First published on December 9, 2019 in observance of the COPH’s 35^th anniversary celebration.

In 2018, the USF College of Public Health (COPH) resurrected its Public Health Executive Leadership Program, which had been dormant for 10 years.

The program aims to bring rising leaders in the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) together to “collaborate and improve upon their own as well as their agency’s effectiveness,” said Dr. Marissa Levine, a COPH professor and co-director of the program along with Dr. Anthony Masys, an associate professor and director of global disaster management, humanitarian assistance and homeland security. “We revived the program not to teach public health skills, but to bring out leadership skills.”

Last year’s program brought 28 FDOH professionals—everyone from bureau chiefs to doctors and nurses to lab executives—to the USF Tampa campus several times over the course of nine months to attend workshops and presentations. In between the sessions, the group performed online work and discussions.

“The students evaluated their own leadership skill growth at the beginning and end of the program,” explained Levine. “Based on this, we saw a significant increase in self-assessed leadership skills. In addition, each student completed a capstone project relevant to their work at their base of operations. Each project was impactful and some had the potential for state- or national-level effectiveness.”

As an added bonus, many students in the program who did not initially know each other created professional relationships. “That will not only help them personally, but it will also enhance the work and impact of the department,” noted Levine.

Hurricane season pushed back the start of this year’s program, but in November 30 FDOH workers came to campus to open the 2019 program and begin fine-tuning their leadership skills. 

“This is another dynamic group who we will meet again in person four more times between now and May. Next month we will be exploring leadership in a political context and will convene in Tallahassee where we will view committee meetings and learn about all levels of government budget and policy making,” said Levine.

The Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice, the COPH group that puts on the program, has an annual contract with the FDOH. According to Levine, the group is looking to expand its offerings to engage other public health professionals. “We’re disseminating information to our graduates and others interested in leadership so that we can create a robust resource for leaders working to collaboratively improve health and well-being,” said Levine

.Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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Leading the USF College of Public Health’s MPH global disaster management, humanitarian relief and homeland security (GHH) concentration, Dr. Amber Mehmood joined the college as an associate professor this past February.

“The COPH is an institution that prides itself on its contributions to the community. It’s a place where community partnership is at the core of all its endeavors and you practice what you teach,” Mehmood said on why she chose the COPH. “This is a commitment that all institutions of public health should aspire to.”

With professional experience of more than 20 years, Mehmood has extensive academic, technical and professional expertise in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating health care programs. She is also a trained surgeon and public health researcher with a special interest in strengthening health systems, implementation science, examining the quality of health services and monitoring and evaluating care interventions.

Mehmood has previously served as associate director of the international injury research unit at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. There, she led the development and implementation of digital data collection for monitoring and evaluating road injury risk factors for the Bloomberg Initiative on Global Road Safety.

She has also worked closely with the World Health Organization assisting in the promotion of disaster planning and preparedness among Eastern European countries and injury prevention and trauma care as a member of Global Alliance for Care of the Injured.

Mehmood said that she’s excited for the opportunity to surround herself with the COPH’s supportive, collegial and collaborative faculty.

“The potential to leave a mark as the GHH concentration lead in the form of teaching, research and practice is exciting,” she said. “I’m also excited for the core values of our college concerning diversity and inclusion, which are demonstrated in all domains and by the fact that women are leading the college in key positions and roles.”

As the lead for the GHH concentration, Mehmood would like to see the program at the top of all disaster management programs offered nationwide.

“We see our students as the future leaders of GHH science and practice. To ensure our curriculum is up to date, meets the highest standards of knowledge in the field and provides professional development for our students, we need more GHH faculty,” she said. “In addition, I’d like to bring grants and provide students with opportunities to get involved in research alongside of practice.”

Story by Caitlin Keough, USF College of Public Health

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Called “dedicated,” “motivating” and “inspiring” by the students she teaches, Elizabeth Dunn, a USF College of Public Health (COPH) instructor and alumna, receives the college’s 2020 Excellence in Teaching Award.

