From the Nominator

"The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH) Spotlight Series engages a diverse internal and external community by sharing valuable public health information through easily digestible presentations, interviews, and panel discussions. In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when public health information and guidance was changing daily, we recognized the need to provide access to public health experts and share valuable information with a broad audience, including those without a background in public health. 

We began creating short 30-minute events featuring our alumni population and their diverse work focused on COVID-19. Over time, and through feedback from speakers, attendees, and BSPH community members, we began to incorporate additional public health topics, including violence prevention, climate and environmental health, and mental health.     

Since May 2020, we have hosted more than 56 spotlight series events and engaged more than 1,300 unique audience members, including alumni, current and prospective students, donors, and unaffiliated prospects. Consistent surveys and feedback from attendees have informed programming choices and led to growing audience numbers. Collaborations with other schools across Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and community organizations have continued to diversify our audience and provided additional opportunities for individuals to learn about public health topics.    

What started as an opportunity to fill the gap of needed pandemic information, the spotlight series has grown to become a foundation of BSPH alumni programming--engaging alumni, attracting students, encouraging partnerships, prompting donations, and highlighting the diverse and meaningful public health work being done by the BSPH community worldwide."

From the Judges

Many institutions are trying to engage constituents of traditionally marginalized backgrounds. This program, which began to educate the public about COVID-19, recognized the continued need for public health education beyond COVID. By highlighting alumni voices, the program was able to create stronger engagement worldwide.