Thanks to everyone who joined us for our annual 2023 Scholarship Luncheon to connect and celebrate our supporters and our amazing scholarship students!

We were so pleased to gather and connect with our many supporters and scholarship students at the annual MEZCOPH Scholarship Luncheon on Saturday, March 25, 2023! Hosted at the Westward Look this year, the event brought together donors who fund scholarships with the students they support to remind us all of what we can achieve together.

At the start of the event, Dean Iman Hakim remembered three outstanding supporters of the college who recently passed away. Dr. Frank Marcus was an innovative cardiologist and public health champion who founded the Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative in collaboration with the college. The family has now established the Marcus Family Obesity Prevention Project Endowment, in honor of Edith, Frank, Janet and Samuel Marcus.

Dr. Ann Nichols dedicated her life to helping others as a community organizer, social worker, teacher, and social justice advocate and she established the Andrew W. Nichols Initiative Scholarship in memory of her late husband.

Finally, Mel Zuckerman, the visionary health and wellness champion who, with his wife Enid, gave the funding that established our Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. Mel will forever be remembered for his compassion, generosity, and public health legacy.

Following introductions and remembrances from Dean Hakim, we heard inspirational stories from current scholarship students Javier Aguiñiga, Lady Dorothy Elli, Pedro Flores Gallardo, MS, Maiya Block Ngaybe, MPH ’21, and Jamie Young, BS ‘20.

Finally, we heard from two other speakers, first our accomplished alumnus Mark Smolinski, MD, MPH ’94, a global innovator and problem solver who now serves as president of the international nonprofit Ending Pandemics, an organization that focuses on fighting emerging infectious disease globally. Second, as the final speaker, we heard from the new Chairwoman of our Community Advisory Board, JoAnna Westcott, a financial consultant and president of Bill Westcott, Inc., and a passionate philanthropist who talked about her discovery of public health and the wide range of benefits that public health research and programs bring to our country and our world.

The 2023 Scholarship Luncheon was presented by MEZCOPH with support from JoAnna Westcott with Bill Westcott, Inc, and we very much appreciate the contribution!

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the Scholarship Luncheon to celebrate our students and community!

Dean Hakim with guest speakers Mark Smolinski MD, MPH '94, student speaker Lady Dorothy Elli, Sabrina Butler MS, Kenneth Robin, Linda Robin, Neelam Sethi, Nomita Divi, and Vicki Fleischer JD.

Chairwoman of the MEZCOPH Community Advisory Board, JoAnna Westcott speaking during the luncheon.

Chicanos Por La Causa scholarship recipients including student speaker Javier Aguiñiga with Janis Gallego JD, Carlos Galindo-Elvira, and María Elena Coronado-Sutter.

Dean Hakim with Marjorie Sue Vaughan PhD, Robert Vaughan MD, Janet Marcus M.Ed, Lynn Marcus JD, Ann Lapidus, Sabrina Plattner M.Ed, Ycied Talavera Guillen BS '21, and Jonelle Vold JD.

Pedro Flores Gallardo MS speaking during the luncheon.

Many current scholarship students joined us for the 2023 annual luncheon.

Scholarship Luncheon Speakers 2023

Student: Javier Aguiñiga

BS Quantitative Methods in Public Health
Lorraine H. Lee Chicanos Por La Causa Scholarship

Javier is a first-generation college student and part of “First Cats,” a campus community that gives students a sense of belonging and a place to forge new connections. He is looking forward to gaining more public health experience through volunteer opportunities helping underserved communities.

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Student: Lady Dorothy Elli

BS Global Health
Zuckerman Family Foundation Scholarship Endowment

Lady is a student leader in various student organizations including the Public Health Undergraduate Network, Associated Students of the University of Arizona, and Asian Pacific American Student Affairs cultural center. She plans to pursue a JD/MPH joint degree program to advocate for international human rights and serve marginalized communities that have been neglected in terms of receiving basic needs and healthcare.

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Student: Pedro Flores Gallardo, MS

PhD Environmental Health Science
Cliff and Penny Crutchfield Scholarship

Pedro's goal during his time as a doctoral student is to gain more skills and knowledge to become an expert in exposure science, conduct research, and address occupational health hazards and environmental exposure health hazards. Pedro hopes to become a Professor in Environmental Health or lead an EHS department for a higher education institution or in the private sector.

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Student: Maiya Block Ngaybe, MPH ’21

PhD Health Behavior Health Promotion
Zuckerman Family Foundation African American Scholarship

Maiya is interested in learning about people’s decision to get vaccinated or not, and the influencing factors. Her dissertation project builds off her work on COVID-19 and influenza vaccination attitudes, looking at prospective uptakes of the HIV attitudes. After graduating, Maiya hopes to continue working in health behavior and promotion, either within the university context or for an international organization.

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Student: Jamie Young, BS ’20

MPH One Health
College of Public Health Community Advisory Board Scholarship

Upon completion of her Master's in One Health, Jamie plans to pursue a career in Veterinary Sciences or Medicine. Her love for Epidemiology stems from her drive to investigate the complex interplay between organisms to achieve a greater scientific understanding of disease, and she hopes to spend a portion of her graduate experience studying underfunded tropical zoonotic diseases.

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Alumnus: Mark Smolinski, MD, MPH ’94

President, Ending Pandemics

Dr. Mark Smolinski, a pioneer in disease prevention and control, works as a medical epidemiologist and the President of the nonprofit organization Ending Pandemics. Mark earned his MD from the University of Michigan and his MPH from the University of Arizona, then went on to work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and then as a senior advisor for the 16th Surgeon General of the United States David Satcher. Mark then developed the Predict and Prevent Initiative at Google.org and starting in 2009 he served as the Chief Medical Officer and Director of Global Health for the Skoll Global Threats Fund. His work in that role led to the launch of the nonprofit Ending Pandemics where he now serves as president. At Ending Pandemics—a U.S. nonprofit with founding support from Jeff Skoll—Smolinski focuses on the surveillance of emerging infectious diseases like COVID-19 through work in “hotspot” countries across the globe. A global innovator and problem solver whose team improves disease prediction, prevention, control and response worldwide, Mark inspires us all to think globally, act locally, and pursue health equity across borders.

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Chairwoman, Community Advisory Board: JoAnna Westcott

President, Bill Westcott Inc.

JoAnna Westcott, financial consultant and President of Bill Westcott, Inc., shows her passion for the Tucson community through philanthropy and leadership. She founded the Women’s Salon Series that brings professional women from all walks of life to present about their expertise in a popular dinner forum. In addition, she supports the arts in many ways and has served as President of the Board for the Tucson Pops Orchestra for a decade to make sure the people of Tucson will continue to enjoy this free professional concert series. After supporting public health for many years as a member of the Community Advisory Board for the Zuckerman College of Public Health, JoAnna was recently elected as the Board Chair. In this new role she will help the college grow and advance its mission to promote the health of individuals and communities in the southwest and globally through excellence in education, research and service.

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