In Action
Stepping Up: Dr. Joelle Simpson, MS '95, was promoted to Interim Chief of Emergency Medicine at Children's National Hospital in Washington D.C.. In her new role, she oversees the daily operations of the pediatric emergency medicine department, spread across 3 locations that see an annual of 130K visits, and 350 full-time-employees, including physicians, nursing practitioners, advanced practice providers, and other staff. She also recently co-authored a study on the Racial/Ethnic and Socioeconomic Disparities of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Children.
Climate Crisis and Public Health: Harleen Marwah, MS '11 was recently featured in the Huffington Post for her work leading a volunteer grassroots coalition called Medical Students for a Sustainable Future, with more than 100 students from 34 medical schools and programs across the U.S. (including Sarah Hsu, MS '13) focused on coordinating efforts to push for more education on the intersection between climate change and public health. Read the article here.
Teaching in Colombia: Isiah, MS '13, was just selected as a Fulbright Scholar and will be departing to Colombia in January 2021 to teach English at a university, while also completing his Master's in Urban Education: Policy & Administration at Loyola Marymount University's School of Education. A huge congrats to Isiah, who will be one of only 47 Fulbright Scholars teaching in Colombia this coming year!
30 under 30: Morris Vanegas, MS '08 was recently named to the Latino 30 under 30 list for his work in an academic specialty in the biomedical engineering of imaging the brain using visible light that was still only partially born. Currently, he is heading an NIH-funded grant to create portable non-invasive neuro-imaging technologies to accelerate stroke recovery. And outside of academia, Morris is the Co-Founder of The Second L, an organization that runs ÉPOCA: a multi-day festival that helps lifelong learners reach their personal and professional self-fulfillment through residential-based learning, experience-based insight, cultural agility, and wellness coaching. Learn more about Morris and his accomplishment here.
For The Emmy: Nuria Santamaria Wolfe MS ’01 received an Emmy nomination in 2019 for the Canticos series on Nick Jr. Canticos is the bilingual preschool brand created by Encantos Media, a company Nuria co-founded in 2015.
Life in Color: Nicole Villasin MS ‘02 is a Brand Manager at Starbucks Coffee Co where she successfully launched the innovative product, Starbucks Color changing cold cups that broke the internet in 2019! If you didn’t get your hands on one of these, you can read about the craze on USA Today.
Arguing the case: Dora Duru, MS'08 was awarded the Richard Nagareda Award for Best Oralist in the 2019 Bass Berry & Sims Moot Court Competition, a competition in which she wrote and delivered a brief for a fascinating case that touched on both second and fourteenth amendment issues. The competition included 62 teams and a total of 123 participants. The final round was argued before a panel of three federal appellate judges, including Judge Stephen A. Higginson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, who served as the round’s Chief Justice, Judge David J. Barron of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Read more about the award and case here.
In the spotlight: Francis Poon MS’ 09, celebrated a 6th season premiere of his series This is Life with Lisa Ling, in September 2019. The CNN original documentary television series produced by Part2 Pictures explores different American communities & social issues in America today. You can watch these Sunday nights at 10pm and if you’ve missed any of the 43 episodes, you can download them on Amazon or iTunes. As a true Milken Scholar family member, Francis invited Diana Hong MS ’99 to provide support on translation needed for one of his most recent episodes. Make sure to watch!
Fighting fires with passion: Great Neck, New York Firefighter Clarence Kong, MS '14, was recently featured in a new video about the teamwork and community that supports these humble public servants in their noble work. "Every 9-1-1 call we get, the person on the other side is probably experiencing the worst day of his or her life, and me being able to be there and make a positive difference in their lives, that means everything to me." Watch the video on Facebook here.
Notable Woman in Healthcare: Dr. Jenny Tsang-Quinn, MS '89, has been recognized by Crain's New York Business for her leadership at Maimonides Medical Center as VP of Clinical Programs and Provider Engagement.