2024 Community Engaged Scholarship Forum

2024 COMMUNITY ENGAGED SCHOLARSHIP FORUM

AGENDA

8:30 - 9 a.m.

9 - 9:15 a.m.

9:15 - 10:30 a.m.

10:45 - 11:30 a.m.

11:45 a.m.

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

1:45 - 2:30 p.m.

2:45 - 3:30 p.m.

3:45 - 4:30 p.m.

Breakfast

Opening and Welcoming Remarks

Deans’ Panel

Plenary Session with Dr. James Huguley

Keynote Session with Dr. Erin McDonald

Lunch, Partnerships of Distinction Awards, and Individual Awards

Workshop Block 1

Workshop Block 2

Workshop Block 3

March 5, 2024

University of Pittsburgh, Alumni Hall

ABOUT THE FORUM

The University of Pittsburgh Community Engaged Scholarship Forum elevates, celebrates, and reflects on collective approaches to community-engaged scholarship through the development of sustainable pathways and partnerships that build deep, reciprocal processes to achieve mutually beneficial, communityidentified priorities. Scholarship is broadly defined to include research, creative activity, inquiry, programming, and teaching.

Definitions of Community Engagement

Mutually beneficial and sustainable outreach and engagement are of value to the University and its broader communities.

By community, we refer to groups of people who share commonalities, including geography, identity, affiliation, interest, circumstance, profession or practice, faith, and/or family/natural supports.

Community outreach is the provision and promotion of University services and resources for community use.

Community engagement is the collaborative development and delivery of initiatives through partnerships between members of the University and members of the broader public.

Engaged scholarship seeks to discover new knowledge through activities that collaboratively generate, exchange, or apply academic and community knowledge and practices through reciprocal partnerships among members of the University and members of the broader public.

LEADERSHIP MESSAGES

Kevin Washo

Senior Vice Chancellor for University Relations

The University of Pittsburgh is deeply committed to being a positive force in the region, not just as an academic institution, but as a dedicated community partner. We actively collaborate with individual leaders and organizations, combining Pitt’s expertise, resources and institutional energy with community wisdom, experience and assets.

The 2024 Community Engaged Scholarship Forum provides a platform to bring these efforts together: for sharing best practices, fostering dialogue and strengthening partnerships for collective impact. “Beyond a thousand points of light” isn’t just the theme for this event. This philosophy undergirds how we engage with one another at Pitt and with our many community partners: We come together, multiplying our impact, to help our communities thrive.

Through community-engaged scholarship, we go beyond disciplinary boundaries to co-create knowledge that is rigorous and relevant. Together, let’s continue to be welcoming and engaged; propel scholarship, creativity and innovation; and promote accountability and trust in a way that enriches both student success and the communities we serve. After all, it’s possible at Pitt.

Joseph J. McCarthy

Interim Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor

The title of this year’s forum—Progress through Partnerships: Beyond a Thousand Points of Light—points to the energy and far-reaching impact that each Community Engaged Scholarship Forum has inspired since the very first forum in 2019. The work of engagement is centered in brave listening, in groundbreaking synergies, in truly collaborative conversations— and ultimately in charting courses for new ways to advance deep partnerships designed to recognize and address both the positive work and significant challenges in our communities which are waiting for our decisive thought and action. I am so grateful for—and impressed by—the many contributions of those who have worked so hard and with such insight to realize this forum. It is powerful that we can all be present to gather together in scholarship, commitment, and determination as we elevate, celebrate, and embrace all that communityengaged scholarship can bring to our city, our region, and the world.

A SINGLE PURPOSE...

...TO MULTIPLY IMPACT

Office of Engagement and Community Affairs

The Office of Engagement and Community Affairs (ECA) is the core unit at the University of Pittsburgh with responsibility to advance a community engagement strategy for the University, to ensure Pitt is a partner and asset to the region, to mobilize the University’s response to community-identified problems and concerns, and to support faculty and staff in delivering sustainable and substantive engagement and outreach activities.

Everything that ECA does ultimately has a single purpose: to make it easier for communities, public leaders, faculty, staff and students to forge meaningful and more effective collaborations.

ECA serves as:

» A hub and convener for faculty, staff, researchers, and community engaged programs—meeting systemic problems with coordinated, holistic responses.

