The Public Health Scholars Program, funded by a $1.5 million award from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration, announced this year’s incoming cohort of scholars.
The 10 selected scholars are master’s of public health students at the Milken Institute School of Public Health who are pursuing training and a career in public health at local and state levels and will each receive a full scholarship for 3 years, according to a University release. The scholars can engage with practice sites and gain career opportunities at local and state health departments through Milken’s partnership with the National Association of County and City Health Officials, per the release.
The HRSA-funded Public Health Scholars Program is only in its second year at Milken, with the first cohort of scholars announced in December 2022.
The 2023 HRSA Public Health Scholars are María Camila Acevedo Valencia, Hailey Wilson, Lauren Chatfield, John McClure, David Michael Hernandez, Sonja Moore, Adeline Rosales, Leticia Nketiah and Christiana Chittenden.
The release states that the scholarship program will also provide access to advising and mentoring, tailored electives, supplemental training, monthly cohort forums and connection to NACCHO’s network of nearly 3,000 local health departments. The program will focus on preparedness, policy and the social determinants of health and equity.
Jane Hyatt Thorpe, the senior associate dean for academic, student and faculty affairs and the program’s principle investigator, said scholars in the grant-funded program can engage in specific coursework addressing critical areas of public health.
“The HRSA grant enables Milken Institute SPH, the only school of public health in the District of Columbia, to make even more of an impact in training the next generation of public health leaders,” Hyatt Thorpe said in the release.
HRSA granted the $1.5 million award to Milken in 2022, which is intended to strengthen the public health workforce in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the release. The funding supports academic and supplemental programming that allows selected students to build skills related to the prevention, preparation, and recovery of public health emergencies.
The Health Resources and Services Administration focuses on providing equitable health care to the nation’s highest-need communities. More than 24,000 health professionals are participants in HRSA’s loan repayment and scholarship programs, including approximately 13,000 community health workers, according to the HRSA website.