Each year, COPH undergraduate and graduate students nominate a college faculty member who has made a major contribution to student development and the quality of their education. The award, now in its twelfth year, is presented during National Public Health Week, recognized this year from April 6-12. To see our virtual ceremony that honors Dunn and other award recipients, click here.

“This is an incredible accomplishment in my teaching career,” said Dunn, who specializes in courses dealing with international humanitarian relief, disaster management and citizen engagement in homeland security. “Knowing that the students I have been privileged to have in my courses and work alongside in the community have nominated me for this award is a remarkable feeling.”

Dunn earned both her BA and MPH from USF. She joined the COPH in 2012, working in the global disaster management, humanitarian relief and homeland security (GHH) program as the assistant to the director and teaching courses as an adjunct instructor. 

“My students are a driving force that reaffirms my passion for teaching every day,” said Dunn. “Being able to interact with students while watching them explore what they’re passionate about and how it correlates with the field of disaster management is rewarding. Additionally, I enjoy exploring innovative teaching strategies that help facilitate learning, encourage critical thinking and engage students within the community.”

When asked what she thinks makes her a successful teacher, Dunn uses one word: passion.

“I think my enthusiasm and passion for the field of disaster management resonates through my teaching. I strive to motivate my students to succeed, and I aim to build their trust by making them feel I am approachable and willing to listen to their ideas or problems,” she commented. “I believe that by setting this example, students will be inspired to follow their dreams and focus their energy on what they’re most passionate about as future leaders in public health.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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“We must be efficient. Lives are on the line.”

Those are the words of Amanda Catarzi, an anti-sex trafficking prevention specialist and a panelist at the Global Innovation to Disrupt Human Trafficking forum, held March 26 at the Marshall Student Center and attended by about 100 USF students, faculty and community leaders.

The forum was co-presented by the USF College of Public Health (COPH), USF Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships and Triumph Over Trafficking, a USF student organization with the mission of raising awareness of human trafficking.

The keynote speaker was Marina Colby, a human rights lawyer and international development professional working to advance inclusive and sustainable development practices and initiatives around the world.

“What is the scope and scale of human trafficking? The best data we have is that over 40 million people from every part of the globe are currently victims of modern-day slavery,” said Colby. “Sixteen million are forced into labor in the private sector [construction, manufacturing, domestic work, etc.] and five million are forced into commercial sex exploitation. Four million are in state-sanctioned forced labor. Fifteen million are in forced marriages.”

Colby put a face to the statistics when she talked about a Burmese migrant worker who was one of 2,000 working on a Thai fishing boat that ultimately ended up on a remote Indonesian island. The worker had one finger ripped off from a fishing net and three others that were crushed. When he and his fellow fishermen were finally rescued from the island, he received care for his fingers and was then sent back to the ship to work. The majority of those rescued, said Colby, had papers that were falsified by the Thai government.

“There’s rampant corruption,” said Colby, “from recruitment to employment that leads to enslavement.”

What innovations can be used to disrupt human trafficking?

Colby emphasized holding corporate actors accountable for their human rights violations and pressing governments to inspect for these wrongdoings. She also noted the development of mobile apps that empower workers by allowing them to share information about legitimate and illegitimate employment recruiters and workers’ rights.

“I can’t overemphasize the importance of community engagement work to identify both sex and labor traffickers,” commented Colby. “It begins in your own community. Be engaged. Keep up with emerging trends. And immerse yourself in the study of all forms of human trafficking.”

After presentations from student leaders of Triumph Over Trafficking and Dr. Jill McCracken, a USF St. Petersburg associate professor of rhetoric and gender studies, there was a panel discussion involving law enforcement and intelligence and another one focused on community innovation. Both were followed by table workshops.

The third panel discussion of the day centered on innovation and academic research and featured a number of USF faculty members, including Dr. Anthony Masys, a COPH associate professor and director of global disaster management, humanitarian relief and homeland security.

