Congratulations to our First IAMSE Advocacy and Outreach Award Winner Arkene Levy Johnston!
IAMSE, on behalf of the Equity and Advocacy Committee (EAC), would like to congratulate Dr. Arkene Levy Johnston for winning the first IAMSE Advocacy and Outreach Award!
Arkene Levy Johnston
The Advocacy and Outreach Award recognizes an IAMSE member for excellence in service work related to Equity and Advocacy in Health Professions Education. Candidates must have demonstrated exemplary advocacy, dedicated evidence or impact related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice efforts in health professions education and workforce development, as well as demonstrated a commitment to breaking down barriers for underrepresented persons in health professions education.
Arkene Levy Johnston: Dr. Levy Johnston is Professor of Medical Education and Associate Dean of Community Affairs at Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine (NSU MD). Her work exemplifies this award by transforming pathways into medicine, embedding health equity into curricula, and advancing community-engaged scholarship with measurable outcomes for learners and underserved populations. Dr. Levy Johnston has developed a nationally relevant model for health-professions pathway programming that expands access to first-generation, underrepresented, and medically underserved students. She has been the leader of multiple landmark initiatives, including the Ad-Law-Med Program, a nationally recognized legal-medical pathway featured in Academic Medicine as a model for advocacy-driven interprofessional education; Journey into Medicine, a longitudinal medical-magnet partnership preparing high school students for biomedical careers; and NSU MD’s Summer High School Research Internship Program, which provides paid, mentored research experiences through philanthropic funding she secured as principal investigator. Within undergraduate education, Dr. Levy Johnston has played a key role in advancing health equity through development of culturally responsive curricular initiatives. As Chair of the NSU MD Cultural Competence Task Force, she has led the design of longitudinal, standards-aligned equity curricula for all medical students. Dr. Levy Johnston’s advocacy extends beyond the academy into community health transformation. She is the PI of the Florida Blue Opioid and Substance Abuse Grant and leads a regional coalition delivering culturally tailored, evidence-based prevention curricula to at-risk youth across three counties. In addition, she is Co-PI of the PATHWell Health Equity Initiative, founder of the NSU MD PRIDE Health Fair, and leader of multiple service-learning and wellness initiatives.
Congratulations to Dr. Arkene Levy Johnston. She will be honored at the upcoming 30th Annual IAMSE Conference. We hope you will join us in celebrating her achievements!
Thank you,
Jennifer Hotzman
Chair, IAMSE Equity and Advocacy Committee