Meet the 6th Cohort of ABH’s Public Health Advocacy Fellowship

ABH is thrilled to celebrate the start of our sixth Public Health Advocacy Fellowship cohort of medical students and mentors! This year’s cohort met for an opening workshop in early September where we got to know one another and explored what it means to cultivate the cultural soil of our advocacy areas of interest with Narrative Strategist and Facilitator, Eleonore Wesserle. Students worked together to explore current beliefs about their issue and how we can work to counter toxic beliefs with nutritious, values-driven amendments. 

ABH is excited to learn from and alongside our student and mentor pairs (and trios!) this year. Below, meet the 2023-2024 cohort of medical student fellows, mentors, and their advocacy area(s) of interest.

2023 Public Health Advocacy Fellowship Cohort

Hani Abi, MS2
Tom Kottke, MD
Education as a social determinant of health; specifically for immigrant communities and communities of color

Fatuma Adan, MS2
Naheed Murad, MD, MPH
Culturally appropriate care for substance use disorder; access to care for marginalized populations

Haley Brahmbhatt, MS2
Ed Ehlinger, MD, MSPH
Immigrant and refugee health with a focus on women’s health

Hugh Burke, MS3
Maria Veronica Svetaz, MD, MPH and Madeline McNeil, BFA
Using art as a public health tool; Latinx health and immigration

Jada Dawson, MS1
Abbe Penziner-Bokde, MD
Improving provider/patient relationships through health education and increased accessibility for patients

Hailey Frye, MS2
Access to care for individuals with rare chronic conditions
Sruthi Shankar, MD*

Bella Green, MS2 MD-PhD candidate
Matt Kruse, MD
Advocating for policies that address psychosocial and relational support for people who are experiencing homelessness and people who use drugs and/or alcohol

Shanice Harris, MS3
Chris Reif, MD, MPH and Sally Jeon, BA*
Healing, strengthening, and restoring trust between healthcare providers and communities who have been historically mistreated by the healthcare system through the arts, community engagement and trauma informed care

Mary McConville, MS2
Siri Fiebirger, MD
Supporting unrestricted access to reproductive health

Laurel Neufeld, MS2
Katie Freeman, MD
Addressing weight bias in medicine, increasing access to reproductive healthcare

Josie O’Donnell, MS2
Deb Thorp, MD
LGBTQ+ access to care

Koushik Paul, MS3
Jim Hart, MD
Addressing health disparities by supporting single payer healthcare

Heba Sandozi, MS2
Aarti Bhatt, MD
Narrowing gaps for children and adolescents in both healthcare and education; increasing access for immigrant and refugee patients

Elli Schwartz, MS2 MD-PhD candidate
Laalitha Surapaneni, MD, MPH
Impact of climate change and built environment on health

Kevin Zhan, MS2 MD-PhD candidate
Andrea Singh, MD
Food accessibility and food insecurity post-pandemic

*Sruthi Shankar, MD and Sally Jeon, BA are both Public Health Advocacy Fellowship alumni.