Josette Marie Mondanaro (May 21, 1945 – December 25, 2002) was an American physician. As an expert on addiction, she served as head of the Division of Substance Abuse, part of the California Department of Health, during the Jerry Brown administration in the mid-1970s.

Josette Mondanaro
BornMay 21, 1945
New York, New York, U.S.
DiedDecember 25, 2002 (age 57)
Florida, U.S.
Other namesJosette Escamilla-Mondanaro
Occupation(s)Physician, public health researcher, state official

Early life and education

edit

Mondanaro was born in New York City and raised in Blue Point, New York, the daughter of Anthony Mondanaro and Alice Celentano Mondanaro. Her father was a butcher, and her mother worked in a department store.[1] She graduated from Syracuse University in 1967, with a bachelor's degree in zoology, and gained her medical training at Upstate Medical College in 1971.[2] She completed a residency at Children's Hospital of San Francisco.[3]

Career

edit

In 1976, Mondanaro was appointed head of the Division of Substance Abuse in the California Department of Health.[4] Despite strong performance, she was fired from this position in late 1977, when she used explicit language in a personal letter written on official state letterhead.[5] Mondanaro and others appealed the decision, based on her belief that she was fired because she was a lesbian, and because some state officials considered that a political liability.[6][7] Jerry Brown denied that her sexuality was a factor in the decision, in unprecedented testimony before the Personnel Board.[8][9] She was ordered reinstated after hearings,[10] and continued working for the State of California for a time, as a maternal and child health consultant in the Health Services Department.[11]

After leaving state government, Mondanaro ran a medical clinic in Santa Cruz, treated women with drug dependencies,[12][13] and taught at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 1984, she spoke about her work as a guest on The Phil Donahue Show.[14] In 1985, she planned a move to Laguna Beach, to open a treatment program for teens.[3] She also became involved in HIV/AIDS prevention work among women at risk.[15] In 1989, she won the CSAM Vernelle Fox Award from the California Society for Addiction Medicine.[16]

Publications

edit
  • "Nutritional status of low income pregnant teen-agers" (1971, with H. J. Osofsky, P. T. Rizk, and M. Fox)[17]
  • "Therapy and Lesbians" (1975)[18]
  • "Women: Pregnancy, Children and Addiction" (1977)[19]
  • Treatment Services for Drug Dependent Women (1981, edited with George M. Beschner and Beth Glover Reed)[20]
  • "Strategies for AIDS Prevention: Motivating Health Behavior in Drug Dependent Women" (1987)[21]
  • Chemically Dependent Women: Assessment and Treatment (1989)[22]
  • "Community-based AIDS prevention interventions: Special issues of women intravenous drug users" (1990)[23]

Personal life

edit

Mondanaro adopted a son, Eden. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 41,[24] and she died in 2002, at the age of 57, in Florida.[25][26]

