T. Bella Dinh-Zarr, PhD, MPH

Dr. Dinh-Zarr, PhD, MPH, is the National Director of Traffic Safety Policy for AAA. She was an undergraduate of Rice University and received both her Master of Public Health degree and her PhD in health policy and injury prevention at the University of Texas School of Public Health. Dr. Dinh-Zarr trained with the Cochrane Collaboration Injury Group in London and was a CDC Fellow where, as a member of the Motor Vehicle Team, she received the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Award, the CDC Outstanding Scientific Contribution to Public Health Award, and a NHTSA Recognition Award. She has been a Research Associate at the Texas Transportation Institute and a Scientist at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Dr. Dinh-Zarr joined AAA in March 2002 and is the scientist and public spokesperson for AAA’s traffic safety activities, appearing on CNN, NPR, Univisión, Telemundo, Fox News, network evening news shows, Reader’s Digest, and other national publications. She has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives on the public health impact of motor vehicle crashes. Dr. Dinh-Zarr is a member of the American Public Health Association, Delta Omega Public Health Honor Society, and the National Academy of Sciences/Transportation Research Board’s Committees on Safe Mobility of Older Persons and on Occupant Restraints. She currently leads AAA's priority initiative, entitled "Lifelong Safe Mobility," to promote transportation safety and mobility for seniors. She co-chairs the Aging & Mobility Roundtable, a quarterly meeting attended by national leaders in the fields of transportation and aging. She speaks Spanish and Vietnamese fluently and is dedicated to using science to advance sound policy to improve safety and mobility.