Philip Leaf, Ph.D. is the Co-Director of the Hopkins Social Innovations Partnership Program and a Professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with joint appointments in the Department of Health Policy and Management, the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and the Johns Hopkins School of Education.  Dr. Leaf also is the Director of the Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence (www.jhsph.edu/preventyouthviolence), Co-Director of the Center for Prevention and Early Intervention, and Senior Associate Director of the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute.  He also directs an NIMH-funded Pre- and Postdoctoral Training Program in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Service System Research.  His research has focused on understanding issues related to the mental health of children, adolescents, and adults; the development of community-based programs for improving health and wellbeing; and linking federal, state, and local policies and practices.  He developed the first 24-hour homeless shelter in New Haven Connecticut, a program of school and community-based mental health services in Baltimore, and has collaborated in the development of a city-wide plan for the creation of safe and supportive learning environments in Baltimore.  Among other awards, he has received the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award from the Johns Hopkins University.


Bill Tiefenwerth has been working in the field of campus /community relations and development for more than twenty-five years at Johns Hopkins University, where he is the director of The Center for Social Concern.  The Center is home to more than fifty students groups working on social needs and issues throughout Baltimore.  He has a special interest in creating community space out of abandoned or under-used structures and land parcels in Baltimore City.  To that end, he has engaged students, faculty, staff and community leadership in making a better Baltimore.

He created “The Safe & Smart Center”, which won an award from The Neighborhood Design Center for “The Best Use of an Existing Urban Structure”, and played an active role in the creation of The Greenmount Computer Center, The Village Learning Place, as well as community murals in the Waverly neighborhood, and a new play space in the Barclay community.  His collaboration with Dr. Bob Hieronimous in an urban beautification project won “Best Mural “in the Baltimore City Paper.    

He was also honored as an “Unsung Hero” in the City Paper’s Best of Baltimore, 2000 edition, and was the recipient of the Johns Hopkins Gold Cup for outstanding contributions to student life.  


Jemma Alarcón grew up in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, México; during freshman year of high school she moved to the United States. She has conducted genetic research for more than 5 years, in laboratories in Texas, New York and currently in Maryland (JHMI). As a freshman, she was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship ($10,000) and currently utilizes the fellowship to conduct a school-based Health and Hygiene campaign targeting indigenous children in Chiapas, México. In the spring of 2008 Jemma gave preventive and awareness public health talks to different groups of Tibetans in exile in India. During her freshman and sophomore years she participated as International Services Chair and later as president of the Red Cross in her university leading various successful events for international causes. She served as volunteer, Program Coordinator and is currently a Campus Coordinator for Project HEALTH (PH); a student run organization/national NGO that mobilizes college students in an effort to break the link between poverty and poor health. PH provides sustainable public health interventions by partnering with universities, hospitals and community organizations to serve local Baltimoreas and helping them accessing different resources. Jemma is currently attending her senior year in Johns Hopkins University and is majoring in Public Health.


Jerome “Axle” Brown is a senior at JHU majoring in Public Health Studies, with a minor in Entrepreneurship & Management. Growing up his father taught him how to make the most with limited resources, and instilled in him an entrepreneurial approach to life.  This perspective was enhanced with a high level of social awareness at the United World College, where he studied with students from over 90 different countries, and finally realized during his participation in the Davis 100 Projects for Peace. Aiming to bring youths from both sides of the Israel and Palestine conflict together, his project used digital story telling (autobiography through film) as a tool to bridge gaps and increase understanding. While administrative barriers ultimately hindered its implementation, the experience of planning the project proved to be life-changing. Since then, he has worked diligently with the Hopkins administration to create a more enabling environment for social entrepreneurial activities for other students. Committed to a career in the social change sector, he is grateful for family and supporters, without whom he would not be here.


Abigail Crisman graduated from Indiana University in 2004 with a Bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies and India Studies.  Following graduation she received a Fulbright scholarship to conduct research in India on Muslim college women’s perspectives on Muslim Personal Law.   Abigail spent time in numerous cities in northern India between 2004 and 2007 as a researcher, language fellow, and as an intern with a public health organization working on maternal and child health in urban slum areas.  In India, Abigail also became an active member of the Blank Noise Project, an initiative against street sexual harassment led by Ashoka fellow Jasmeen Patheja.  Currently Abigail is pursuing a Bachelor’s in nursing through Johns Hopkins University.  In 2009 she will begin the MSN/MPH program at Hopkins and plans to focus on violence against women as a public health issue.


Luke Kelly-Clyne is a Junior at Johns Hopkins, with a major in Political Science and a minor in Entrepreneurship and Management. A Connecticut native, Luke became involved in social entrepreneurship in 2007, when he founded a non-profit organization, called Save the Future, Inc. Save the Future aims to partner business schools with high school students around America to provide certificate programs in financial literacy education. The pilot program began in the Fall of 2008, at Johns Hopkins, in partnership with the Carey Business School. Luke is currently trying to start a social entrepreneurship division of JHU’s student business incubator, Hopkins Student Enterprises.


Adam Milam is a recent graduate of The Johns Hopkins University, where he earned a B.A. in Public Health Studies with a concentration in Natural Sciences. He is currently pursuing a Master of Health Science degree in Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH). After completing his Master’s degree, Adam will be attending Marshall University’s School of Medicine.  He serves as an elected member of the JHSPH Student Assembly and is a member of the Mental Health Student Group. Mr. Milam's primary area of interest is health disparities and health inequities.  He uses that interest to guide his work in several paid and volunteer positions, including work as a legislative intern for Maryland State Delegate Shawn Z. Tarrant. In this role, Adam has testified before State Committees, worked to create restrictions on sales of little cigars, and helped to enact legislation to enroll eligible children in health insurance programs. While at Hopkins, Mr. Milam has co-developed an undergraduate course on Urban Health and Advocacy, served as a volunteer and eventually Campus Coordinator of Project HEALTH, advocated at the Annapolis Statehouse for expanded Medicaid legislation, volunteered as a Certified HIV Counselor at People's Health Clinic, and conducted research examining the relationship between the neighborhood environment and various health outcomes in children.


Sonia Sarkar graduated from Johns Hopkins University in May 2008 with a B.A. in Public Health Studies and International Studies. While at Hopkins, she served in various leadership positions on campus, including Team Leader of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs’ Mentoring Assistance Program, the Dean of Student Life’s Senior Leadership Consultants, and President of Hopkins Teambuilding. She began her path to health advocacy and social entrepreneurship as a campus coordinator for Project HEALTH Baltimore, an organization that collaborates with the Baltimore City Health Department, local universities, and health clinics to break the link between poverty and poor health.  She also served a term on Project HEALTH’s National Board of Directors and currently works as a Programs Manager for the organization, evaluating the intervention and helping to develop future healthcare leaders. This past March, Sonia was selected as a 2008 Truman Scholar, representing the state of Texas. She was named as a member of the 2008 USA Today College All-Academic Team, and is a 2009-2010 Rotary Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarship recipient. She was also an invitee to the Clinton Global Initiative University launch and served as a Baltimore City Mayoral Fellow. Aside from her passion for health policy and systems change, Sonia enjoys poetry, dark chocolate, and watching The Wire.
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