Upholding Public Health
The 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit brought together hundreds of people on the front lines of public health to learn from community leaders and national experts in Baltimore.
Speakers at the 2025 Summit included leaders from state and federal public health agencies, political figures, faculty from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, journalists, and leaders of community organizations. Fellows and collaborating organizations also had exclusive access to workshops to learn new skills and explore opportunities to work together to build a better tomorrow.
Baltimore has something different going on right now. Baltimore has momentum. You can feel it in the air. You can feel it in the work that people are doing. Baltimore also has the means right now to really respond, not only to overdose deaths, but to a myriad of other issues, and has already been responding to help families, to help communities.
Watch the 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit now!
Additional 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit Videos
Welcome Remarks: Joshua Sharfstein and Michelle Spencer
Welcome Remarks: Dean Keshia Pollack Porter
Welcome Remarks: Ron Daniels
In Conversation: Advancing Health in Baltimore City
Dr. Michelle Taylor, Commissioner of Health, Baltimore City Health Department, speaks with Bloomberg American Health Initiative Deputy Director Michelle Spencer about her strategies to continue to advance the health of people living in Baltimore.
Interview: Dr. Kelly Henning and Richard Hughes IV
Protecting Public Health
Yolanda Jacobs, President of the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2883, joins Bloomberg American Health Initiative Director Joshua Sharfstein to discuss strategies to protect public health at the 2025 Bloomberg American Health Initiative.
Fellow Spotlight: Shelina Davis
Bridging the Divide: A Public Health Approach to Drug Policy
Michael Botticelli, Former Director (Obama Administration) of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy shares his approach to drug policy at the 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit.
Beyond the Settlement
Bloomberg Fellow and Senior Reporter at KFF Health News Aneri Pattani speaks with Sara Whaley, Executive Director of Overdose Response, City of Baltimore, J.R. Westberg, Bloomberg Fellow, Opioid Response Coordinator, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, and Nidhi Sachdeva, Director of Strategic Health and Opioid Initiatives, North Carolina Association of County Commissioners about opioid settlement funds and how communities can use them to build a safer future.
Expanding Access to Harm Reduction on Tribal Lands
Bloomberg Fellow and Senior Reporter at KFF Health News Aneri Pattani speaks with Cathy Chavers, Former Bois Forte Tribal Chair and The Honorable Philomena Kebec, Bloomberg Fellow, Economic Development Coordinator, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Chief Judge, Sokaogon Chippewa Community Tribal Court, about bringing harm reduction strategies to Tribal communities in the United States.
Fellow Spotlight: Lilly Boquin
Lillian Bocquin, Bloomberg Fellow from the Honestly: Sexual Health Collective for Youth, shares more about her journey to public health at the 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit.
The Science of Adolescent Development
Lisa Lawson, President and CEO of The Annie E. Casey Foundation, delivers a keynote address about the Science of Adolescent Development at the 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit.
Restorative Practices in Schools: Implications for Youth Mental Health
Jo Napolitano, Senior Reporter at The 74, speaks with Benjamin Brooks, Senator, State of Maryland, 10th Legislative District of Baltimore County, Dr. Tamar Mendelson, Bloomberg Professor of American Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Dr. Sarah Murray, Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, about the importance of restorative practices in schools at the 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit.
Recess in Schools: A Lack of State Policies
Jo Napolitano, Senior Reporter at The 74, speaks with Dr. Erin Hager, Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Nikil Saval, Senator, State of Pennsylvania, 1st Senatorial District of Pennsylvania, and Lysa Ratliff, Chief Executive Officer, KABOOM!, about the importance of recess in adolescent development at the 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit.
Fellow Spotlight: Jay Franzone
Bloomberg Fellow Jay Franzone shares more about his journey to public health at the 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit.
Gaining Ground to Advance Safety
Angela Ferrell-Zabala, Executive Director at Moms Demand Action, delivers a keynote address at the 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit.