» A designated listener for Pitt in community and civic conversations across the region.

» A facilitator of partnerships and coalitions based on a shared vision of action.

» A connector for regional economic growth and planning to local educational, workforce, and business development opportunities.

» A leader, coordinator and maximizer of Pitt’s expansive commitments in Oakland, the Hill District, Greater Hazelwood, and Homewood.

» And an impact multiplier—working with organizations that are working for stronger communities, throughout the city and the region, and sharing the resources and capabilities of Pitt.

ECA’s Areas of Work 2022 - 2023

The Engaged Campus

Cross-functional efforts that establish the framework and strategy necessary for the University to mobilize its expansive engagement resources including engaged learning and development, convening capacity, social capital, and public service and volunteerism so that Pitt becomes a partner of choice in regional progress, particularly addressing the social determinants of health.

Anchor Institution Initiative

Cross-institutional efforts to advance Pitt’s role as an anchor within the region, harnessing the economic demand of our purchasing, construction, and hiring to create paths of economic opportunity for residents in our local communities.

Neighborhood Commitments

Pitt’s flagship place-based community partnerships focused on the Oakland, Homewood, Hill District and Greater Hazelwood neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, which provide long-term commitments of staffing, infrastructure, and coordination to facilitate mutually beneficial collaborations between Pitt and the local community.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Pitt

A dedicated, nurturing intellectual environment for older adults (50 years old or more) that offers hundreds of enriching courses, lectures, tours, and other opportunities for social interaction and engagement over the year.

5,671 volunteers contributed 84,683 hours of service

350+

unique faculty and staff received direct community engagement support from ECA 3,150 HOURS tutored through PittEnrich

$161M in direct construction and non-construction spend with suppliers and vendors from Pittsburgh

94 programs and events offered at the CECs

1,300 active OLLI members

191 full-time staff employees hired from Oakland, Homewood, the Hill District and Greater Hazelwood

7,500 total visitors to the Homewood and Hill District CECs since opening

350+ OLLI courses, lectures, tours and other opportunities offered

Office of Engagement and Community Affairs

SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY-ENGAGED FACULTY & STAFF

Engaged scholarship seeks to discover new knowledge through activities that collaboratively generate, exchange or apply academic and community knowledge and practices through reciprocal partnerships among members of the University and members of the broader public. Engaged scholarship includes community engaged teaching and research.

The Office of Engagement and Community Affairs collaborates across the institution to produce and amplify unique resources, programming, and initiatives that support community engaged scholarship projects and the professional development and advancement of engaged scholars at Pitt and within our broader communities.

www.community.pitt.edu/engaged

Engaged Scholar Resources, Training, and Education

Find a variety of resources, including training, education and consultation, that are available to engaged scholars at Pitt and within our broader communities.

Community Engaged Scholarship Project Development Cohort

Over four facilitated sessions, a cohort of project teams work together to refine and advance their engaged scholarship project plans to ensure logistic feasibility, community relevance, scholarly rigor, and social impact.

Engagement Community of Practice

Pitt’s Engagement Community of Practice is a supportive network for staff that share an interest in advancing the institution’s ecosystem of community-oriented and partnered teaching and learning, research, service, outreach, and programming.

Community Engagement Professional Foundations (CEPF) FSDP Certificate

Offered through the Faculty and Staff Development Program, CEPF is a focused series of workshops providing faculty and staff an opportunity to develop a foundational framework for community engagement and partnerships, and the considerations that must be made to ensure those efforts are inclusive and equity-based.

Community Relations Committee of the University Senate

This committee, which includes community organization representatives as pro tem members, is the primary shared governance body that provides a monthly University forum on campus community relations. This committee works on projects of common interest such as pedestrian safety, community engagement, environmental health, and accessibility for those with disabilities.

Community Engagement Centers Internal Advisory Council

Represents the various interests and activities of Pitt, ensuring that the entire University is aligned and coordinated with Pitt’s neighborhood commitments. This diverse group of faculty and staff from across the University meets monthly.

Civic Advising Program

Provides students with the Pathways of Public Service and Civic Engagement survey on civic, community, and engagement interests, originally launched on campus as part of the Pathways for Civic Growth research project and connects them with the civic advisors and experiences that best fit their interests.

