​WASHINGTON, DC (April 20, 2020) —The Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University and the Beyond Flexner Alliance today announced the selection of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Awards for Excellence in Social Mission in Health Professions Education.

The purpose of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Awards is to recognize outstanding leadership in promoting social mission in health professions education. Social mission is defined as activities or initiatives that teach, model, or improve community engagement, diversity, disparities reduction, value-based care, or engagement with the social determinants of health. Social mission enhancement means making programs not only better, but fairer.

This year’s nomination process was highly competitive with nearly double the number of submissions. The awards will be presented in five categories: individual excellence, program excellence, institutional excellence, lifetime achievement and a new category recognizing an early career rising star.

2021 Awardees

Rising Star
Robert M. Rock, MD
Robert Rock co-created a one-of-a-kind course at Yale on health disparities for PA, MD, and APRN programs. The course intentionally includes interprofessional educators and led to the creation of an interdisciplinary student group for all graduate students, faculty, and the New Haven public for community building and action toward health equity. His efforts have helped to create a sense of belonging and empowerment for students who carry identities traditionally not exemplified in medicine.

Individual Excellence
Joseph Kiesler, MD
Joseph Kiesler’s commitment to equity and social justice has inspired thousands of learners and faculty. From providing care to the homeless and backside racetrack workers to his leadership in establishing a national model of interprofessional service learning at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Kiesler is a true champion of the core values of social mission in education.

Program Excellence
Green Family Foundation Neighborhood Health Education Learning Program
Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Miami, FL
The Green Family Foundation Neighborhood Health Education Learning Program (NeighborhoodHELP) at Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine demonstrates national leadership in integrating social accountability and interprofessional education through a service-learning experience in underserved communities. NeighborhoodHELP is a household-centered care approach that highlights a social mission in health professions education while caring for vulnerable populations.

Institutional Excellence
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) is a beacon of hope for students who wish to pursue a career in health professions and advocate for those whose voices are silenced. Formed from the ashes of the Watts Riots of 1966, CDU has graduated more than 575 physicians, 1,200 physician assistants, and over 1,000 nursing professionals. With a mission of academic excellence coupled with community responsibility, CDU develops students into change agents who are poised to be champions of health equity.

Lifetime Achievement
George Blue Spruce, Jr., DDS, MPH
George Blue Spruce, Jr., DDS, MPH, the first Native American Dentist in the United States, realizes that as a trailblazer he bears the responsibility of illuminating the health professions pathway for American Indian children who are unaware the path exists. He has dared American Indian children to become a dentist, and his unique leadership has left a legacy promoting social mission in health professions education.
The awards will be presented at the Beyond Flexner 2021 Conference in Phoenix, Ariz., at a special recognition event the evening of April 26, 2021. The Beyond Flexner Conference is a comprehensive meeting for health professionals working to create a more equitable health care system for all.
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Each awardee receives $2000 and a commemorative plaque. The awards are supported by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, which is dedicated to improving the education of health professionals for a healthier public.
The Beyond Flexner Alliance is a national movement, focused on health equity and training health professionals as agents of more equitable health care, based at the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity at Milken Institute SPH.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 16, 2020) – The Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity (Mullan Institute), based at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH), today announced the 2020 fellows of the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity program. The year-long program honors health sector professionals with a commitment to health equity and demonstrated leadership potential. This year’s fellows, the fourth and largest class in the program, were selected from a competitive pool of global and national applicants.
“We are thrilled to announce this year's cohort of extraordinarily talented fellows from all over the U.S. and the world,” said Patricia (Polly) Pittman, PhD, director of the Mullan Institute. “They will be tackling enormously complex challenges to advance health equity in their communities, and we look forward to working with them as they develop their leadership skills over the next year.”

The Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity is part of a network of programs at the Mullan Institute that are funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. The fellowship advances health equity by connecting and preparing health leaders and is part of a larger network of seven interconnected Atlantic Fellows programs that advance fairer, healthier and more inclusive societies. The international community of Atlantic Fellows will grow to thousands over the next two decades and beyond. In October, the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity program received additional funding from the Atlantic Philanthropies that will extend its operation at least through 2027.

“This year’s cohort is an incredible group of leaders,” said Guenevere Burke, MD, director of the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity program and an assistant professor of emergency medicine at GW’s School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS). “The program provides a unique opportunity for these emerging leaders to learn with and from each other, other health experts, community leaders and health equity pioneers.”

In addition to fellows based in the United States, the cohort includes health professionals from Trinidad and Tobago, Nigeria, Pakistan, Liberia, Philippines, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Uganda and India.

The cohort includes leaders with expertise in mental health, health financing, social work, sociology, media, public health, law, health policy, medicine, dentistry and nursing. The following 21 professionals are the 2020 Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity:

2020 Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity View bios here.