Masys gave an overview of the USF Interdisciplinary Academic Task Force on Human Trafficking, launched in January. The task force brings together people from across USF, including those in the social sciences, computer science, public health, criminology and intelligence studies.

“The purpose of the task force,” said Masys, “is to share our information and consolidate it.”

The task force is actually a byproduct of a COPH human trafficking project that examined what Masys calls “complexity theory and systems mapping.”

“We looked at human trafficking from three different views,” he explained. “First was the strategic view—what is the trafficker’s motivation and goal? Next was the capability view—what does the trafficker need to operate the business? Lastly, we looked at the operational view—how does the trafficker operationalize the business model in terms of advertising, recruitment, etc.?”

Other innovations presented included training medical students on how to identify victims of human trafficking; program evaluations of groups like Selah Freedom, a national organization fighting sex trafficking; and a broader view of what a person who is trafficked looks like (i.e., not only a runway teenage girl abusing drugs).

“The purpose of this forum is to go beyond human trafficking 101,” said Maria Trogolo, of the USF Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships and one of the organizers of the event. “It is to explore familiar problems from new vantage points and bring new voices to the table. It is in coming together as a community that we can work toward solving this problem.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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 H1N1. H5N1. Ebola. Zika.

Outbreaks of these infections demonstrate that the world’s global health security, is, at best, fragile.

To help public health students and leaders prepare for and respond to global health security issues, Dr. Anthony Masys, a USF College of Public Health associate professor and director of  global disaster management, humanitarian assistance and homeland security, has co-edited the upcoming book, “Global Health Security: Recognizing Vulnerabilities, Creating Opportunities.”

“Global health security is a well-known topic,” Masys said. “But this book will look at some topics not being addressed while consolidating information we already have.” According to Masys, reducing global threats posed by infectious-disease outbreaks, whether they’re caused naturally or by accidental or deliberate release, requires efforts that involve mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

Topics to be covered in the book include emerging infectious diseases, biosecurity, food safety, communicable and noncommunicable diseases, climate change, public health intelligence and natural disasters, among others.

“The book will be comprised of four sections,” Masys explained. “The first will be emerging threats—things like food security and infectious diseases that transcend borders. The next section will look at mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. We’ll examine how we identify and handle emergencies.  In the third section, we’ll discuss how simulation and modeling can help us find solutions. Lastly, we’ll delve into leadership and partnerships.”

Masys called on his COPH colleagues and students to contribute to the book.

Two COPH global health professors, Dr. Ricardo Izurieta, an expert in tropical and infectious disease, and Dr. Miguel Reina, who specializes in global communicable diseases, are co-editors with Masys.

Dr. Benjamin Jacob, a COPH research assistant professor, wrote a chapter on technology and innovation, while Dr. Marissa Levine, a practice pathways professor and former Virginia state health commissioner, gave insight into how effective leadership can help control pandemics. Several graduate students also contributed.

The book, to be published by Springer, is expected to be available in the spring.

Related media:

https://hscweb3.hsc.usf.edu/health/publichealth/news/coph-takes-part-in-first-usf-global-health-diplomacy-and-national-security-symposium-2/

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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The USF College of Public Health, in collaboration with other university entities—the Morsani College of Medicine, USF Health, the Center for Strategic and Diplomatic Studies and the Global Citizens Project—will co-host the first annual USF Global Health, Diplomacy and National Security Symposium on Feb. 28 at the Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions. A pre-event VIP reception will be held Feb. 27 at the Lifsey House.

The symposium, free to the public, is sponsored by Premier Eye Care, a Tampa-based company that provides managed medical and routine eye care, and WUSF Public Media.

The aim of the symposium, the brainchild of COPH founder Sam Bell and Dr. Anthony Masys, a COPH associate professor and director of global disaster management, humanitarian assistance and homeland security, is to gather world-renowned experts in the fields of infectious disease, defense, immigration and public health to explore the role of diplomacy and public health on national security.

