TRINITY HIGH SCHOOL
2023 TRINITY PEACE MEDAL
PRESENTED TO
DR. EDDIE L. WOODS JR., M.S., Ph.D.
For over five decades the Trinity High School community has awarded the Trinity Peace Medal. The award recognizes a deserving individual or group for efforts that promote peacemaking, justice building and service to others. Mr. Klaus Mittelsten H’92, who at the time was chair of Trinity’s Foreign Language Department, initiated the award, along with then-Trinity principal Rev. Thomas Duerr H’92. Recent recipients have included Annette Mandley-Turner, Sister Larraine Lauter OSU, Mr. Buddy Dumeyer, Mr. Russ Read, Ms. Karina Barillas, Dr. Roy Germano ’98, Ph.D., and the Little Sisters of the Poor.
The 2023 Trinity Peace Medal is awarded to Dr. Eddie L. Woods Jr., M.S., Ph.D.
Dr. Woods is the CEO of No More Red Dots, Inc. (which refers to the red dots the city of Louisville uses to mark a homicide on a map). Through No More Red Dots, Dr. Woods visits and mentors family members and friends of recent homicide victims. His goal is to counsel those who may desire revenge for the loss of their loved ones. He has created several after school programs that offer positive alternative options, such as art, athletics or business for the youth of West Louisville and leads community initiatives that help reduce gun violence.
While working at the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center, he noticed that the inmates/patients kept getting younger with each year. He felt like he wanted to get on the front end of trying to make a difference. He worked for the Division of Substance Abuse in
Frankfort, where he started leading substance abuse prevention programs. That led to his developing programs around gang identification and prevention. He then started public speaking/training on engaging youth to make better decisions. No More Red Dots was founded in 2011 with a mission to intervene in as many potentially deadly situations as possible with the sole purpose of interrupting the activity stream that leads to death. No More Red Dots believes that a significant number of homicides and other adverse behaviors are the direct product of spontaneous decisions that are made without at least one of the involved participants being given the opportunity to weigh their consequences and/or options.
Dr. Woods has over 30 years’ experience of hands-on work with community groups, gangs and youth groups. He has guided and/or facilitated over 100 youth enrolling in colleges from gang or drug environments. He has directed numerous youths back into formal school settings and assisted many youths and adults to become contributing citizens of the community.
Dr. Woods has received three Kentucky Colonel Awards, two Distinguished Citizen Awards, the HUD 2000 Best Program/Practices Award, the 2001 Outstanding Youth Service Worker Award and was the 2005 recipient of the National Urban League’s ‘Unsung Heroes Award.’ In 2014 he was given the Molly Leonard Community Service Award and in 2019 he was selected as one of the Courier-Journal’s 19 Fascinating People in Louisville. Last year he received the 2022 Innovator Award from Cities United.
Dr. Woods’ many years of service to the community is a wonderful example for our graduates. His dedication to the common good follows one of the basic tenets of Catholic Social Teaching. Trinity is proud to present this year’s Peace Medal to Dr. Eddie Woods Jr.
Trinity President Dr. Robert Mullen ’77 presented the award.