Bridging the Gap: Data, Leadership, and Safer Communities
Jennifer Mascia, Senior News Writer at The Trace, speaks with Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott and Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin about building safer communities at the 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit.
Bloomberg Fellow Waymaker: Dr. Maria Coss
Bloomberg Fellow from the Puerto Rico Department of Health, Dr. Maria Coss, shares her approach to reducing suicides in Puerto Rico at the 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit.
Protecting Women, Saving Lives
Dr. Michele Decker, Bloomberg Professor of American Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Dr. Charvonne Holliday Nworu, Founder and Principal Consultant, Rooted Health Strategies, and Dr. Tiara Willie, Bloomberg Associate Professor of American Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, discuss strategies to protect women in the United States.
AI in Public Health: Balancing Innovation, Equity, and Ethics
Dr. Elizabeth Stuart, Bloomberg Professor of American Health, Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, speaks with Dr. Kadija Ferryman, Faculty, Berman Institute of Bioethics and Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Dr. Irene Dankwa-Mullan, Chief Health Officer, Marti Health and Board Member, Hurone-AI, about balancing innovation, equity, and ethics as AI enters the public health setting.
Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society
Dr. Arline T. Geronimus, Professor, Health Behavior & Health Equity, University of Michigan; Member, National Academy of Medicine delivers a keynote address about Weathering at the 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit.
Fellow Spotlight: David Harvey
Protecting Planetary Health
Dr. Samuel S. Myers, Director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health, delivers a keynote address about how we can protect the health of the planet at the 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit.
Heat and Climate Change
Zahra Hirji, Climate Reporter for Bloomberg News, joins Dr. Bharat Jayram Venkat, Director, UCLA Heat Lab and Dr. Ben Zaitchik, Morton K. Blaustein Chair and Professor, Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences for a discussion about the impact of heat and climate change on health.
Urban Sprawl in the U.S.
Zahra Hirji, Climate Reporter at Bloomberg Green speaks with Dr. Shima Hamidi, Bloomberg Assistant Professor of American Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health about urban sprawl in the United States and its impacts on health in communities across the country.
Community Power, Policy Impact
Joanne Kenen, Journalist-in-Residence, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Contributing Writer, POLITICO Magazine speaks with Dr. Matthew S. Tejada, Senior Vice President of Environmental Health, Natural Resources Defense Council, about how community action can spur change at the 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit.
Fellow Spotlight: Jay Cutler
Bloomberg Fellow Jay Cutler shares more about the importance of data when developing policies at the 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit.
Feeding the Future: The Importance of School Lunch Programs
Matti Gellman, Food Reporter at The Baltimore Banner speaks with Crystal FitzSimons, President, Food Research & Action Center, Ali Wohlgemuth, Bloomberg Fellow, Bay Area Community Resources, and Dr. Erica Pan, Director and State Public Health Officer, California Department of Public Health, about the importance of school lunch programs for feeding young people in America.
Community Engaged Development of Nutrition Curriculum
Dr. Tara Maudrie, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan and Dr. Donald Warne, Co-Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health discuss how to develop community engaged nutrition programs in Tribal communities across the country.
Bloomberg Fellow Waymaker: Cody Bloomfield
Bloomberg Fellow Cody Bloomfield shares more about how she has been working with Hunger Solutions New York to bring food equity to schools in New York.
Food is Medicine
Dr. Yeeli Mui, Bloomberg Assistant Professor of American Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health speaks with Dr. Steven Chen, Chief Medical Officer, Alameda County Recipe4Health, Erika Hanson, Clinical Instructor, Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation, Harvard Law School, and Jordan Smith, Bloomberg Fellow, Hawai’i Good Food Alliance about the importance of nutritious food at the 2025 Bloomberg American Health Summit.
Watch the full program now!
Watch nowThere’s so much work to be done beyond just passing laws … partnering with local organizations that connect people to housing, to food, to health care … normalizing conversations in your community about what safety really means. That’s how culture shifts. These solutions might not make headlines, but they make a difference and that’s what’s important.