Catalog of Opportunities

Offers students the ability to find, track, and share cocurricular activities and achievements in business, global, honors, and Outside the Classroom Curriculum credit and more.

Civic Learning Transcript Distinction

The primary goals of the civic learning distinction are to provide students with a mechanism to gain recognition and credit for their work outside the classroom and to increase the number of Pitt undergraduate students participating in civic learning and community engagement activities on and beyond campus.

Community Engaged Scholarship Forum

Pitt’s annual, University-wide conference that elevates and celebrates the breadth and depth of community-engaged scholarship happening in Pittsburgh.

Partnerships of Distinction Awards

Recognition of award-winning community-university partnerships that exemplify the principles of engaged scholarship, including mutuality and reciprocity, scholarly merit, and significant community impact.

At Pitt, our community engaged scholarship strives toward research with, not on the communities we help.

We want to emphasize partnership, engendering trust and participation from the communities.

We believe that involving communities in the research process increases the quality and impact of your work and helps ensure we are tackling problems that are relevant and meaningful to all.

We have computing resources, Research Protection consultations, Pitt Momentum Funds, and Big Proposal Bootcamp among our many services to support your research.

Image Source: Parents Promoting Early Learning Lab

Office of the Provost Faculty Diversity and Development

The Office of Faculty Diversity and Development oversees a portfolio of mission-driven projects and initiatives that support the career and professional development of all faculty, with a particular emphasis on promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. One of its key initiatives is the Race and Social Determinants of Equity, Health and Well-being Initiative, which include several signature programs: the Race &... Conference, the Race &… Collaboratories, the Race &… Lecture Series, and the Race@Work Summer Retreat.

Scan for more information on our programs, initiatives, and events and to visit our website.

Follow us on social media: @pittfdd

This lunchtime speaker series provides a spotlight for each new faculty member to present their work and interests

University Center for Teaching and Learning

The University Center for Teaching and Learning serves as Pitt’s central resource to support instructors in fulfilling the institution’s educational mission.

The Teaching Center strives to inspire excellence and innovation in teaching, learning, and scholarly activities.

Visit teaching.pitt.edu to learn more about the services, support, workshops, initiatives, and more that are available to Pitt faculty.

SCAN TO REGISTER

The Race@Work Summer Retreat is explicitly designed to address these challenges.

Early career faculty from historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups are often the one and only in their school, department, or unit. As a result, many of them experience challenges at work that include the absence of a strong network of peers and mentors, limited exposure, and access to the unwritten “recipe” for success in the academy, and a lack of both balance and integration between their professional and personal lives.

DEANS’ PANEL

9:15 to 10:30 a.m.

Senior administrators often must consider many points of interest and investment as part of their responsibilities to recruit, appoint, and retain high-quality hires and students, create business plans that are sustainable and successful, and enact forwardlooking vision and goals.

This session highlights the perspectives of four University of Pittsburgh deans on what is the current state of community-engaged scholarship at Pitt, the challenges in highlyengaged academics moving at the speed of relationships, and what we must aspire to do and be in order to reach the depth and complexity of engaged scholarship that is best suited to address the complex, multi-faceted challenges facing our communities.

Anthony Delitto

Dean, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Anthony Delitto is the dean of the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) and professor in the Department of Physical Therapy. He received his BS in Physical Therapy from SUNY Buffalo, NY, his MHS in Physical Therapy and his PhD from Washington University, St. Louis, MO.

He is active in the Sections on Orthopedics and Education, and Past-President of the Section on Research for the APTA. Delitto has authored or co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed research papers. He actively treats people with painful musculoskeletal disorders and his current research is focused on implementing classification and treatment effectiveness studies into quality improvement initiatives. He is also conducting trials in exercise interventions for people with Parkinson’s disease. He was awarded one of the first large pragmatic trials from the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), a multi-site, $13-million grant (the TARGET study) to investigate innovative ways to reduce the transition of acute low back pain by having physical therapists partner with primary care and deliver psychologically informed physical therapy to patients with acute low back pain who are at risk for persistent pain.