BILAL ASIM
Fatima Memorial Hospital
Pakistan

MONIQUE BROWN
Healthy Neighborhoods
New Orleans, LA

SHUBHAM CHOUDHARY
Safe Access
India

ABRAHAM L.B. FREEMAN
Environmental Officer for Liberia Electricity Cooperation
Environmental Rescue Initiative
Liberia

PETER GAN KIM SOON
MERCY Malaysia
Malaysia

HYELADZIRA GARNVWA
National Primary Health Care Development Agency
Nigeria

KEVIN HECKMAN
American Medical Association
Chicago, IL

LAURA HEIN
College of Nursing at the University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC

GABRIELLE JACKSON
UndocuBlack Network
Washington, DC

GILBERTO LOPEZ
University of Rochester Medical Center
Rochester, NY

MEDHA MAKHLOUF
Pennsylvania State University
Carlisle, PA

MAUREEN MILANGA
Health Global Access Project
Kenya

BERTRAND MOSES
Office of the Prime Minister
Trinidad and Tobago

SYED MUSTAFA HASNAIN NADIR
Creative Frontiers
Pakistan

ROSE MARY NAKAME
REMI East Africa
Uganda

MILDRED OMINO
Women & Realities of Disability Society
Kenya

NKEMAKOLEM OSIAN
Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program
Rockville, Maryland

ELENA RIVERA
Children’s Institute
Portland, OR

MEGAN SRINIVAS
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Fort Dodge, Iowa

LINDSLEY JEREMIAH VILLARANTE
Department of Health’s Health Policy and Development and Planning Bureau, Manila
Philippines
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BRAM WISPELWEY
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Boston, MA

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 22, 2019) — The Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity (Mullan Institute), based at Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University, continues to reach significant milestones in its work to build a stronger, more inclusive health workforce and  reduce disparities in health. Today, the Mullan Institute announced supplemental funding from The Atlantic Philanthropies to amplify its mission to advance and promote health equity issues on a global scale.

The Mullan Institute previously received $25 million from The Atlantic Philanthropies to establish the Atlantic Fellows for Heath Equity program, which develops global leaders to understand and address health disparities, and operate it through 2026. The additional $10.1 million award will be used to strengthen the program and extend its operation through at least 2027. The award will also support the Beyond Flexner Alliance, an organization focused on efforts to integrate social justice into education and medical practice.

In addition, The Atlantic Philanthropies has granted $3 million to endow the Fitzhugh Mullan Professor of Health Workforce Equity. This professorship will advance the initiatives of the Mullan Institute, conduct research aimed at strengthening health workforce equity in the United States and around the world, and collaborate with faculty and students at Milken Institute SPH.

“We are honored to have The Atlantic Philanthropies’ continued support to build healthier, more equitable communities,” said Lynn R. Goldman, MD, MS, MPH, the Michael and Lori Milken Dean at Milken Institute SPH. “This generous award allows us to build on our world-class research and work to find solutions for health disparities in the United States and globally.”

The yearlong Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity program based at the Mullan Institute is currently training its third annual class of fellows. The program trains emerging leaders on the fundamentals of health equity and proven strategies to reduce health disparities. The annual fellowship cohort is composed of 20 early-mid career leaders from the United States and around the world who bring expertise in law, economics, medicine, dentistry, and nursing, among other specialties.

“The Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity champion some of the world’s most challenging and pressing health problems,” said Guenevere Burke, MD, MBA, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at GW’s School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) and co-director of the program. “The fellowship gives our GW community the extraordinary opportunity to be part of a global movement dedicated to improving health for all.” 

The Mullan Institute was named in April to honor Fitzhugh Mullan, MD, a professor of health policy and management and pediatrics at Milken Institute SPH and SMHS, and his lifelong commitment to social justice, health equity and health workforce policies. The Mullan Institute was originally founded in 2015 as the GW Health Workforce Institute, created to further research and education in health workforce equity.
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“We’ve already graduated 35 fellows with another 20 this year who are leading health equity initiatives all over the world,” said Mullan, co-director of the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity program. “From rural primary care promotion in the Philippines to academic enrichment programs for disadvantaged students interested in dentistry in Tennessee, our fellows are all serving on the front lines of health disparities.”

In 2018, The Atlantic Philanthropies welcomed the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity into the global Atlantic Fellows Program, which encompasses seven programs operating across five continents. More than 250 fellows participate annually in the programs that work toward fairer, healthier, more inclusive societies. The Atlantic Philanthropies committed nearly $700 million to support the work of the global network of Atlantic Fellows over the next 20 years.
“Our final grant allocations in 2016 included funds to bolster the work of the Atlantic Fellows,” said Christopher G. Oechsli, president and CEO of The Atlantic Philanthropies. “We’re proud to announce this support for the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity, the Fitzhugh Mullan Professor of Health Workforce Equity, and the Beyond Flexner Alliance to pave the way to policies and practices that will help realize healthier and more just communities around the world.”