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Welcome to the inaugural alumni e-newsletter for the Department of Global and Community Health  

• CHHS needs to receive 150 individual donations from alumni who graduated or will graduate from 2007–2011 at either the undergraduate or graduate level. So far 114 donations have been received.
  
• The terms of the challenge grant do not stipulate a specific amount for the contribution but the funds must be donated during the current fiscal year which ends June 30, 2010.

We hope you will consider a gift at this time that will benefit faculty and students in the college. You can request that your gift be applied to a specific program or scholarship fund. Please visit the CHHS Alumni and Friends website for more information on ways of supporting the college. For questions, please contact Gail Weirich by e-mail, or at (703) 993-6018.

Am I an Alum of the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS)?

• School of Nursing, 
• Department of Global and Community Health, 
• Department of Social Work, and
• Department of Health Administration and Policy. 

• The Center for the Study of Chronic Illness and Disability (CCID) and 
• The Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics (CHPRE).

2010 CHHS Distinguished Alumna of the Year Award  

Barbara L. Young Summers, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
BSN ’78, MSN ’81, PhD ‘95
Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, and Division Head, Nursing, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas

Barbara Summers was awarded the honor of 2010 CHHS Distinguished Alumna of the Year on behalf of the CHHS Alumni Chapter Board. Accompanied by her husband George Summers, also a Mason alumnus, graduating from the College of Visual and Performing Arts with a BS in 1977, Dr. Summers received the prestigious award at the Celebration of Distinction on April 14.

Dr. Summers' practice hallmark has been a persistent and unwavering focus on building nursing excellence. She has led the creation of new frameworks and models to develop nurse leaders and build organizational cultures that promote health care safety and professional nursing empowerment.  From 1993 – 1997, Dr. Summers worked at National Institutes of Health, where she was manager of critical care services and a nurse specialist in ambulatory cancer care and research.  In addition, Dr. Summers worked for 13 years as a clinical nurse specialist in the cancer center and as director of medical and psychiatric nursing for INOVA. Dr. Summers is the recipient of numerous honors and awards and in November 2009, was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing.

Dr. Summers made a presentation to alumni and faculty titled “Synchronicity: Auspicious Coincidence, The Journey of one GMU Alumna.” School of Nursing alumni attending the presentation included classmates and colleagues: Karen Drenkard, PhD ’06;  Margaret Goode, BSN ‘88, MSN  ’99; Paulette Komarny, BSN ’95; Lynn Magrum, BSN ’79, MSN ’81; Lorraine McLean, MSN '96; and Carolyn Taylor BSN ’78, MSN ’86, MBA ’94.

Spotlight on a GCH Alum

Rahman A. Parker, MS ‘08

Rahman Parker understands the 'heart' of people in need. Living with a unique congenital heart defect, he's dedicated his life's work to the care and improvement for the health of others. Parker has more than 15 years of public service and health care development expertise, and his professional career includes work with non-profit health care, pharmaceutical biotechnology, and public health. These expansive experiences led to his vision for improving communities worldwide.

In 2007, Parker completed his post-graduate studies at the University of Oxford, Hertford College, where he examined the link between economic development and global health care systems. He received a master's of health science in international health from George Mason University in 2007. He attended Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2004 for his post baccalaureate studies and Virginia Commonwealth University for his bachelor of science in chemistry in 2001.

Before founding Mahn Healthcare, Parker began his career in global health development when he joined medical missions as a project manager and media spokesperson in the United States, Dominican Republic, and Ghana. While working in these areas, he saw communities without basic first aid or clean water resources, and became concerned with the health and welfare of underserved populations.

“Underserved populations deserve unique quality healthcare,” says Parker. “We can help increase health outcomes, empowering the powerless to accomplish the impossible.”

He currently serves as senior environmental health specialist with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), Loudoun Health District in Leesburg, Virginia. In addition to pursuing his life's work, Parker is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Global and Community Health at Mason.

Alumni Publications

Lila Fleming, MS ’08 International Health, GCH current adjunct faculty member and GCH alumna, recently co-authored an article with Dr. Kathryn Jacobsen titled, "Bullying among middle-school students in low and middle income countries," in the March 2010 issue of Health Promotion International.

Last year, Lila co-authored another article with Dr. Kathryn Jacobsen, "Bullying and Symptoms of Depression in Chilean Middle School Students," which was published in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of School Health. She conducted this analysis of data from the Global School-based Health Survey as part of her certificate in epidemiology.

Mikayla Chubb , MS '09, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, as part of her master’s degree, had an article published with Dr. Kathryn Jacobsen, “Mathematical Modeling and the Epidemiological Research Process” in the January 2010 issue of the European Journal of Epidemiology.

Sign Up to Mentor a GCH Student

Mentors are excellent resources to students interested in researching career options or in shadowing an employer in their field of study. If you're a seasoned grad looking to support future professionals in your field or a student seeking career advice please sign up by sending an e-mail. Please provide the following contact information:

Name
Position Title
Place of Employment
Work Phone
Business E-mail Address
Alternate E-mail Address
Best time to be reached
      
We will find an opportunity for you to share your career experiences with a current student. If you have any questions, contact Gail Weirich by email, or at (703) 993-6018.

We appreciate your interest!