His awards include: Golden Pen Award, APTA, 1992; Steven J Rose Award for Excellence in Research, APTA Section on Orthopaedics, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2015; Marian Williams Award for Research in Physical Therapy, APTA, 1997; Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the APTA, 2000.

Adam Leibovich

Bettye J. and Ralph E. Bailey Dean, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and the College of General Studies

Adam Leibovich is the Bettye J. and Ralph E. Bailey Dean of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and the College of General Studies. He received his BA in Physics, magna cum laude, from Cornell University in 1992 and a PhD from the California Institute of Technology in 1997. From 1997-2000 he was a postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University and from 2000-2002 a postdoctoral research fellow at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). In 2003 he joined the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh. He became the Department Chair in 2015, and Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development in 2017. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (2017) and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2018).

Leibovich’s research spans a variety of areas in theoretical physics. Most of his scholarship has centered on the strong and weak interactions of the Standard Model. In particular, he uses effective field theory techniques to study heavy quarks as a probe of these interactions, and to try to uncover physics beyond the Standard Model. Leibovich also researches gravitational waves, the physics of extra dimensions, matter at extreme densities, and the physics of dark matter. He has authored or co-authored over 75 publications that have received more than 6,400 citations with an h-index of 40.

Leibovich is a passionate teacher, and has won the Cottrell Scholar Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement and the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Tina and David Bellet Teaching Excellence Award. He has worked nationally to improve STEM education, authoring articles focusing on undergraduate education. In July 2022, Leibovich was named director of the Pittsburgh Quantum Institute (PQI).

MODERATOR

Lina Dostilio Vice Chancellor, Engagement and Community Affairs

Maureen Lichtveld Dean, School of Public Health

Maureen Lichtveld, MD, MPH, is dean of the School of Public Health, where she oversees the growth and continued success of the school’s seven academic departments and hundreds of students, faculty, and staff. She also serves as professor of environmental and occupational health and is the Jonas Salk Professor of Population Health. Lichtveld studies environmental public health, focusing on environmentally induced disease, health disparities, environmental health policy, disaster preparedness, public health systems, and community resilience. Her research examines the cumulative impact of chemical and non-chemical stressors on communities facing environmental health threats, disasters, and health disparities.

Before joining Pitt in January 2021, Lichtveld chaired Tulane University’s Department of Environmental Health Sciences in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She also directed the Center for Gulf Coast Environmental Health Research, Leadership, and Strategic Initiatives within Tulane’s public health and tropical medicine school. In this role, Lichtveld led development and implementation of disaster management, health promotion, and disease-prevention strategies for Gulf Coast communities. Prior to her arrival at Tulane in 2005, Lichtveld spent 18 years with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, where she designed public health research tools and protocols to guide environmental health studies in communities located near hazardous waste sites.

Lichtveld is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and a member of the board of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health. She received her MPH from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Hygiene and Public Health and her MD from Anton de Kom University of Suriname and the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.

Carissa Slotterback

Dean, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs

Carissa Slotterback is dean and professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. Since arriving at the University of Pittsburgh in October 2020, she has led major efforts in the school around strategic planning; diversity, equity, and inclusion; development and alumni engagement; research capacity building; and enhancing student experience. She is a widely published scholar in the areas of stakeholder and public engagement and decision-making related to environmental and land use policy and planning. She has a particular interest in how stakeholders perceive impacts and use information in making decisions, focusing on impact assessment and collaborative decision-making approaches.

Prior to joining the University of Pittsburgh, she served as a faculty member and program director in urban and regional planning, as well as Associate Dean, in the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. She led a number of initiatives focused on interdisciplinary and engaged research and education, including in her prior roles as director of research engagement in the Office of the Vice President for Research and as co-founder and director of the Resilient Communities Project.

She currently serves as Chair of the Dean’s Summit, member of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs Executive Committee, and member of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration Executive Council. She has held multiple leadership positions with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, including as Vice President. She was inducted as a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners in 2018.

PLENARY SESSION

10:45 to 11:30 a.m.

Empowering Black Families: Community-Led Mindfulness and Racial Socialization for Parental Healing and Resilience

Recent years brought to light the immense challenges and enduring traumas for Black parents due to systemic injustices like pandemic disparities, police violence, and various structurally oppressive forces. There is also a profound absence of evidence-based resources intentionally tailored to help Black caregivers navigate racialized parental stress and the recurring impacts of racism on themselves and their children.

