SPH Boosters Recognized at Annual Awards Ceremony

Dr. Anderson is a Professor Emerita and former Chair of the Family Science Department, School of Public Health, University of Maryland.  She joined the department in 1981 and retired in 2020.  She is also the Director and Founder, Maryland Family Policy Impact Seminar, and was an ADVANCE Fellow.  

Dr. Anderson is a nationally recognized leader and scholar in the field of family and health policy, and is a Fellow in the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR).  She has authored more than 120 publications, received multiple grants, and presented her work over 200 times. Her current writing focuses on social justice in family and health policy reform.  

Dr. Anderson has served on multiple editorial boards, including the Journal of Family and Economic Issues and Family Relations.  She currently is the Editor of the Research and Policy Brief Series for the NCFR.  She was a Congressional Science Fellow and served as a National Head Start Fellowship Mentor.  

Dr. Anderson served on 200 thesis/dissertation committees and taught undergraduate and graduate students in the area of family and health policy.  The School of Public Health has honored her with outstanding Research, Teacher, and Mentoring Awards. Most recently she received the School of Public Health Spirit Award.

Sam Pizzigati’s professional life as a writer and editor has revolved around efforts to help rebuild the egalitarian momentum lost over America’s last half-century. Currently an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C., Sam co-edits Inequality.org and has published articles and op-eds in global outlets ranging from the New York Times and the Guardian to Le Monde Diplomatique. He has also authored four books on income and wealth distribution and co-edited another.

Sam has spent most of his career in the labor movement, directing the publishing programs of two of the nation’s largest trade unions, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the National Education Association.

Sam enjoys cheering on student-athletes at the University of Maryland. But his chief UMD focus over the last five years has been supporting a joint School of Public Health-School of Public Policy effort named for his late wife, the Karabelle Pizzigati Initiative in Advocacy for Children, Youth and Families. This unique initiative is outfitting Maryland students with the skills and experiences they need to become effective advocates for kids and families in need. 

Prior to his retirement in January 2021 after 45 years of service to the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), Dr. Tien was a Deputy Program Manager of the Wastewater Permits Program.  He was the principal author of the Maryland Sewerage Facilities Guidelines (1978) and helped to develop guidelines regarding groundwater discharge and water reuse in Maryland including the MDE Guidelines for Land Application/Reuse of Treated Municipal Wastewaters (2010) and MDE Guidelines for Use of Class IV Reclaimed Water: High Potential for Human Contact (2019). 

Dr. Tien was named the Young Engineer of the Year (1979) by the Maryland Society of Professional Engineers and is a registered Professional Engineer (PE) in Maryland. He has authored or co-authored 32 research papers, book chapters, conference proceedings and governmental publications. His specialties include, but are not limited to: (1) Water and wastewater treatment; (2) Water pollution control; (3) Waste management, and (4) Groundwater hydrology and water quality protection.  

Dr. Tien was an instructor at the University of Maryland, College Park for two graduate courses in environmental engineering from 2007 to 2014. He is a member of the University of Maryland School of Public Health Community Advisory Council and Chair of the CONSERVE Advisory Committee.
 

As a faculty member at California State University, Northridge, since 1990, Dr. Veda Ward has taught extensively, authored and revised curricula, incorporated community-service learning into courses, and served in a variety of administrative roles including department chair.  She has published a book and numerous articles, and made many juried presentations including internationally.  Dr. Ward completed her doctoral studies while serving as a full-time lecturer for UMD’s Recreation Department, and became associate chair.

Dr. Ward worked for the City of Baltimore Department of Recreation and Parks, and served as a member of the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission Recreation Advisory Board and the Los Angeles Commission for Women.  A past trustee of the National Recreation and Park Association, she is passionate about expanding knowledge of the parks, tourism, and hospitality industry to ensure equitable access.

In addition to teaching others, Dr. Ward is a self-described life-long learner always looking to expand her knowledge, from learning how to keep her students engaged in a virtual classroom to tackling ever evolving health disparities and social injustice.  She is a member of several professional organizations such as American Association of University Women, is involved with many philanthropic and civic organizations including California Park Foundation, and has traveled extensively to Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East.

Gymkana offers entertainment to the university and surrounding communities. It adopted a drug-free message in the 1980s to provide a positive example for youth audiences at local school performances and community events. It added recreational gymnastics programs to provide further outreach and opportunities for children and adults to enjoy gymnastics and acrobatics in a positive environment.

Today Gymkana troupers proudly serve as ambassadors for the UMD School of Public Health. Gymkana’s message has evolved to promote healthy lifestyle choices in general. For its primarily younger audiences, that includes regular exercise, working hard, and seeking positive influences. Community outreach includes an annual youth summer camp, gymnastics classes for children and adults, assemblies at schools, and various other performances. A favorite act for troupers and audiences alike is flipping through fire at a Maryland basketball half-time show.

Although Gymkana has experienced many challenges through the years, the COVID-19 pandemic has been the most unique and difficult for the program. Gymkana has continued through the pandemic by having daily workouts for its team members in the fall and small, socially distanced practices this spring. Earlier this month, the troupe held a virtual show to kick off a year-long 75th Anniversary Celebration. Its members, alumni, and supporters have worked hard to ensure that its legacy will endure for many more years to come

Dr. Kanamori is a Latino epidemiologist who researches social networks and ways to reduce HIV and substance misuse in Latino populations. His research has been implemented in Peru, Africa and the United States. As a PhD student at UMD, he received several awards including a Dean’s Scholar Award, Chair’s Scholar Award and the University of Maryland Distinguished Dissertation Award.

Following graduation in 2013 from UMD, Dr. Kanamori completed a postdoctoral program on Latino HIV and substance misuse at Florida International University. He joined the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor in January 2018.

Dr. Kanamori has published how immigration policies and enforcement actions are changing the structures and dynamics of Latino farmworkers’ social networks, and how these changes are influencing increases in women’s alcohol dependence and children’s marijuana use. His research is analyzing the role social networks have on the evolving opioid epidemic among Latino farmworkers. He has developed a novel spatially-explicit social network model, called PrEParados, that merges four social network methods with spatial analysis to address the intertwining epidemics of HIV and substance misuse.

Dr. Kanamori’s advice to current UMD students is “Don't be afraid to ask for mentorship. Some doors may not open but the right ones will. There are many public health professionals who are committed to mentoring the next generation. I have mentors and colleagues from all over the world!”