According to Masys, using diplomacy and foreign policy to support public health goals can promote stability and peace. “Anything that happens overseas can affect the United States,” he cautions. “Look at H1N1, H5N1, SARS and Ebola—all of those pandemics can have national security implications. By using diplomacy to manage public health issues, we can help prevent national security problems.”

Masys expects about 250 people, many of them public health officials, government officers and military personnel, to attend the one-day event.

USF President Judy Genshaft will give a welcome address and Dr. Stephen C. Redd, a rear admiral who is director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Center for Preparedness and Response, will deliver the keynote speech.

Other speakers will include Dr. John Sinnott, chairman of internal medicine at the Morsani College of Medicine, Dr. Steve Morrison, director of the Global Health Policy Center at the nonprofit Center for Strategic and International Studies and Dr. Jim Stikeleather, a professor at the Muma College of Business and former chief innovation officer at Dell.

Both graduate and undergraduate students are invited to present research posters at the event. Poster topics can range from bioterrorism and biodefense to the economic impact of trans-border health threats. Top-rated posters could be awarded between $50 and $500 in prize money.

One topic of discussion at the symposium will be using diplomacy as a “soft power” to help support countries dealing with public health crises like Ebola. Another topic will be the role of innovation and technology on global health issues. After each speaker, panel discussions will take place.

“The trans-border nature of health threats makes defense at the border alone problematic,” Masys said. “Health threats pose a danger to international stability and security. Focusing on how diplomacy and foreign policy can be used to support global health is an important area of discussion.”

For more information about the symposium or to register for the event, click here.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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The USF College of Public Health (COPH) recently hosted 30 up-and-coming Florida Department of Health professionals to the first segment of its Public Health Leadership Institute.

The program, which was held Oct. 1-3 on the USF Tampa campus, is getting a re-boot after a 10-year hiatus.

“The USF COPH has a mission to support the Florida Department of Health—it’s our job,” commented Dr. Marissa Levine, a COPH Practice Pathway professor who is one of the faculty organizers of the program. “And career advancement training is a big need they have identified. The public health workforce is graying, and problems such as Zika and the opioid crisis are representative of how public health issues are becoming more complex. The need to train visionaries who can tackle these problems is extremely important.”

Public health professionals from around the state gathered with COPH Dean Donna Petersen, Anthony Masys, PhD, and Marissa Levine, MD, MPH, for the first segment of the USF COPH Public Health Leadership Institute. (Photo by Anna Mayor)

Event speakers included COPH Dean Donna Petersen, Surgeon General and Secretary of the Florida Department of Health Celeste Philip and Karen DeSalvo, a professor of population health at Dell Medical School and former acting assistant secretary for health.

A range of topics, including self-knowledge, “emotional intelligence” and “authentic leadership,” were covered. The latter two involve identifying and assessing one’s management style and its impact on others.

“In order to provide authentic leadership, you have to know yourself and how to regulate your emotions,” Levine explained.

Associate Professor Dr. Anthony Masys explains the concept of authentic leadership. (Photo by Anna Mayor)

“The words we use and convey affect everyone,” added Dr. Anthony Masys, a COPH associate professor and director of global disaster management, humanitarian assistance and homeland security who is also involved in the institute’s resurrection. “We can focus on the negative and create what is known as a deficit model, or we can change the vocabulary and focus on what is going right and create a more positive vision and environment.”

Ana Barrera Goold, program administrator-records registration section for the Florida Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics in Jacksonville, said the session was “informative, insightful and relevant.”

“Learning about ourselves and ways to deal with others was very helpful,” Goold said. “I learned how strengths and weaknesses can impact the team/organization and that trust is vital among leaders and staff.”

The other learning modules, five in all that will be spread over a nine-month period, will deal with topics such as organizational management, relationship building and managing complexity. At the last module, participants will present a project taken directly from their work at their health department work sites.