In response, the Race and Youth Development team at Pitt’s Center on Race and Social Problems partnered with two other community organizations—Awaken Pittsburgh and Homewood Children’s Village—to integrate their resources and infrastructure to establish Mindful Connections for Black Families (MCBF). MCBF exists at the intersection of racial justice, human development, and mindfulness and equips caregivers with tools for resilience, stress management, trauma identification, and raising thriving Black youth. This session provides an interactive platform to explore community-led initiatives, shared leadership, and problem-solving in Black family empowerment and community resilience, using MCBF as a case study to foster healing and disrupt cycles of oppression.

PLENARY SPEAKER

James Huguley

Associate Professor, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh Chair, Race and Youth Development Resource Group (RaYDR), Center on Race and Social Problems, University of Pittsburgh

Dr. James P. Huguley is an Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. He is also the chair of the Race and Youth Development Research Group (RaYDR) at the Center on Race and Social Problems. His research focuses on school- and family-based interventions that promote positive academic and mental health outcomes for African American youth. Huguley is the Principal Investigator for the Just Discipline Project, an initiative that aims to curb the use of punitive discipline in schools, and the Principal Investigator for Parenting While Black, a program that provides Black primary caregivers with supports and resources around best practices in racial socialization, educational involvement, and promoting positive mental health in Black families. He also serves on the executive board of the Human Services Center Mon Valley, the advisory board of the Office of Child Development, and as a cohort lead for The Pittsburgh Study. Huguley’s work is supported by the Institute of Educational Sciences, The Health Resources and Services Administration, The Heinz Endowments, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, and the Staunton Farm Foundation. He is the recent winner of a Larry E. Davis Award for Excellence in Community Engaged Scholarship (2022), a Distinguished Research Award from the Counseling and Human Development Division of the American Educational Research Association (2021), and an Excellence in Research Award from the Society for Social Work and Research (2021).

Prior to his academic career, Huguley was a youth program director and middle school teacher. He received his bachelors in Secondary Education from Providence College, and both his masters’ in Risk and Prevention and doctorate in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University.

Additional Presenters:

Monica Henderson

Research Coordinator, Race and Youth Development Research Group, Center on Race and Social Problems, School of Social Work

Walter Lewis

President & CEO, Homewood Children’s Village

Brandon Phillips

Parenting While Black Community CoFacilitator, Pittsburgh Public Schools

Stephanie Romero CEO, Awaken Pittsburgh

KEYNOTE SESSION

11:45 a.m.

The Federal Plan for Equitable Long-Term Recovery and Resilience (ELTRR) outlines a whole-ofgovernment approach to unlock America’s full potential for all people and places to thrive together— no exceptions. With commitments from more than 35 agencies, it is a landmark in America’s movement for well-being and equity.

This interagency plan was designed from its inception to be a governmental counterpart to the Thriving Together Springboard. It reflects a shared commitment to bring the thriving together ethos to life, including an affirmation that our capacity to expand belonging and civic muscle is at the center of this work.

The approach laid out in the Federal Plan for ELTRR calls for transformational systemic change in the federal government through the following principles:

• Empower communities to engage in equitable, self-driven discussions of needs and solutions

• Support equitable access to federal support and identify collaborative opportunities in partnership with communities using trauma-informed approaches and healing processes

• Redesign existing activities and develop new actions to address gaps and maximize outcomes

• Sustain cross-agency and cross-department collaborations and advancements that facilitate continuous investment and measurement of change

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Erin McDonald

Lead, Equitable Long-Term Recovery and Resilience Plan, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health

Erin McDonald is the Lead for the Federal Plan for Equitable Long-Term Recovery and Resilience in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health where she leads the whole-of-government effort across over 35 departments and agencies to build longterm resilience.

Before stepping into this role she was the Regional Administrator for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in Region 3, where she leads ACF’s strategic cross-cutting initiatives and priorities to promote the economic wellbeing of children and families. Prior to joining federal service, McDonald served in leadership roles in public sector, philanthropic, and non-profit organizations including the Chief Strategy Officer for Human Services in the New York City Mayor’s Office, the Vice President of Research and Strategy at Feeding America, and the Director of Research and Evaluation at Women’s World Banking.

