Bloomberg American Health Initiative Announces Eighth Cohort of Bloomberg Fellows

The Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health announces its eighth cohort of Bloomberg Fellows, comprised of 60 individuals from 47 collaborating organizations and 19 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. Each fellow represents an organization working on one of the five critical health challenges facing the nation that the Bloomberg American Health Initiative focuses on addressing: Addiction and overdose, adolescent health, environmental challenges, the food system, and violence. 

Fifty individuals were awarded full Master of Public Health scholarships and 10 received full scholarships to pursue Doctor of Public Health degrees. 

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 Initiative works to improve health and life expectancy in the United States in ways that advance equity, use evidence, and change policy. 

“We are thrilled to welcome this new cohort of fellows who will enrich the Initiative and our School community with their experience and insight,” says Bloomberg School Dean Ellen J. MacKenzie, PhD, ScM. “They come to us from frontline organizations across America, and they are ready to be empowered with the tools of public health to make an even greater impact on their communities."

To date, the Bloomberg American Health Initiative has supported 389 Bloomberg Fellows representing 305 collaborating organizations from 43 states, Washington, D.C., and two territories that include law enforcement agencies, libraries, community-based organizations, and local health departments. The Initiative has also supported more than 300 grants to Bloomberg School faculty, students, and outside organizations.

“The U.S. has still not recovered from the tragic decline in life expectancy that began even before the pandemic, making the need for strong health leadership greater than ever,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, and WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries. “We are glad to support these fellows as they work across disciplines to make their communities healthier and stronger.”

The Bloomberg Fellowship program provides full scholarships for full- or part-time study through the Bloomberg American Health Initiative. The fellows’ current organization, or where they’re currently employed, supports them in this work, collaborates with the Initiative, and plays a key role in the program.

Examples of collaborating organizations represented in the 2024 cohort include: 

• The Center for Justice Innovation in New York collaborates with communities and justice systems to reduce involvement in the criminal legal system by strengthening the social and economic structures of marginalized, under-resourced, and over-policed communities.
• The Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, D.C., works to address hunger by providing meals to other nonprofit organizations and addressing hunger’s root causes with education, health care, and job training. 
• Lost&Found in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is a nonprofit committed to suicide prevention and mental health. The organization fosters peer support, advances research, raises awareness, and provides crucial support for those affected by suicide.

Upon completion of their degrees, fellows work for at least one additional year with their organization to apply the skills learned during the fellowship. Information about program requirements is available online. The next application cycle opens on August 1, 2024, and the deadline is December 1, 2024. 

“The Bloomberg Fellowship represents people from every corner of the country, territories, and tribal nations that are committed to advancing health and equity in their communities,” says Michelle Spencer, MS, deputy director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative and Practice Professor in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health Policy and Management. “I am thrilled that this new class will continue to bring public health tools and solutions across all of our nation’s challenges.”

The 2024 Bloomberg Fellows and their organizations are:

MPH Fellows

Addiction and Overdose

• Amy Lund Stone—Public Health Institute—Oakland, CA
• Ana Geltman—JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc.—Boston, MA
• Samantha Elliott—North Memorial Health Ambulance Service—Robbinsdale, MN
• Deborah Steinberg—Legal Action Center—Washington, D.C.
• Kristina Monje—Minnesota Department of Human Services Behavioral Health Division—Saint Paul, MN
• Rayce Samuelson—OnPoint NYC—New York, NY
• Suzanne Mallery—Inland Empire Health Plan—Rancho Cucamonga, CA
• Amy Park—Baltimore County Department of Health—Baltimore, MD
• Brooklynn Barney—Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health—Duluth, MN
• Margaret Moore—New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area—New York, NY
• Grace Roy—JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc.—Boston, MA
• Izabelle Wensley—Synergy Enterprises, Inc.—Bethesda, MD
• Shaivi Herur—JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc.—Washington, D.C.

Adolescent Health

• Brenda Tsuchiya—Family Health Center of Worcester—Worcester, MA
• Lisa Kim—Child Trends—Rockville, MD
• Khimberly Schoenacker—Washington State Department of Health—Tumwater, WA
• Jennifer Corser—Calvert County Health Department—Prince Frederick, MD
• Wendy Hemme—City of Minneapolis Health Department—Minneapolis, MN
• Leah Spatafore—Indian Health Service, Northern Navajo Medical Center—Shiprock, NM
• Zackery Gould—National Academy for State Health Policy—Washington, D.C.
• William Lamont Dupree—North Alabama Area Health Education Center—Huntsville, AL
• Loretta Ng—Western University of Health Sciences, College of Optometry—Pomona, CA
• Sneha Patel—Public Health Management Corporation—Philadelphia, PA
• Allea Frazier—Community Health Speaks—Buffalo, NY
• Oronde Cruger—Speak About It—Portland, ME
• Yeng Yang—Harriet Lane Clinic at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center—Baltimore, MD
• Rebecca Calderara—International Community Health Services—Seattle, WA
• Matthew Grant—University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics—Baltimore, MD

Environmental Challenges

• Louisa Markow—Environmental Integrity Project—Washington, D.C.
• Kathy Chan—Insight Exposure & Risk Sciences Group—Boulder, CO
• Georgia Gempler—National League of Cities—Washington, D.C.
• Leah York—Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment—Denver, CO
• Mara Moss—Natural Resources Defense Council—New York, NY
• Layman Lee—Center for Justice Innovation—New York, NY

Food Systems for Health

• Allison Duda—Capital Area Food Bank—Washington, D.C.
• Jeffrey Gander—University of Virginia Children’s Hospital—Charlottesville, VA
• Jillian Bunge—United Way of Greater Toledo—Toledo, OH
• Olivia Davis—Oregon State University—Corvallis, OR
• Mara Gwin—Lake County Build a Generation—Leadville, CO
• DeAnna Nara—Center for Science in the Public Interest—Washington, D.C.
• Kelly Quintero—Feeding America—Washington, D.C.
• Bailey Humphreys—The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri—Columbia, MO
• Cassandra Harrison-Ramos—Center for Science in the Public Interest—Washington, D.C.

Violence

• Madison LaCure—Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault—Silver Spring, MD
• Taylor Cox—Arizona State University—Tempe, AZ
• Andres Estrada—Antelope Valley Partners for Health—Lancaster, CA
• Gabrielle Millard—House of Ruth Maryland—Baltimore, MD
• Emily Singerhouse—Strategic Prevention Solutions—Juneau, AK
• Montana Filoteo—University of Minnesota School of Nursing—Minneapolis, MN
• Jay Franzone—Everytown for Gun Safety—New York, NY

DrPH Fellows

Addiction and Overdose

• Chase Holleman—The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration—Rockville, MD
• Charene Alexander—Northwest Indian College—Bellingham, WA

Adolescent Health

• Myra Lee Fowler—Michigan Department of Health and Human Services—Lansing, MI
• Shawmickia Simmons—Sheppard Pratt—Baltimore, MD

Environmental Challenges

• Bhargavi Sampath—Institute for Healthcare Improvement—Boston, MA

Food Systems for Health

• Elizabeth Nussbaumer—Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future—Baltimore, MD
• Alexander Tuch—Kaiser Permanente—Oakland, CA 
• Brittany Wagner—Washington State Department of Health, Office of Nutrition Services—Tumwater, WA

Violence

• Cody Ingle—Lost & Found—Sioux Falls, SD
• Kalice Allen—The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention—Boston, MA

More information, including this release, can be found online.

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Media contacts: Caitlin Hoffman Choffman@jhu.edu or Su Tellakat Stellak1@jh.edu