WASHINGTON (March 19, 2024) — Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity (AFHE)’s interdisciplinary and global approach to health equity and leadership training has been recognized by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation for its innovative methods, commitment and impact on their community.
AFHE is the winner of this year’s Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Award for Program Excellence in Social Mission. Presented by The Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University and the Social Mission Alliance, the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Awards recognize excellence for social mission in health professions education.
The award process defines social mission “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 and more just.”
“We believe that the profound, life-limiting inequities in health and health care around the world can be mitigated. This can be accomplished by people — determined people, with the appropriate training, strategically located in health sectors around the world,” Guenevere Burke, executive director of the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity program and an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the GW School of Medicine & Health Sciences, said. “We believe the product of our fellows’ work will be years of life gained and quality of life enhanced for millions of individuals, families and communities.”
The AFHE program develops early to mid-career emerging leaders who understand the foundations of health inequity and have the knowledge, skills, and courage to build more equitable organizations and communities. The program does so by providing intensive learning and growth experiences and connecting fellows in a cohort-network, often at a key inflection point in their careers.
The program includes both US and international fellows from multiple health professions including medicine, nursing, dentistry, physical therapy, social work and community health. Those fellows from traditional health professions are joined by others doing work in health such as artists, lawyers and journalists to create an interdisciplinary network that sparks creative solutions to the most pressing health equity issues of our time.
Program graduates become Senior Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity, joining a global, life-long network of nearly 1,000 Global Atlantic Fellows around the world in a community dedicated to implementing equity.
"I am incredibly proud of the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity program for being recognized with the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Award for Program Excellence. This prestigious national honor underscores their exceptional dedication to fostering health equity and sparking positive change in communities around the world,” Lynn Goldman, Dean of The Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University said. “Through their enduring support of more than 100 fellows, the program has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to addressing systemic inequities and promoting inclusive health outcomes. This award serves as a testament to AFHE's impactful work and its profound influence on shaping a more just and equitable world."
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