She holds a PhD in Public Health and Research from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a Master’s in Public Policy and Evaluation from Johns Hopkins Policy Studies Institute.

PARTNERSHIPS OF DISTINCTION AWARDEES

12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Appalachian Bridges to the Future: Resilience in Fayette County

The primary objective of this partnership is to unite Pitt faculty (via the David C. Frederick Honors College) with the Fayette County Cultural Trust (FCCT) to assess and begin to address the causes and consequences of outmigration of higher educated and skilled individuals from Fayette County, PA, an economically distressed area located about an hour’s drive from Pitt’s Oakland campus. Central to this goal is the creation of a lasting positive relationship with the FCCT and other community stakeholders that will allow us to provide research and programmatic support to the residents of Fayette County while also addressing our central research topics and providing an opportunity for undergraduate students to engage in ethical community-based research.

The project provides a model for engaging in mutually beneficial, ethical, student-centered research that both provides meaningful research experiences for undergraduates while also assuring that community needs are at the center, rather than the periphery, of the experience. The core of this approach is the tenyear commitment that Pitt affiliates have made to the FCCT and the surrounding community, ensuring that our community partners can cultivate deep, meaningful, and mutually beneficial relationships with Pitt affiliates that also provide valuable and tangible educational experiences for our undergraduate researchers. The community partners outline the needs and opportunities of the community, and the Pitt team works to co-create research-based responses to these opportunities. FCCT leadership and their affiliates work directly with Pitt faculty, students, and staff as full partners in designing and delivering the initiative.

Each year brings a new cohort of students with new perspectives, energy, and enthusiasm, thus creating the opportunity for Pitt undergraduates to learn via community engaged service learning. Including a new set of well-trained and highly supervised students each year provides a means to focus diverse minds on addressing

the problems and opportunities our community partners face. Furthermore, the research addresses the factors that might make the county attractive to newly graduated college students. Current undergraduates are uniquely qualified to identify and exploit the best assets the community has to offer. Rather than studying “brain drain” as a phenomenon detached from the interests of the research team, this project allows undergraduates and current residents to co-create a future for the region that is vibrant, sustainable, and welcoming to all.

Taking an asset-based approach, the project is specifically mindful of the American urban-rural divide that can often leave people from more rural communities feeling left behind and resentful of universities and city dwellers. University affiliates arrive eager to learn about the area’s assets and from the area’s residents. By centering rural Americans as part of the research team working together to co-create knowledge and identify solutions to the urban-rural divide, this project can provide a more thorough understanding of the causes and consequences of political polarization, while at the same time enhancing the ability of people from all geographic areas to work together to find solutions to their shared problems.

Grace Lamsam Pharmacy Program

For over two decades, the Grace Lamsam Pharmacy Program (GLPP) of the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy has been a beacon of compassion, delivering pharmacy services to the most vulnerable populations in the Pittsburgh region—those experiencing homlessness, the working poor, the underinsured, and the uninsured. Rooted in the belief that every person deserves quality healthcare and medications delivered with dignity, the GLPP has made it its duty to make this care available whenever possible.

The GLPP’s mission extends beyond the dispensing of medications; it is a commitment to reducing healthcare disparities in Pittsburgh. By offering free or low-cost medicines, supplies, and medication therapy management, the program aims to improve the quality of patients’ lives while simultaneously reducing unnecessary emergency room or hospital visits. Since its establishment in 1995, the GLPP has linked volunteer pharmacists and pharmacy students with community organizations providing primary healthcare to unhoused and low income individuals. Operating in diverse settings, from homeless clinics to community health centers, the GLPP has fostered longterm partnerships with institutions such as the Health Care for the Homeless Project, Program for Health Care to Underserved Populations, Salvation Army Harbor Light, and UPMC Matilda Theiss Health Center. The GLPP has also been instrumental in the continued expansion of the Birmingham Free Clinic. These collaborations reflect the GLPP’s commitment to an interdisciplinary model of care, where pharmacy volunteers work seamlessly alongside physicians, nurses, and other health professionals.