CHHS Signature Alumni Event: "The Dirt on the Grape"

SAVE THE DATE

The Dirt on the Grape…The Next Course
CHHS Signature Alumni Event
October 2, 2010

Time TBA

Mark your calendars to join us for the CHHS Signature Alumni Event on Saturday, October 2, 2010. Sommelier Mary Watson-DeLauder returns and joins Chef Sandy Amato (owner of Cooking with Sandy) to educate and tantalize your tastebuds with dessert and dessert wine pairings.

We invite CHHS alumni and guests to come and learn something new, re-connect with friends and colleagues, and enjoy an evening of socializing.

Details on the event will be available soon on the CHHS Alumni website. For information contact Gail Weirich by email, or at (703) 993-6018.

The CHHS Signature Alumni Event is held in conjunction with Alumni Weekend.

Let Us Hear from You

Scholarship for International Internships

Each summer, students in GCH have opportunities to put into practice lessons learned in the classroom with internships abroad.  While in the field, they are able to learn and to help carry out the department’s mission of promoting and developing solid and meaningful research programs that help define and address health issues and the needs of affected populations at the regional and global level. Students travel to underdeveloped countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and South America.

It is not enough to have the desire and ability to want to participate in these internships. The financial commitment to make these trips a reality can be major stumbling blocks in students going abroad.

Richard Skolnik, member of the CHSS Advisory Board, is passionate about motivating students to explore career opportunities in global health. His passion has committed him to fund scholarships for this purpose starting with the summer of 2011 and continuing for five years.

Richard Skolnik is the former director for health for South Asia at the World Bank.  He is also the author of the book “Essentials of Global Health,” and lecturer in global health at George Washington University. 

“I would like to do whatever I can to ensure that students at Mason have the same wonderful opportunities that I have had to explore critical health issues in low- and middle-income countries,”says Skolnik.

If you are interested in receiving information on how you can contribute to the scholarship fund, contact Mary-Earle Farrell, director of development for CHHS.

New Faculty

Lisa Lindley, MPH, DrPH, CHES

Lisa Lindley recently joined GCH as an associate professor. In 1991, Dr. Lindley received her BSEd in health education, community health education from Mason.

Lindley was a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Promotion, Education & Behavior in the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina from 2005 until coming to Mason. She was also co-founder & director of OutSmart in the Midlands, a non-profit educational, social and support organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth in Columbia, SC (Jan1998 - June 1999; Jan 2006 - Aug 2007), and scholar advisor with the CDC/ASPH Institute for HIV Prevention Leadership (2005-2008).

Dr. Lindley has conducted extensive research in HIV/STI prevention and sexual health promotion.

Visiting Faculty

Public Health in Thailand? Students Hear Directly From Visiting Scholar

Global and Community Health students learn about public health in Thailand from Dr. Waraporn Boonchieng , visiting scholar, registered nurse, and native Thai.

Dr. Waraporn has been attending Professor  James A. Metcalf’s section of GCH 350 as a part of her learning and sharing experience at George Mason University. Students got to know her as an assistant to Professor Metcalf.  Small groups of students often remained after class to tell her about the United States, their own families, and their hometowns. A central feature of public health initiatives in Thailand is the recognition that health begins with the family.  Dr. Waraporn speaks of the desirability of a “warm” family…and that is not so much different from what we seek in America.

Alyssa Carlin, undergraduate student in community health with a minor in nutrition commented, "I got the chance to talk to Dr. Waraporn one-on-one. I discussed my family traditions and what it was like growing up in the D.C. area. It was a great opportunity to learn about the Thai culture, and to compare our different traditions, culture and ways of life." 

"I am truly grateful to have met Dr. Waraporn. She was very kind, and eager to learn about the American culture. Her wonderful class presentation provided us an insight of how the Thai society is structured," stated John Regalario,  undergraduate nursing student.

Faculty Research

Lisa Pawloski was awarded $25,000 for her project titled, “Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program for Iraq” from the Institute of International Education (IIE). This is the first time Fulbright students have been invited from Iraq so it is a significant event in the State Department. 

Five scholars arriving the end of July and depart September 23.  They are all professionals and scholars in public health related fields.  They will be here to learn about the U.S. health care system and the public health system, and link with researchers in hopes of developing lasting collaborative research activities.

Faculty Instruction

Jonas Webster, GCH faculty, and T. Garey Davis, senior program coordinator at the Multicultural Research and Resource Center will lead current undergraduate students to South Africa to learn more about culture and community health issues in the course: NCLC 398: HIV/AIDS in South Africa Building Bridges: Exploring Culture, Health, and the Global HIV Pandemic.

Student Authored Publications

Barbara Downes   MS’ 10, Epidemiology and Biostatistics,  paper “A Systematic Review of the Epidemiology of Mansonelliasis” was published in the January 2010 issue of the African Journal of Infectious Disease. Downes conducted this analysis of data with department faculty member, Dr. Kathryn Jacobsen, as part of her M.S. in epidemiology and biostatistics degree.

Beth Cart-Obregón, who is expected to receive her MS in public health with a concentration in epidemiology this December, currently has an article in press titled, “A Geographic Analysis of Access to Health Services in Rural Guatemala” in International Health. Cart-Obregón conducted this analysis of data with department faculty member, Dr. Kathryn Jacobsen, as part of her master’s degree.