Levine and Masys say the program can be expanded, in both size and scope. “We can involve more people by staggering the cohorts,” Masys said. “And we can use the program anywhere around the country or the world where leadership skills need to be upgraded.”

The next meeting with take place in Tampa in December. For more information about the program, contact Dr. Levine at mjlevine@health.usf.edu.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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If ever there was a ground zero for studying disaster management, it is Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

In May an interdisciplinary team of students from USF’s College of Public Health and its Sunshine Education and Research Center (ERC) traveled with faculty advisors Dr. Anthony Masys, associate professor of global disaster management, humanitarian assistance and homeland security (GHH), and Elizabeth Dunn, a GHH instructor, to Puerto Rico to analyze post-hurricane conditions on the still-recovering island.

The ERC promotes interdisciplinary research and learning among five academic programs—occupational medicine, occupational health nursing, industrial hygiene, occupational safety and occupational health psychology—and partners with several universities around the country, including the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) in San Juan. UPR students of public health, led by Dr. Lida Orta-Anes, a professor of environmental health at the school, joined the USF group. This was the first formal interaction between occupational health and safety trainees and students and faculty in GHH.

UPR and USF students, faculty and staff pose with community member Angel Rubio (standing, second from right) and the artistic piece he created to symbolize his feelings of what the community was experiencing post-Hurricane Maria. (Photo courtesy of Cathy Silva)

“This collaborative, interdisciplinary nature is what public health is all about,” commented Dr. Thomas Bernard, a professor of environmental and occupational health and director of the Sunshine ERC. “This trip gave our students a wider view of life than what we train them for in the classroom.”

Masys described the trip as “boots on the ground training” with the students “getting their hands dirty with data.”

The group spent three days on the island collecting and analyzing data “through the lens of disaster management,” Masys said. The USF team attended presentations given by their UPR counterparts chronicling life in post-Maria Puerto Rico. They then traveled to urban and rural sites to see firsthand the effects of the disaster.

One such place was the cemetery near Castillo San Felipe Del Morro, a 16th century fortress and one of Puerto Rico’s most-visited historical landmarks.

“When looking from afar, the cemetery looks beautiful,” said Derek Erickson, an MPH student majoring in epidemiology and global communicable disease who was part of the USF group. “Observing it up close, however, we saw many stone crosses, angels and other memorials broken. In natural disasters, not even the dead are safe.”

Overhead view of cemetery with toppled headstones near Castillo San Felipe Del Morro. (Photo courtesy of Derek Erickson)

Later the group returned to the classroom to develop a visual ethnography (the use of pictures, drawings and other visual mediums that capture social realities and encourage visual thinking) to discuss a disaster-relief strategy both the USF and UPR teams could work on together.

“We saw evidence of a still-hurting community,” noted Masys. “There was debris all around, power lines were down and waterlines were visible on people’s houses. We got to see how infrastructure—having power and clear roadways, for instance—can impact the well-being of a community. We talked about the health and safety dimensions of a disaster and its cascading effects. For example, what happens to the chemicals in a plant? Do they get scattered? What impact will that have? Is the country prepared to clean it up post disaster?”

The students also spent time looking at community resiliency.

“We saw a powerful example of this in a small town where three women had come together and set up a command center in one of the schools,” Masys explained. “They set up a system where people could get food and health care. They completely galvanized the cooperation of the community. We’ll be doing some future research on the qualities these women have and best practices in community resiliency.”

USF students and faculty explore Old San Juan. (Photo courtesy of Cathy Silva)

Now back home, the next step, say both Bernard and Masys, is continued collaboration.

“We’ll ask for funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) over a multi-year period to gather more data and pilot-test interventions,” commented Bernard. “I think some more specific data collection will be helpful—so will revisiting the things others have already done and evaluating their effects. How good was Puerto Rico’s hurricane response plan? What happens when it fails to protect? Were there any unanticipated exposures to hazards? Thinking beyond the public service announcement and getting people better prepared for disasters are some of the ultimate goals.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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The new year brought along new faces!

