominees worldwide, for her qualities of outstanding leadership, being a role model and mentor, and a determined community advocate. Her noteworthy service has earned her many other accolades, locally, nationally and internationally
