UC Berkeley School of Public Health welcomes inaugural cohort of Impact Fellows
- 3 min. read ▪ Published
The UC Berkeley School of Public Health is excited to introduce the inaugural cohort of Impact Fellows. This distinguished group of public health practitioners, policymakers, and changemakers will join the Berkeley Public Health community for the 2024–2025 academic year, bringing with them a wealth of experience, passion for improving population health and strong commitment to supporting and guiding the next generation of public health leaders.
The fellowship program is an integral part of Berkeley Public Health’s commitment to social impact and is grounded in our belief that strong collaboration between academic leaders, policymakers and entrepreneurs spurs and accelerates this impact. The Impact Fellows will collaborate with our community to create new projects and initiatives, help shape the Berkeley Public Health social impact strategy, and share their expertise with students.
Join us in welcoming the nine incredible Impact Fellows:
- Nate Favini, chief medical officer for Pair Team, wants to mobilize the next generation of public health and Medicaid entrepreneurs
- Thomas Goetz, co-founder of Building H and former executive editor of Wired, is focused on making businesses a new force of change for health
- Tony Iton, former senior vice president of healthy communities at The California Endowment, is committed to reinvigorating democracy to build the health of all communities
- Kasley Killam, author of The Art and Science of Connection, is focused on strengthening social health and connection.
- Shruti Kothari, head of industry initiatives at Blue Shield of California and founder of Women of Community, wants to help students leverage their own stories as impactful tools for professional development, advocacy, and driving health care transformation
- Marko Mijic, former undersecretary at the California Health and Human Services Agency, envisions a future where health, public health, and social services are seamlessly integrated through data and technology to address social drivers of health and uplift marginalized communities
- Rainbow Rubin, director of science at Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, is committed to building better science and policy translation for environmental health threats
- Lisa Simpson, former CEO of Academy Health, wants to build and scale evidence-based initiatives focused on equity and reproductive health
- Ruth Thomas-Squance, co-executive director at the Build Healthy Places Network, is focused on building multi-sectoral collaborations to address the root causes of health inequities in historically disinvested and marginalized communities
Dean Michael C. Lu expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “We are incredibly excited to welcome this inaugural class of Impact Fellows. They will be an amazing resource to our faculty and students, and in turn will benefit greatly from collaborations with us.”
“We will make progress on the world’s most pressing public health challenges by bringing together all of our skills, experience and expertise,” said Claudia Williams, chief social impact officer. “We are excited to be a purpose home for our nine exceptional Impact Fellows.”
Please join us in welcoming these outstanding leaders to Berkeley Public Health and stay tuned for more updates and opportunities to engage. If you are interested in learning more or connecting with one of the fellows, please send a message to BPHsocialimpact@berkeley.edu.