References

edit
  1. ^ Bathen, Sigrid. "Fired Doctor: Was She a Millstone?" Archived 2024-06-03 at the Wayback Machine The Sacramento Bee (December 4, 1977): A1, A20, A22.
  2. ^ "The Menopause Maze". Santa Cruz Sentinel. 1984-05-13. p. 25. Archived from the original on 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b Varcados, Marybeth (1985-12-02). "A doctor's flight; Health center founder to head southward". Santa Cruz Sentinel. p. 8. Archived from the original on 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Campbell, Nancy D.; Ettorre, Elizabeth (2011), "Undue Burdens: The Emergence of Feminist Treatment Advocacy in a Masculinist System", Gendering Addiction, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 75–119, doi:10.1057/9780230314245_4, ISBN 978-1-349-31012-8, archived from the original on 2024-06-03, retrieved 2024-06-03
  5. ^ Bathen, Sigrid. "Dr. Josette Mondanaro: Story Behind Angry Letter is Complex One" Archived 2024-06-03 at the Wayback Machine The Sacramento Bee (December 8, 1977): B6 Archived 2024-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, B7.
  6. ^ "Brown May Testify for Lesbian" Lesbian Tide (January/February 1978): 22; via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ Bathen, Sigrid. "Watergate Legacy? Mondanaro Accuses Governor of Coverup" Archived 2024-06-03 at the Wayback Machine The Sacramento Bee (December 10, 1977).
  8. ^ Turner, Wallace (1978-01-31). "Official's Ouster Involves Gov. Brown in Dispute". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2018-02-12. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  9. ^ "Brown Gives Testimony in Mondanaro Case". The Hanford Sentinel. 1978-01-27. p. 5. Archived from the original on 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Olderman, Murray (1978-09-09). "Public servant's private battles". The Index-Journal. p. 7. Archived from the original on 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Bathen, Sigrid. "Mondanaro: Ex-Drug Abuse Chief Still with State" Archived 2024-06-03 at the Wayback Machine The Sacramento Bee (July 23, 1978): A3, A4.
  12. ^ Japenga, Ann (1982-02-18). "For Women Hooked on Legal Drugs: Wingspread Clinic". The Los Angeles Times. p. 73. Archived from the original on 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Raymond, Joan (1984-12-30). "It had at first seemed like it would be the perfect lover". Santa Cruz Sentinel. p. 5. Archived from the original on 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Local drug expert to appear on TV". Santa Cruz Sentinel. 1984-12-16. p. 6. Archived from the original on 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Kolata, Gina (1987-10-07). "Inner-city women found ignoring risk". Evening Express. p. 10. Archived from the original on 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "CSAM Vernelle Fox Award – CSAM". Archived from the original on 2024-06-01. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  17. ^ Osofsky, H J; Rizk, P T; Fox, M; Mondanaro, J (1971-01-01). "Nutritional status of low income pregnant teen-agers". The Journal of Reproductive Medicine. 6 (1): 29–33. ISSN 1943-3565. PMID 5097613. Archived from the original on 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  18. ^ Mondanaro, Josette. "Therapy and Lesbians" Issues in Radical Therapy Archived 2023-06-05 at the Wayback Machine 3(3)(Summer 1975): 3-7.
  19. ^ Escamilla-Mondanaro, Josette (January 1977). "Women: Pregnancy, Children and Addiction". Journal of Psychedelic Drugs. 9 (1): 59–68. doi:10.1080/02791072.1977.10472026. ISSN 0022-393X. Archived from the original on 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  20. ^ Treatment Services for Drug Dependent Women. National Institute on Drug Abuse, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration. 1981. Archived from the original on 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  21. ^ Mondanaro, Josette (April 1987). "Strategies for AIDS Prevention: Motivating Health Behavior in Drug Dependent Women". Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. 19 (2): 143–149. doi:10.1080/02791072.1987.10472398. ISSN 0279-1072. Archived from the original on 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  22. ^ Mondanaro, Josette (1989). Chemically dependent women: assessment and treatment. Lexington, Mass: Lexington Books. ISBN 978-0-669-17235-5. Archived from the original on 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  23. ^ Mondanaro, J. (1990). "Community-based AIDS prevention interventions: Special issues of women intravenous drug users" Archived 2024-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, in C. G. Leukefeld, R. J. Battjes, & Z. Amsel, eds., AIDS and intravenous drug use: Future directions for community-based prevention research (pp. 68–82). National Institute on Drug Abuse.
  24. ^ Varcados, Marybeth (1987-05-05). "Doctor learns the patient's viewpoint". Santa Cruz Sentinel. p. 7. Archived from the original on 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Josette Mondanaro Obituary". The Sun-Sentinel, via Legacy.com. January 10, 2003. Archived from the original on 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  26. ^ Mondanaro, Eden E. (August 2004). "A Pioneer of Chemical Dependency Treatment: Dr Mondanaro Takes No Prisoners". American Journal of Public Health. 94 (8): 1300–1302. doi:10.2105/AJPH.94.8.1300. ISSN 0090-0036. PMC 1448441. PMID 15284029.