Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Announces Sixth Cohort of Bloomberg Fellows

The Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health announces its 2022 cohort of Bloomberg Fellows, each selected from an organization working on one of five critical health challenges facing the nation: addiction and overdose, adolescent health, environmental challenges, obesity and the food system, and violence.

Fifty individuals have been awarded full scholarships to earn a Master of Public Health, and 10 to pursue a Doctor of Public Health.

The Bloomberg American Health Initiative was established in 2016 with a $300 million gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies in honor of the centennial of the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Through education, research, and practice, the Bloomberg American Health Initiative works to tackle critical 21st-century challenges to health in the United States, aiming to improve health and save lives nationwide. The Initiative has since its founding emphasized advancing equity, using evidence, and changing policy.

The 2022 cohort represents fellows and organizations spanning the District of Columbia and 24 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

This year’s fellows come from a wide variety of organizations, including Earthjustice, a national nonprofit environmental law organization; the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, a Texas-based organization working to transform the juvenile and criminal justice systems; and Portland Street Medicine, an Oregon-based coalition of health care and social services providers that offer medical care for the homeless.

“At this critical moment for the health of our nation, we are excited to welcome this new class of Bloomberg Fellows to the School,” says Bloomberg School Dean Ellen J. MacKenzie, PhD, ScM. “Through the fellowship, we are looking forward to partnering with and strengthening great organizations across the country.”

“When we get COVID-19 under control, health disparities that were intensified by the pandemic will continue to persist, particularly among the most vulnerable,” says Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, and WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries. “We need a greater commitment than ever to closing these gaps so that people can live longer, healthier lives. This new class of fellows will go on to do life-saving work in communities across the country—and I look forward to watching them in action.”

Launched in 2017, the Bloomberg Fellows Program provides full scholarships for full- or part-time study. Fellows are supported by their current employers, which become collaborating organizations that play an important role in the program. Upon completion of their degrees, fellows will work for at least one additional year with their employer to apply the skills and tools gained during the fellowship. Information about requirements and the application are available online. The next application deadline is December 1, 2022.

The 2022 Bloomberg Fellows and their organizations are:

MPH Fellows

Addiction and Overdose 

• Amber Cahill - UMass Chan Medical School, Department of Family Medicine & Community Health - Worcester, MA 

• Isabelle Cisco - Lincoln County Oregon Public Health - Newport, OR 

• David Didden - WV Office of Maternal, Child and Family Health - Charleston, WV 

• Camillus Ezeike - Health Resources and Services Administration - Rockville, MD 

• Emily Gordon - Rutgers New Jersey Medical School - Newark, NJ 

• Callie Kelly - Elon University - Elon, NC 

• Hannah Lessels - John Snow, Inc. - Bow, NH 

• Jaime Metzger - Public Health Management Corporation - Philadelphia, PA 

• River Ramos - Apex Community Care - Danbury, CT 

• Wren Ronan - Portland Street Medicine - Portland, OR 

• Zachary Sartor - Waco Family Medicine - Waco, TX 

• Peter Tanghe - North Memorial Health Ambulance Service - Brooklyn Center, MN 

• Simon Taxel - Pittsburgh Bureau of EMS - Pittsburgh, PA 

• Aron Thiim - Justice Resource Institute - Boston, MA 

• Elika Upadhyay - National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors - Washington, D.C. 

• Kristen Zak - Tennessee Department of Health - Nashville, TN 

 Adolescent Health  

• Ashley Ariail - Children’s Medical Center - Dallas, TX 

• Misty Carney - Maryland Department of Health, Infectious Disease Prevention & Health Services Bureau - Baltimore, MD 

• Angelica Castañon - National Education Association - Washington, D.C.

• Christian Curtis - Fort Peck Tribes’ Health Promotion Disease Prevention Program - Poplar, MT 

• Nora Fitzgerald - Public Health Management Corporation - Philadelphia, PA 

• Shanna-Kaye Igbinoba - Ruth Rothstein CORE Center, Adolescent and Young Adult Research - Chicago, IL

• Amy Krzyzek - Partnership Health Center - Missoula, MT 

• Megan Wills Kullnat - Allegro Pediatrics - Clyde Hill, WA 

• Miles Lichtman - House Committee on Oversight and Reform - Washington, D.C. 

• Alyssa Liehr - Child Trends - Washington, D.C.

• Emma Plourde - U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation - Washington, D.C.

• Douglas Reed - Young Adult Institute - New York, NY 

• Ivette Chavarria Torres - University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine - Harlingen, TX 

 Environmental Challenges  

• Tanya Hoogerwerf Davis - Indian Health Service - Nashville, TN 

• Emily McGee - HOK - Washington, D.C. 

• Haly Laasme McQuilkin - Delaware Health and Social Services - New Castle, DE

• Divya Periyakoil - UC Berkeley Bixby Center for Population, Health & Sustainability - Berkeley, CA 

• Katherine Somoza-Garcia - Chesapeake Bay Trust - Annapolis, MD 

• Allison Thomas - NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - New York, NY 

 Obesity and the Food System  

• MatheRose Bodden - Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention - Philadelphia, PA 

• Tessa Cushman - Tri-County Health Department - Greenwood Village, CO 

• Sarah Freeman - County of Hawaii, Department of Research and Development - Hilo, HI 

• Amanda Gattinella - Greater Philadelphia Health Action, Inc. - Philadelphia, PA 

• Amy Mullan - Future Harvest - Cockeysville, MD 

• Danielle Nabak - FoodWIse, Division of Extension at University of Wisconsin - Madison, WI 

 Violence  

• Emma Bardwell - Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network - Washington, D.C. 

• Katherine Bouwkamp - Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants - Washington, D.C. 

• Farrell Brenner - Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network - Kingston, NY 

• Malcolm Cunningham - ProMedica Health System - Toledo, OH 

• Isabella Kent - LifeWire - Bellevue, WA 

• Amar Mukunda - Roca Inc. - Baltimore, MD

• Farheen Qurashi - LifeBridge Health Center for Hope - Baltimore, MD 

• Nehali Vishwanath - National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform - Oakland, CA

• Creason Walter - Johns Hopkins Children’s Center Division of Pediatric Surgery, Trauma and Burn Program - Baltimore, MD 

DrPH Fellows

Addiction and Overdose  

• Ciana Creighton - Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services - Washington, D.C. 

• Shelina Cantrelle Davis - Louisiana Public Health Institute - New Orleans, LA 

• Christian Laurence Diaz - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources - Washington, D.C.

• Jeffrey Hom - San Francisco Department of Public Health - San Francisco, CA

 Adolescent Health  

• Jasmine Leonard - CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield - Laurel, MD 

• Noor Qaragholi - The Policy & Research Group - New Orleans, LA

Environmental Challenges  

• Michelle Mabson - Earthjustice - Washington, D.C. 

• Nancy Tourk - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Washington, D.C. 

Obesity and the Food System  

• Chukwufumnanya Chiejine - National 4-H Council - Springfield, VA 

 Violence  

• Katherine Elkins - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Emergency Medical Services - Washington, D.C. 

More about the Bloomberg American Health Initiative is available online and in a special supplement to Public Health Reports.

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Media contacts: Shannon Jones at sjone242@jhu.edu  and Carly Kempler at ckemple2@jhu.edu.