The GLPP continues extending its impact through strategic partnerships that respond to evolving community needs. One notable collaboration is with the newly established Second Avenue Commons Health Center (SACHC). This partnership aligns with the GLPP’s commitment to providing comprehensive, compassionate, and traumainformed care to patients experiencing homelessness.

Here, GLPP student volunteers and residents seamlessly integrate with healthcare professionals, offering a spectrum of pharmacist services tailored to complement the health center’s objectives. Within the SACHC, GLPP’s role spans from formulary management and technical support to direct patient care services, such as medication therapy management and disease state management. The tailored approach ensures that GLPP’s contributions align seamlessly with SACHC’s mission, maximizing the positive impact on the lives of those experiencing homelessness and supporting their transition to stable housing.

Another impactful collaboration involves Street Medicine at Pitt under the Street Medicine Institute Student Coalition. Active in recent years, this partnership demonstrates GLPP’s commitment to addressing the unique healthcare needs of individuals facing unsheltered homelessness. GLPP student volunteers actively engage in Wednesday night street rounds, working alongside students and professionals to deliver pharmacist services that contribute to the holistic care provided during these outreach initiatives. The partnership with Street Medicine and GLPP continues to tailor their approach through constant communication and adjustments, including the voices and needs of those for whom they are caring.

Through connecting old and new partnerships, the GLPP continues to exemplify its commitment to effective community engagement and the reduction of healthcare disparities. These innovative collaborations showcase the program’s adaptability and dedication to staying at the forefront of addressing emerging challenges in the community.

The CHURCH (Congregations as Healers United to Restore Community Health)

Because of issues like stigma, mistrust, and lack of culturally competent providers, African Americans prefer to seek mental health support from clergy and religious leaders than from mental health professionals. According to the Pew Research Center, three quarters of African Americans (compared to 49% of whites) say religion is very important in their lives, 73% say they pray daily, and nearly one half (47%) report that they attend religious services at least once a week. Despite the importance of clergy and faith-communities to African Americans, surprisingly little research, and few mental health interventions, explicitly incorporate clergy or faith into their designs. Further, few interventions seek to equip clergy or congregations to assist their members with stress, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, or other behavioral health challenges. The CHURCH Project was launched in 2019 to fill these gaps.

The CHURCH project is a Community-Partnered Participatory Research (CPPR) project in which Pitt researchers collaborate with African American faith leaders in Homewood, PA, to develop, implement, and evaluate a mental health training curriculum (e.g., Renew Your Mind) that can be delivered in Black churches. The training includes four 90-minute training modules based on cognitive behavioral therapy principles, which have been culturally tailored by incorporating spirituality and African American sacred music through collaboration with African American clergy and local Black church musicians. The training seeks to increase faith leaders’ mental health knowledge and self-efficacy in educating congregational members about evidence-based strategies to manage mental distress resulting from daily stressors.

An advisory board was formed, which is comprised of three African American senior pastors in Homewood, PA, and five faculty of color in the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work and the Department of Psychiatry. The team collectively possesses expertise in multiple relevant areas including, health disparities research, implementation science, community-engaged research, spiritual integration in mental health, music therapy, Black churches, Black church music, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Following the core principles of CPPR, community partners have been fully participating in all aspects of research including research design, data collection and analyses, and dissemination activities.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDEES

12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

CESF COLLABORATION CHAMPION

Aliya Durham, PhD, MSW, MPIA Assistant Professor and Director of Community Engagement, School of Social Work

Aliya D. Durham has amassed 25 years of service to others—as an employee and volunteer—and is deeply committed to servant leadership, community development, equity, and philanthropy. She has worked at several health and human service organizations in the region including Operation Better Block, Inc., the Pennsylvania State University, Good Schools Pennsylvania, the National Council for Urban Peace and Justice, and Adagio Health. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Foundation and Government Relations and Core Service Executive for Social Responsibility for the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh for nearly a decade.