It’s a new year and with that the USF College of Public Health is happy to welcome the following new faculty and staff, adding to the college’s diversity and research specializations.

Tricia Penniecook, MD, MPH

Dr. Tricia Penniecook (Photo by Caitlin Keough).

Dr. Tricia Penniecook joined the COPH on October 23, as the vice dean of education. She is also the first faculty member to be appointed on the COPH’s new Practice Pathway.

The Practice Pathway invites health professionals who have occupied leadership positions in public health and healthcare to join the COPH to ensure that real-world practice experiences are integrated into the College’s curricula and shared in the classroom.

“I became an educator because health professionals do not just develop on their own, they need guidance and modeled behavior from those who have not only read about it, but have experience and expertise. The courses, programs and degrees that I participate and lead in must be infused with values, from the planning and development through the delivery and evaluation phases,” she said. “There is a special purpose for higher education institutions: to prepare leaders who will stand in the gap, translating knowledge from the most advanced research into practice, to improve lives every day.”

Penniecook earned both her MD and MPH from the Universidad de Montemorelos in Mexico. After practicing as a primary care physician in Mexico, she worked for five years in her native Costa Rica in the Ministry of Health as county health director, state epidemiologist, state health director and adviser to the Minister of Health for the Atlantic Region.

She joined the Loma Linda University School of Public Health in 2007 as associate dean of academic affairs and was promoted to dean. She served in that capacity for five years.

Penniecook is qualified in both medicine and public health and has had a distinguished career in both disciplines. She is passionate about public health engagement with the community surrounding her own university as well as that of the world.

Eric Davenport, MA

Eric Davenport (Photo by Caitlin Keough).

Eric Davenport is the new director of financial management and reporting in the COPH’s Office of Finance and Administration.  He is responsible for the College’s budget overall, and more specifically the accounting, purchasing and reporting functions.

“I feel grateful to be a part of this great team, not to mention in such a successful and well-run college,” Davenport said. “While this position is definitely a great fit for my experience, I’m most excited to have a chance to contribute to the many great things that appear to be on the horizon at COPH, and to the broader USF community as well!”

Davenport earned his BA in management information systems and finance from Philadelphia University and his MA in philosophy and public policy from the University of Pennsylvania.

Most recently, Davenport ran the offices of institutional research and sponsored projects at La Salle University, where he was fortunate to work on several impactful projects, including a proposal to reset tuition costs to students.

He also spent 10 years at Temple University in finance and administration positions handling their College of Public Health’s budgeting and financial operations, including work transitioning their budget to a responsibility centered management model and revamping their financial reporting.

Brian Warrick, PhD, CSP, CIH

Brian Warrick (Photo courtesy of Warrick).

USF SafetyFlorida Consultation Program welcomes Dr. Brian Warrick as their new program manager. Since stepping into his role on November 6, Warrick has been getting to know the staff and attending meetings with OSHA representatives and prominent key players in the industry.

In this role, Warrick leads the efforts of providing assistance to Florida employers in developing effective health and safety programs towards a goal of improving employee workplace health and safety conditions.

Warrick earned his PhD in management from Walden University and a MS in environmental science from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is a board-certified safety professional and industrial hygienist, as well as the former president of the West Florida Chapter of American Society of Safety Engineers.

“It is with great excitement and humility I join USF’s OSHA Consultation Program.  For years I have been pre-occupied with securing safe and healthy working environments for employers and employees and I am delighted to join the cause for Florida’s small businesses,” Warrick said.

Warrick brings more than 30 years of leadership experience in the field of environmental, occupational health and safety, including 20 years as an US Air Force officer.

During his time in the Air Force he held multiple leadership positions and was responsible for ensuring a safe, healthy working environment for the largest American community in Europe. He led worldwide environmental and safety health teams with phenomenal risk reduction effort at deployed locations.  He provided significant technical oversight for a $26 million clean-up technology for toxic chemical weapons destruction operations. Warrick was hand selected for a fellowship at the Air Force Surgeon General’s Office and developed the Air Force’s policy on HAZMAT response.

