Announcing 2024 Josiah Macy Jr. Awards for Excellence in Social Mission

WASHINGTON (March 11, 2024) — The Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University and the Social Mission Alliance today announced the selection of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Awards for Excellence in Social Mission in Health Professions Education.

The purpose of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Awards is to recognize outstanding leadership in promoting social mission in health professions education. Social mission is defined as activities or initiatives that teach, model, or improve community engagement, diversity, disparities reduction, value-based care, or engagement with the social determinants of health. Social mission enhancement means making programs not only better, but fairer.

This year’s nomination process was highly competitive. The awards will be presented in five categories: individual excellence, institutional excellence, program excellence, lifetime achievement and the Fitzhugh Mullan Rising Star Award.

2024 Awardees

Fitzhugh Mullan Rising Star Award
Alec J. Calac (Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians)

Alec J. Calac (Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians) is an MD-PhD Candidate at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science. He has impressively risen to the level of being an internationally-recognized leader for championing policies and programs that promote Indigenous health equity and reform of the Indian Health Service. Calac is actively leading national health policy efforts linked to Native American priorities through his integral roles in several major national advocacy organizations.  As a testament to the reach of his work, he was invited to participate in the White House Office of Public Engagement Leaders in Health Equity Roundtable Series. He currently serves as the Associate Director of the Clinical Problem Solvers Anti-Racism in Medicine Podcast and Co-Chair of the World Federation of Public Health Associations Indigenous Working Group Policy Committee. 

Individual Excellence
Lisa M. Meeks, PhD, MA

Over the last decade, Lisa Meeks’ work and advocacy have had profound impacts on recruiting, admitting, and retaining students with disabilities while simultaneously dismantling ableism in health professions education. She achieves this by engaging with HPE communities and associations to provide actionable education to dismantle barriers. 

A standout achievement is her podcast, DocsWithDisabilities, reaching audiences in 100 countries and sharing stories of clinicians with disabilities. Meeks focuses on cultivating the next generation of disabled clinicians, researchers, and leaders. She champions an equitable and accessible research lab, guided by the principles of disability justice, emphasizing interdependence and leadership from those most impacted. Actively recruiting and mentoring disabled trainees, she ensures financial support and accommodations for their scholarly pursuits and conference attendance. Driven by her commitment, she tirelessly advocates for all, contributing to the vision of an equitable and inclusive future in health professions education.

Program Excellence
Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity

The Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity US + Global (AFHE) program develops early to mid-career leaders who understand the foundations of health inequity and have the knowledge, skills, and courage to build more equitable organizations and communities. The program does so by providing intensive learning and growth experiences and connecting fellows in a cohort network. The program includes US and international fellows from multiple health professions who are joined by others doing work in health such as artists, lawyers, and journalists to create an interdisciplinary network that sparks creative solutions to the most pressing health equity issues of our time. The program has a truly interdisciplinary and intercultural approach to learning, community building and striving to overcome global challenges. 

Institutional Excellence
The University of New Mexico

The University of New Mexico (UNM) provides a learning environment that builds on the assets of its rural, majority-minority state. This is reflected in the diversity of the student body it recruits and the service-learning opportunities offered. It is also reflected in its strategic plan: “Transform health professions education across the Health Sciences Center to meet the needs of our diverse learners, our professions, and our state.” Learners gain unique insights into their multi-ethnic communities through service-learning opportunities supported by a decentralized network of Health Extension Regional Officers (HEROs) and Community Health Workers (CHWs). Finally, UNM programs in education, service, and research are increasingly driven by community-identified health and social priorities with UNM health programs brought to the front door of communities via face-to-face or telehealth modes. One consequence is that UNM has one of the highest percentages of health science graduates remaining in the state and working in rural and underserved communities.

Lifetime Achievement Award
Caswell A. Evans, Jr., D.D.S., M.P.H.

Caswell A. Evans, Jr., D.D.S., M.P.H., is an Emeritus Professor after fifteen years of serving as Associate Dean for Prevention and Public Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Dentistry, and faculty member at the UIC School of Public Health.   He was a mayoral-appointed Chicago Board of Health member for thirteen years, and served two terms as a gubernatorial-appointed Illinois Board of Health member. Before joining the UIC faculty, he was the Executive Editor and Project Director for Oral Health in America: A Report of the U.S. Surgeon General, released by US Surgeon General David Satcher in 2000.  He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), served a three-year term as co-chair of the NAM’s Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professions Education, a Past President of the American Public Health Association, the American Association of Public Health Dentistry, the American Board of Dental Public Health, and the Institute of Medicine of Chicago.  Evans has focused on the issues of health inequities, access to care, and social justice throughout his career. 

“On behalf of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, I would like to express my admiration for those being honored with the 2024 Awards for Excellence in Social Mission,” Holly Humphrey, president of The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation said. The work being done by these remarkable individuals and organizations serves as a fitting monument to Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan, who was a force for social justice and health equity.  I offer my congratulations and my deepest respect.”

The awards will be presented at the 2024 Social Mission Alliance Conference in Durham, NC, at a special recognition event the evening of April 8th. The Social Mission Alliance Conference is a comprehensive meeting for health professions educators working to create a more equitable health care system for all.  Each awardee receives $2,500 and a commemorative plaque. The awards are supported by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, which is dedicated to improving the education of health professionals for a healthier public.