About the Symposium
The Kreuter Katz Lecture and Public Health Research Symposium creates a venue for sharing faculty, staff and student research, and a forum for students to present their research. It is named in honor of two of the school's most dedicated supporters, Marshall Kreuter and Martha Katz.
The 2025 keynote speaker was Bonnielin Swenor, whose talk was titled Removing Roadblocks to Health Equity for People with Disabilities: Translating Data to Policy. Swenor is an epidemiologist and the Endowed Professor of Disability Health and Justice at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She is the Founding Director of the Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center, which aims to shift the paradigm from “living with a disability” to “thriving with a disability.” Her research uses data-driven approaches to advance health equity for people with disabilities, promote disability inclusion and accessibility in research settings, and improve methods to collect, analyze, and share data about people with disabilities.
This year’s event included Lightning Talks featuring faculty and students, Roundtable Presentations featuring alumni speakers, and a Poster Session with reception.
Welcome Remarks
Lightning Talks
Roundtable Presentations
Lunch (provided)
Kreuter Katz lecture featuring Bonnielin Swenor, Endowed Professor of Disability Health and Justice, Johns Hopkins University
Kreuter Katz Panel Discussion
Student Poster Session and Reception
Spring 2025 Keynote Speaker
Bonnielin Swenor
Endowed Professor of Disability Health and Justice Director, Johns Hopkins University Disability Health Research Center
“Removing Roadblocks to Health Equity for People with Disabilities: Translating Data to Policy”
Presentations
Lightning Talks
- The Center on Health and Homelessness: Building Partnerships to Address the Intersection of Public Health and Homelessness
Kylie DeBoer, April Ballard, Kelsey Boreland - Frontotemporal Dementia and the Criminal Legal System: Care Partner Experiences
Victoria Helmly - Georgia Refugee/Immigrant/Migrant Mental Health Alliance
Ashli Owen-Smith, Sharita Khatiwada, Angelia Merriweather, Val Paralitici - Forecasting HIV: The Past, Present, and Future, 1990-2030
Seth Meador - Putting Unity in Community: Strategies to Increase Community Engagement in Research
Claire Spears, Bonnie Douglas, Larry Mason Jr., Camelia Gonzales
Roundtable Presenters
- Liz Perry, The Power of Networks: Collaborative Approaches in Global Child Protection
- Matt Lyons, Community Engaged Health Equity Research: A Complex Systems Perspective
- Iris Feinberg, Health Literacy – Research in Action
- John Olmstead, Common Link: How Statistics Bridges the Gap Between Public Health and Information Technology
- Akilah Heggs, The Role of Surveillance in Supporting Individuals with Disabilities
- Anne Marie Schipani, Step in with Spirit: A Social Media Intervention Targeting Alcohol-Involved Bystander Intervention Among College Students
- Manderley Recinos, A Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Trial Examining Smoke-Free Home SafeCare
- April Ballard, Toilets for All? Exploring the Availability, Accessibility, and Quality of Non-Household Sanitation in Atlanta, Georgia
- Dina Jones, UQuit: Using Technology-Supported Observational Studies and Community-Engaged Interventions to Address Tobacco-Related Disparities
Past Lectures
Leandris Liburd
Leandris Liburd, PhD, MPH, MA, is the Acting Director for CDC’s Office of Health Equity (OHE). She served as the Associate Director for Minority Health and Health Equity for CDC/ATSDR since 2011. In this capacity, she leads and supports a wide range of critical functions in the agency’s work in health equity, women’s health, and diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. She plays a critical leadership role in determining the agency’s vision for health equity, ensuring a rigorous and evidence-based approach to the practice of health equity, and promoting the ethical practice of public health in communities vulnerable to health inequities. Liburd has been instrumental in building capacity across CDC and in public health agencies to address the social determinants of health, and in identifying and widely disseminating intervention strategies that reduce racial and ethnic health disparities. She has skillfully executed innovative models of collaboration that have greatly expanded the reach, influence, and impact of the Office of Health Equity including the successful implementation of the Lewis Scholars Program (formerly the CDC Undergraduate Public Health Scholars Program) and the James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases Graduate Fellowship.
In May 2020, she assumed the role of Chief Health Equity Officer for CDC’s COVID-19 Response which was the first time in the agency’s history that this role and function was added to the leadership of the Incident Management Structure during the activation of CDC’s Emergency Operations Center. These and other accomplishments represent her tireless commitment to improve minority health and achieve health equity for all people.
Linda Villarosa is an award-winning journalist, author, editor, novelist and educator.
As a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, Villarosa covers race, inequality and health. Her 2018 cover story, "Why America's Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis," was a finalist for a National Magazine Award. Her 2017 article, "America's Hidden HIV Epidemic," won a National Lesbian and Gay Journalists' award for Excellence in Journalism. Her essay on medical myths was included in the New York Times's 1619 Project in August 2019 and is published in the 1619 Project Book, which was published in November 2021.
Villarosa is the author or co-author of three books, including “Body & Soul: The Black Women’s Guide to Physical Health and Emotional Well-Being.” Her novel, “Passing for Black,” was released in 2008 and was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. Her latest book, “Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation,” was published in June 2022 by Doubleday.
Villarosa is a graduate of the University of Colorado and spent a year at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health as a journalism fellow. She also earned a master’s degree in urban journalism/digital storytelling in 2013 from CUNY's Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, where she is currently a professor and journalist-in-residence.
Her lecture at Georgia State is co-sponsored by the School of Public Health and the Georgia Health Policy Center.
The 2019 Kreuter Katz Lecture on Health Equity featured Vanessa Northington Gamble, University Professor of Medical Humanities and Professor of Health Policy and American Studies at the George Washington University. Her lecture topic was Pioneering Racial Justice, Health Equity, and Public Health: The Activist Life of Dr. Virginia M. Alexander.
The 2018 Kreuter Katz Lecture on Health Equity featured Collins Airhihenbuwa, professor of Health Management & Policy in the Georgia State University School of Public Health and leader of the interdisciplinary team known as the Global Research Against Non-communicable Disease (GRAND) Initiative. His lecture focused on crossroads and the journey for health equity.
The 2018 Kreuter Katz Lecture on Health Equity featured Collins Airhihenbuwa, professor of Health Management & Policy in the Georgia State University School of Public Health and leader of the interdisciplinary team known as the Global Research Against Non-communicable Disease (GRAND) Initiative. His lecture focused on crossroads and the journey for health equity.
For more information on the Kreuter Katz Lecture and Public Health Research Symposium, please contact [email protected].
Marshall Kreuter and Martha Katz
Building research partnerships and translating findings into evidence-based practices and policies are at the heart of the School of Public Health’s mission. Two of our school’s most dedicated supporters—Marshall Kreuter and Martha Katz—exemplify an unwavering commitment to ensuring that all people can achieve their full health potential, which is why our flagship annual lecture series and research symposium bears their name.
Throughout his distinguished career, Marshall Kreuter has championed community engagement as an essential component of efforts to advance health equity. As one of the earliest faculty members in what was then known as the Institute of Public Health at Georgia State University, he led community-based participatory research projects that were funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and the Healthcare Georgia Foundation (now Georgia Health Initiative). These projects were among many that worked to reduce health disparities affecting Atlanta residents.
A nationally recognized leader in advancing effective public health policy, Katz serves on the boards of the Georgia Health Foundation and the James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation. She previously served as Director of Health Policy for Healthcare Georgia Foundation.