Annual Report 2024 | 1
Building Leaders. Combating Disparities.
Creating Community.
ANNUAL
REPORT
2024
2 | Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity
Photo: Ann Orman
Annual Report 2024 | 1
Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity develops global leaders who understand the
foundations of health inequity and have the knowledge, skills and courage to
build more equitable organizations and communities. The fellowship does so by
providing intensive learning and growth experiences and connecting fellows in a
cohort network as they move forward in their careers. The fellowship includes
both U.S. and global fellows and addresses the continuum of local and universal
issues related to health equity.
2 | Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity
This past year marked our seventh fellowship year —
another year of learning, growing and deepening our
collective commitment to a world where everyone has
the opportunity to live a full, healthy life. And as we
look ahead, we find ourselves at a crucial moment that
challenges us to reaffirm and live our values with clarity
and conviction.
Our fellowship has always been about bringing people
together across disciplines, geographies, and perspectives to
address the deep, systemic causes of health inequity. That
work continues, even as the language we use, including the
word equity, takes on new and often polarizing meanings.
Our focus remains unchanged: ensuring people do not
suffer or die from avoidable causes.
We are nearing a decade of the
Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity.
This year, we continued to adapt, not in response to shifting
political winds but in response to the needs of our fellows
and the communities they serve. For our Final Convening, we
met in New Zealand for the first time, an immersive look at
community health from the Mãori perspective. Community
was again at the forefront as we traveled to Lima, Peru, to
learn about innovative approaches to community health.
Looking ahead, 2025 is a moment of both celebration and
deep reflection. We will honor the work of the 137 (and
growing) fellows who have come through this program
and the countless ways they have taken action to advance
equity where they live. And we will challenge ourselves
to think about what comes next. How do we sustain and
grow this work? How do we remain a space where people
from vastly different backgrounds can come together — not
because they agree on everything, but because they share a
fundamental belief in the dignity and value of all human life?
As we move forward, we invite you to reflect with us,
continue building this global community, and stand firm
in the belief that health equity is worth fighting for.
Thank you for being part of this journey with us.
Letter from
the Director
Guenevere Burke
Executive Director
MILLION
PEOPLE
35
IN 2024, AFHE
SENIOR FELLOWS'
HEALTH EQUITY
WORK SERVED OVER
Across the Globe
Contents
FELLOWSHIP
PAGE
• About the Fellowship
• Our Vision, Mission, and Values
• AFHE by the Numbers
• Convenings
• Senior Fellows
Annual Report 2024 | 3
• Working with the Community
to Build Trust and Improve
Health in Haiti
• Creating Lasting Impact
with Health Equity Projects
• A Year of Health Equity Work
• 2024 By the Numbers
• Charter Committee
• Faculty & Staf
• Fellowship Directory
• Fitz’s Legacy
• Our Partners
• Global Network
• Our Home
IMPACT
12
PAGE
GLOBAL
NETWORK
19
PAGE
4 | Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity
SECTION
The fellowship program has had a powerful and
important impact on both my personal and professional
life. Not only has the didactic learning of equity deepened
my practice in both health and human services, and now
outdoor equity and access, but being in community with
a network of fellows that are addressing equity barriers
in diferent contexts has inspired me to do more.”
LES DUNCAN ’18
AFHE
FELLOWSHIP
Photo (top): Beth Mechum
OUR VISION
The profound, life-limiting disparities in health and health
care that exist throughout the world can be mitigated. This
can be accomplished by people — determined people, with
the appropriate training, strategically located in health sectors
around the world. The product of their work, in a thousand
different settings, will be years of life gained and quality of life
enhanced for millions of individuals, families, and communities.
OUR MISSION
The mission of the fellowship is to develop global leaders
who understand the foundations of health inequity and have
the knowledge, skills, and courage to build more equitable
organizations and communities.
The program will do so by providing intensive learning
and growth experiences and connecting fellows in a
cohort network as they move forward in their careers. The
fellowship addresses the continuum of local and universal
issues related to health equity.
