Tho Bella Dinh-Zarr

Tho Bella Dinh-Zarr
42nd Member of the National Transportation Safety Board
In office
March 2015 – December 2018
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byDeborah Hersman
Succeeded byMichael Graham
Personal details
EducationRice University
University of Texas School of Public Health

Tho Bella Dinh-Zarr is an American public health scientist, specializing in injury prevention. Dinh-Zarr was the 42nd Member of the National Transportation Safety Board, and served as vice-chairman and acting chairman.[1][2]

Education

Dinh-Zarr attended public schools in Galveston, Texas. She graduated from Rice University where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Spanish. She has a Master of Public Health (MPH) and a Doctorate (PhD) from the University of Texas School of Public Health. Her PhD dissertation was "Reviews of evidence regarding interventions to increase the use of safety belts".[3] In high school, Dinh-Zarr worked at the Railroad Museum on Galveston Island, built latrines in Paraguay, and in college she studied Latin American literature in Chile.[4]

Career

Dinh-Zarr was the U.S. director and road-safety director of the FIA Foundation until 2014.[5] While at the NTSB, Dinh-Zarr was known for her support of 0.05% BAC Laws to prevent drunk driving[6] and positive train control (PTC).[5] She cast the dissenting vote on the proposal to lessen the importance of PTC.[7] Dinh-Zarr helped to investigate disasters such as the sinking of the El Faro[8] and the 2016 Hoboken train crash.[9] After her term ended, Dinh-Zarr co-founded the .05 Saves Lives Coalition, its mission to advocate for a .05 BAC law in every state.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Olsen, As told to Patricia R. (2018-02-09). "Keeping a Bag at the Ready for When She Gets the Call". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  2. ^ "Bella Dinh-Zarr". Fia Foundation. Retrieved 2022-02-22.[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ Dinh-Zarr, T. B.; Sleet, D. A.; Shults, R. A.; Zaza, S.; Elder, R. W.; Nichols, J. L.; Thompson, R. S.; Sosin, D. M.; Task Force on Community Preventive Services (November 2001). "Reviews of evidence regarding interventions to increase the use of safety belts". American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 21 (4 Suppl): 48–65. doi:10.1016/s0749-3797(01)00378-6. ISSN 0749-3797. PMID 11691561.
  4. ^ "Stories in STEM with the Honorable Bella Dinh-Zarr | Calendar of Events | Amherst College". www.amherst.edu. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  5. ^ a b "Dinh-Zarr Breaks Bounds to Push Train-Control Technology". www.enr.com. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  6. ^ "Utah's tough new DUI law could save 1,500 lives each year if other states copied it, says National Transportation Safety Board member". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  7. ^ Li, David K. (2016-05-17). "Divided NTSB agrees to blame engineer for fatal Amtrak wreck". New York Post. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  8. ^ "NTSB: El Faro's data recorder crucial to investigation". www.firstcoastnews.com. Retrieved 2021-09-01.[permanent dead link‍]
  9. ^ Almasy, Jason Hanna, Deborah Feyerick, Steve (2016-09-29). "Hoboken train crash: 1 dead, more than 100 injured". CNN. Retrieved 2022-02-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)