Ophelia Dahl
Encyclopedia
Ophelia Magdalena Dahl is an Anglo-American social justice
and health care
advocate.
As of January 2008, Dahl is the president and executive director of Partners In Health
(PIH), a Boston
, Massachusetts-based non-profit health care organization dedicated to providing a "preferential option for the poor." She first encountered Paul Farmer
, the future co-founder of PIH, as an eighteen-year-old volunteer in Haiti
, and has since dedicated her life to advocating for social justice and healthcare equity.
As a co-founder and key member of the PIH
team, Dahl was featured prominently in Mountains Beyond Mountains
: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer
, a Man Who Would Cure the World, Tracy Kidder
's book describing the work of the organization and the life of Dr. Farmer. In December, 2006, Ophelia Dahl and Paul Farmer received the Union Medal from Union Theological Seminary in New York.
Dahl is the daughter of actress Patricia Neal
and author Roald Dahl
. Dahl contributed to the 2003 book The Roald Dahl Treasury, a collection of her father's stories, memoirs, letters and poetry, and is currently writing a memoir of her father. She is a trustee of the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre
, a registered charity
with the mission of "telling Roald Dahl’s life story, to care for his archive and to promote a love of creative writing in everyone."
Dahl graduated from Wellesley College as a Davis Scholar
and delivered Wellesley's 2006 commencement address.
In 2011, she was named by the Boston Globe as one of the three Bostonians of the Year, along with her Partners in Health co-founder, Paul Farmer and a senior member of Partners in Health, Louise Ivers. This was mainly due to her and the charity's response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake
. She has also been selected by Social Capital Inc. (SCI)as a 2011 SCI Idealist Award recipient, to be given on March 30, 2011.
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
and health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
advocate.
As of January 2008, Dahl is the president and executive director of Partners In Health
Partners In Health
Partners In Health is a Boston, Massachusetts-based non-profit health care organization dedicated to providing a "preferential option for the poor". It was founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Thomas J. White, Todd McCormack, and Dr...
(PIH), a Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts-based non-profit health care organization dedicated to providing a "preferential option for the poor." She first encountered Paul Farmer
Paul Farmer
Dr. Paul Edward Farmer is an American anthropologist and physician. He is currently the Kolokotrones University Professor at Harvard University, formerly the Presley Professor of Medical Anthropology in the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, an attending physician and Chief...
, the future co-founder of PIH, as an eighteen-year-old volunteer in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, and has since dedicated her life to advocating for social justice and healthcare equity.
As a co-founder and key member of the PIH
Partners In Health
Partners In Health is a Boston, Massachusetts-based non-profit health care organization dedicated to providing a "preferential option for the poor". It was founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Thomas J. White, Todd McCormack, and Dr...
team, Dahl was featured prominently in Mountains Beyond Mountains
Mountains Beyond Mountains
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World is a non-fiction, biographical work by American writer Tracy Kidder. The story traces the life of physician and anthropologist Paul Farmer. The book was a New York Times Notable Book for 2003.-External links:*...
: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer
Paul Farmer
Dr. Paul Edward Farmer is an American anthropologist and physician. He is currently the Kolokotrones University Professor at Harvard University, formerly the Presley Professor of Medical Anthropology in the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, an attending physician and Chief...
, a Man Who Would Cure the World, Tracy Kidder
Tracy Kidder
John Tracy Kidder is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer of the 1981 nonfiction narrative, The Soul of a New Machine, about the creation of a new computer at Data General Corporation...
's book describing the work of the organization and the life of Dr. Farmer. In December, 2006, Ophelia Dahl and Paul Farmer received the Union Medal from Union Theological Seminary in New York.
Dahl is the daughter of actress Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal was an American actress of stage and screen. She was best known for her film roles as World War II widow Helen Benson in The Day the Earth Stood Still , wealthy matron Emily Eustace Failenson in Breakfast at Tiffany's , middle-aged housekeeper Alma Brown in Hud , for which she won...
and author Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
. Dahl contributed to the 2003 book The Roald Dahl Treasury, a collection of her father's stories, memoirs, letters and poetry, and is currently writing a memoir of her father. She is a trustee of the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre
Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre
The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre is in the village of Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire, England, which was the home of the children's and short story writer Roald Dahl for 36 years until his death in 1990....
, a registered charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
with the mission of "telling Roald Dahl’s life story, to care for his archive and to promote a love of creative writing in everyone."
Dahl graduated from Wellesley College as a Davis Scholar
Davis Scholar
The Davis Degree Program at Wellesley College is a degree program serving women who are older than traditional college-age students. These students are called "Davis Scholars" and are fully integrated into the Wellesley community; they take the same classes as traditional students and can choose to...
and delivered Wellesley's 2006 commencement address.
In 2011, she was named by the Boston Globe as one of the three Bostonians of the Year, along with her Partners in Health co-founder, Paul Farmer and a senior member of Partners in Health, Louise Ivers. This was mainly due to her and the charity's response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
. She has also been selected by Social Capital Inc. (SCI)as a 2011 SCI Idealist Award recipient, to be given on March 30, 2011.