Warrick also served as executive vice president, corporate health and safety officer for two global infrastructure and environmental services firms, respectively, as well as the director of a Fortune 500 manufacturing company.

He is an experienced presenter, trainer and an advisory board member to the USF Sunshine Education & Research Center.

Antony Masys, PhD, MSc, BSc

Antony Masys (Photo courtesy of Masys).

Dr. Anthony Masys joins the COPH as director and associate professor of global disaster management, humanitarian assistance and homeland security.

“I am very excited about joining the COPH team and look forward to growing the program, exploring and applying the domains of systems thinking, design thinking, disaster forensics and resilience as it relates to global disaster management, humanitarian assistance and homeland security,” Masys said.

A former senior Air Force officer, Masys has a BSc in physics and MSc in underwater acoustics and oceanography from the Royal Military College of Canada and a PhD in sociology from the University of Leicester.

Masys is an internationally recognized author, speaker and facilitator and has held workshops on security, visual thinking, design thinking and systems thinking in Europe, Canada, South America, West Africa and Asia. He has published extensively in the domains of physics and the social sciences.

He is editor in chief for Springer Publishing book series: Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications and holds various advisory board positions with academic journals and books series.

Masys also supports the University of Leicester as an associate tutor in their distance MSc program on risk crisis and disaster management.

Also, a warm welcome to:

Dr. Chighaf Bakour, visiting assistant professor
Ericka Duncan, program planner analyst
Kelly Freedman, program planner analyst
Dr. Taylor Livingston, postdoctoral scholar
Dr. Michelle Nash, assistant professor
Paige Phillips, academic program specialist
William Shurtz, program planner analyst
Dr. Nicholas Thomas, postdoctoral scholar
Sandra Wells, program planner analyst

Story by Caitlin Keough, USF College of Public Health

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USF College of Public Health’s Elizabeth A. Dunn, MPH, CPH, was selected to receive the 2015 Human Rights Award from the Tampa/Hillsborough County Human Rights Council.

Dunn, adjunct faculty for Global Disaster Management, Humanitarian Relief and Homeland Security in the Department of Global Health, was among eight honorees for the 2015 Human Rights Award. She was presented with the award at the 42nd Annual Tampa/Hillsborough County Human Rights Awards Breakfast held Dec. 11.

Dunn was nominated for her volunteer work in the community and involving USF undergraduate students by facilitating service-learning courses. She teaches a course called Community Partnerships and Homeland Security, which has service learning at its foundation. Dunn works with multiple community partners volunteering her time to help take the lead on various community projects with 65 COPH students.

In addition, she was recognized for her volunteer work with the Tampa Bay Refugee Task Force, the refugee mental health subcommittee, the Refugee and Migrant Women’s Initiative (RAMWI), the United Nations Association, the Hillsborough County Local Mitigation Strategy Working Group, Hillsborough County Emergency Management, and the American Red Cross where she volunteers as a First Aid/CPR/AED Instructor, and Disaster Action Team lead.

Dunn “is dedicated to serving vulnerable populations in the Tampa Bay area while striving to inspire students to be more engaged in making a public health impact,” noted the Tampa/Hillsborough County Human Rights Council in its letter informing Dunn of her selection.

“This has been a true honor and a complete surprise that I was nominated, let alone selected to receive this award,” she said. “Everything I do with the students and in the community is because I am passionate about public health, want to set an example for our students and believe that it is important to engage with the community.”

On being selected as a 2015 Human Rights Award recipient, Dunn is quick to recognize others, including the many community partners who provide the service opportunities for her students.

“This award would not be possible without the support of our students, community partners, and faculty in the Department of Global Health,” she said. “It is a wonderful experience to spend extra time giving back and connecting students who are eager to gain experience and practice public health. When you are passionate about something it does not seem like extra work at all.”

Reposted from USF Health News. Click here for the full story, including audio clips.

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