The University of Maryland School of Public Health (UMD SPH) honored four people making exceptional contributions to public health at its Spring Soirée on April 16 at the Adele H. Stamp Student Union.
SPH's highest honor, the Distinguished Terrapin Award, recognizes outstanding professional achievement, service to the school, cultivation of a culture of philanthropy and/or advancement of the Dean’s strategic priorities. This year's recipients are:
- Sandra Crouse Quinn, PhD '93
- Allison Tjaden, MPH '12
- Fred Spry
SPH also conferred its annual Early Career Award, which recognizes professional achievement by graduates within the last 10 years who reflects the school’s core values. This year's awardee is Dr. Priscilla Novak, PhD '19. Novak also received the Public Health Engaging and Emerging Leader Award from the SPH Alumni Network Board earlier this year.
Former Faculty: Sandra Crouse Quinn
Dr. Sandra C. Quinn earned her doctorate from UMD in 1993 and built a 40-year career as a leading scholar in vaccine acceptance, health communication and racial health disparities. She returned to UMD SPH in 2010, where she served for 13 years in a range of leadership roles, including professor, senior associate director of the Maryland Center for Health Equity, chair of the Department of Family Science, and associate dean for public health initiatives and academic affairs.
Her research attracted more than $10 million in funding and produced more than 120 publications in journals including the American Journal of Public Health, Health Communication and the New England Journal of Medicine. Quinn established the university's first Pandemic Preparedness Institute and led a National Academy of Sciences workshop on building trust during public health emergency response. She also developed an educational curriculum for researchers working with minority communities.
As chair of the Department of Family Science beginning from 2018 to 2023, Quinn championed the promotion of the first Black and Latina women to full professor in the department's history and worked to ensure graduate students felt a sense of belonging. The Dr. Sandra C. Quinn Graduate Student Support Fund was established in her honor.
"Coming home to UMD allowed me to contribute to the development of what was then a new School of Public Health," Quinn said. "Today, the leadership and the contributions of SPH's faculty, staff and students are more critical to the health and well-being of communities domestically and globally than ever."
Alumna: Allison Tjaden
After earning her Master of Public Health degree in 2012, Allison Tjaden spent 11 more years at UMD, working to embed a public health mindset across campus. Her career has centered on a consistent focus: connecting resources to action on issues of climate and sustainability.
During her time at Maryland, Tjaden led the COVID-19 response for both Dining Services and the Campus Pantry and facilitated collaborations with Prince George's County. She also led Terp Farm, a five-acre sustainable vegetable farm, and the university's weekly farmers market. Her capstone project resulted in the establishment of the Community Learning Garden adjacent to the School of Public Health.
Today, Tjaden serves as special projects manager for the Climate Change Program at the Maryland Department of the Environment, where she implements the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, advises Gov. Wes Moore's Federal Investment Team and leads the statewide EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program.
She continues to give guest lectures at the School of Public Health, mentor current and former Terps, and volunteer with the Chesapeake Bay Trust's Conservation and Climate Corps.
Community Partner: Fred Spry
Fred Spry has turned his Hyattsville barbershop into a hub for community health.
A master barber, business owner, certified community health worker and founding member of UMD’s HAIR Network — Health Advocates In-Reach and Research — Spry has demonstrated that community-based health advocacy is most effective when rooted in existing relationships and trust.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Spry partnered with Dr. Stephen Thomas and the Maryland Center for Health Equity to bring vaccines directly to his community. His shop, The Shop Spa, became the nation's first barbershop-based vaccination clinic, reaching residents with limited access to traditional health systems. Spry also worked with Dr. Don Milton to install Corsi-Rosenthal air filtration boxes and was among the first barbershops to utilize FDA-approved saliva tests.
The Shop Spa has since expanded its role, providing hands-on training opportunities for students and hosting health screenings, prevention efforts and research studies. Spry also serves on the Maryland Center for Health Equity Community Research Advisory Board and mentors others navigating similar community health paths.
Early Career Award: Priscilla Novak
"Greatness is not about waiting for ideal conditions. We must do what we can today, with what we know and have now."
Dr. Priscilla Novak works by her words.
As branch chief for health systems research at the National Institute on Aging, Dr. Priscilla Novak oversees a research portfolio of more than $100 million focused on improving healthcare delivery and financing for older adults. Her work addresses disparities in dementia care, the economics of aging and organizational behavior, with direct implications for Medicare and Medicaid policy.
Among her contributions, Novak launched a secure federal data platform linking Medicare claims to national survey data. She currently leads the National Dementia Workforce Study and coordinates multi-site research centers advancing the understanding of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Her work brings together academics, health system leaders, community organizations and people with lived experience.
Before her research career, Novak served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia. She earned her doctorate in health services administration from the School of Public Health in 2019 and continues to serve as an adjunct professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management.
Photo credit: Greg Fiume, University of Maryland