By Alyssa Smaldino | Executive Director
Dear friends,
The past week has been an exciting one for GlobeMed! With a community of over 300 people united in Evanston, IL, we celebrated GlobeMed's 10th Anniversary.
The excitement started when our Executive Director was featured on WBEZ's Worldview on Wednesday afternoon. You can listen to the recording of her 15-minute interview at this link.
On Thursday evening, March 31, the 10th Annual GlobeMed Summit kicked off with a bang. Five GlobeMed students shared their stories with delegates in the GlobeMed Story Slam. Our Opening Keynote Speaker, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Director of the Health Department for the City of Detroit, concluded the evening with stories from Detroit.
As the weekend evolved, inspiring conversations took place on panels, in small groups, and in workshops. Some featured speakers include two GlobeMed partners, one from Thailand and one from Nicaragua, as well as representatives from Adhikaar, Inner-city Muslim Action Network, Partners in Health, Child Family Health International, and #LetUsBreathe Collective.
The 21st Century Leadership for Global Health keynote panel, moderated by former GlobeMed Executive Director Maya Cohen, had delegates laughing, crying, and thinking critically.
Dr. Sharon Rudy, Director of the Global Health Fellows Program II, made everyone laugh with her wit and charisma. Not only that, but she made us think hard about what it takes to thrive in the field of global health as she presented compelling data from her survey of global health employers. Not only do global health leaders need technical skills, she explained, but also a learner's heart and an awake inner observer.
Dr. Jacob Gayle, Vice President of Medtronic Philanthropy, helped the audience reflect on the intersections of local and international action in the realm of global health. He also helped shift perspectives on global diversity by encouraging our students to think about why certain racial groups are considered minorities when the majority of the world's population is non-white, and by focusing on the importance of language as a tool for creative thinking.
Anil Parajuli, Founder and Director of Himalyan HealthCare, brought tears to our eyes with stories of living through the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal, as well as the Nepali civil war and everything the country has gone through since. He inspired us to believe in the power of resilience and hope, as he is now leading an organization that uplifts some of the most poor and marginalized people in his country.
Recordings from the GlobeMed Summit can be found on GlobeMed's Youtube page. We encourage you to watch them and relive the experience with us!
Endless thanks to our supporters from the Global Health Fellows Program II, Northwestern University, and Medtronic for making the Summit possible. And a special thanks to YOU for believing in us and supporting this transformative work. We couldn't do it without you!
With gratitude,
Alyssa Smaldino
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