OUR VALUES
Our program and fellows’ guiding values include equity, inclu-
sivity and an action orientation, shared pillars of the Atlantic
Fellows community. The Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity also
emphasizes courage, diversity, creativity, and humility. These
values are fundamental to, and borne of, the program’s inter-
disciplinary and intercultural approach to learning, community
building and striving to overcome global challenges.
OUR APPROACH
The Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity was founded on
the principle that more action is needed to combat inequity
in health. In practice, this means we pair any discussion of
disparities with an exploration of solutions. The development
of a cohort and fellowship network is important to establish
more leaders, inspire new approaches and lend support when
challenges arise. We envision a world in which the global
community and its leaders strive to establish the conditions for
all individuals and communities to achieve their full potential
for health and well-being.
We believe that while some leaders may be born, leaders can
also be developed. The leadership curriculum introduces a
powerful set of practices that have endured for centuries across
different contexts. It centers on the power of relationships and
people to envision and create change. People are ultimately at
the center of our work as a fellowship program.
Annual Report 2024 | 5
About Atlantic Fellows
for Health Equity
S EC T I O N 1
OUR OBJECTIVES
• Know disparities
• Combat inequity
• Create a network
• Build leaders
AFHE fellows
per year
15-20
One-year non-residential fellowship
program ofered by the George
Washington University
Open to early and mid-career
leaders involved in work related to
health everywhere in the world
We envision a world in which the global
community and its leaders strive to
establish the conditions for all individuals
and communities to achieve their full
potential for health and well-being.
6 | Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity
AFHE BY THE NUMBERS
301
AWARDS, FUNDING
OPPORTUNITIES
AND OTHER
RECOGNITION
AFHE fellows
Received
PUBLICATIONS
766
Produced by AFHE fellows
479
PRESENTATIONS /
WEBINARS
Given by AFHE Fellows
612
137
TOTAL
FELLOWS
437 Opinion pieces
297 Research &
news articles
32 Books & reports
Since the fellowship began in 2017 …
In a recent survey, 96% of Senior Fellows stated that the
leadership curriculum has enabled them to coach and/or
support other leaders.
74% of Senior Fellows have shared leadership content with
students, colleagues, mentees, leaders, policymakers and others.
MEDIA MENTIONS
Annual Report 2024 | 7
S EC T I O N 1
Argentina
Belgium
Brazil
Cameroon
Canada
Democratic
Republic
of Congo
Egypt
Ethiopia
Ghana
Haiti
India
Iraq
Kenya
Liberia
Malawi
Malaysia
Mauritius
Mexico
Nepal
Nigeria
Pakistan
Palestine
Peru
Philippines
Sierra Leone
South Africa
Sudan
Switzerland
Trinidad
and Tobago
Uganda
United
Kingdom
United States
We recruit early to mid-career professionals
working everywhere in the world in any
aspect of health. A broad global perspective
and diversity of professional backgrounds
enables more robust learning among fellows
and collaborations across disciplines.
Our Fellows
n Countries of AFHE Fellows
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
Advocacy & Policy
Art & Design
Communications
Data & Analytics
Economics
Education
Environment
Government
Indigenous Health
Journalism
Law
LGBTQIA+
Medicine
Mental Health
Non-Proft & Fundraising
Racial Equity
Rural Health
Social Work
INTERDISCIPLINARY
8 | Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity
S EC T I O N 1
INITIAL
CONVENING
MID-YEAR
CONVENING
Provides an opportunity for
the diverse cohort to develop
a shared knowledge base and
identity. It marks the beginning of
the year-long fellowship journey.
CONVENINGS
Convenings are intensive
learning experiences that
include lectures, site visits,
networking, and cultural
and social activities.
Explores global health equity with
a focus on the experience of low
and middle income countries.
LEARNING MODULES
Online learning modules take place biweekly and
develop knowledge and skills throughout the year.
LEADERSHIP APPROACH
At AFHE, leadership is about ‘accepting
responsibility for enabling others to achieve
shared purpose in the face of uncertainty.’
FELLOWSHIP YEAR