Dr. Durham is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work specializing in Macro Practice. She teaches graduate courses in Human Services Management, Group/Intergroup Relations, Grant Writing, and an undergraduate course in Generalist Practice with Communities and Organizations. She manages the Browne Leadership Fellowship, one of many signature social work programs, designed to translate the core values of service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, the importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence to non-social work undergraduate students. She recently redesigned and launched a new Community and Racial Equity Leadership Fellowship aimed at preparing graduate students traditionally underrepresented in social work bridge gaps between their undergraduate studies with experiences and skills to enter careers in macro practice settings. As Director of Community Engagement, Dr. Durham facilitates and advances opportunities for the School of Social Work to deepen and expand its community-engaged practices in research, teaching, service, and learning.

Dr. Durham has volunteered on various not-for-profit boards and committees in the city and county, most notably as co-founder and Board Vice Chair for the Homewood Children’s Village. Since becoming faculty at Pitt, Dr. Durham has served on numerous university-wide and school-specific committees. She is currently a coinvestigator on two collaborative grant-funded research projects.

Aliya earned a Bachelor of Arts (Africana Studies), a Bachelor of Science (Psychology), a Master of Social Work (Macro Practice), and a Master of Public and International Affairs (Economic and Social Development) from the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her doctorate in Community Engagement at Point Park University in 2020 with research interests converging at the intersections of collective impact, sense of community responsibility, and distributed leadership theories.

TRACY SOSKA AND JOHN WILDS OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT LEADERSHIP AWARD

Kelsey Voltz-Poremba Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Kelsey Voltz-Poremba is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS). She has been an integral member of the SHRS team in building and promoting the community-based work the school is doing at the SHRS Wellness Pavilion, part of the Pitt Community Engagement Center (CEC) in Homewood.

Dr. Voltz-Poremba has expertise in designing programs in communities that promote health and mitigate health disparities. At the Pitt CEC in Homewood, she has designed health and wellness programs, as well as a handwriting tutoring program for grade school students. She has facilitated groups for older adults on falls prevention and began a collaboration with the local Primary Care Health Services (PCHS) Alma Illery in sponsoring health focused programs including a monthly Bingo night at the Pitt CEC in Homewood. Dr. Voltz-Poremba recently received support from the Pitt Seed Program where she and colleagues from the School of Pharmacy, the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences Departments of Mathematics and Studio Arts created an interprofessional program to support faculty and staff to engage in community-based work. Through the funding, the team piloted a middle school health and wellness program at the Pitt CEC in Homewood, developed Magical Math at the Pitt CEC in the Hill District, supported community blood pressure education and screening events, and funded three art shows, showcasing local artists at the Pitt CEC in Homewood.

As an educator, Dr. Voltz-Poremba facilitates and mentors graduate occupational therapy students to partner with community collaborators in developing and implementing community, occupation-based programs throughout the greater Pittsburgh area. Current projects include collaborations with Homewood Children’s Village, Beacon Communities-Moorhead Tower, Cancer Bridges and HEARTH. Dr. Voltz-Poremba consistently demonstrates leadership in community outreach and engagement through her teaching of future rehabilitation practitioners and service to Pitt and surrounding communities in the region.

WORKSHOP BLOCK 1

1:45 to 2:30 p.m.

ROOM 121

Special Session with Erin McDonald

Join 2024 CESF keynote presenter Erin McDonald, Lead for the Federal Plan for Equitable Long-Term Recovery and Resilience in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, for a small group work session with local leaders to dig into the Vital Conditions framework, as well as additional information on how cross-sector collaborations across the country have been able to advance community resilience and wellbeing through multisolving.

Participate and consider how your organization can serve as a catalyst to greater interagency coordination and action in Southwestern Pennyslvania.

Presenter:

• Erin McDonald, Lead, Equitable Long-Term Recovery and Resilience Plan, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health

Facilitator/Moderator:

• Jamie Ducar, Assistant Vice Chancellor of The Engaged Campus, Office of Engagement and Community Affairs

ROOM 531

Engagement in Community-based Participatory Research: Strategies and Lessons Learned

Community engagement is critical to communitybased research projects, particularly community level intervention research. However, achieving genuine engagement in research projects can be challenging. This session will focus on strategies for community engagement in our county-wide violence prevention project, Community Thriving: Enhancing Resiliency of Communities after Stress and Trauma (ReCAST). ReCAST is a collaboration between the School of Social Work, The Pittsburgh Study and the Department of Pediatrics, as well as community partners at the county level (UrbanKind Institute and Neighborhood Resilience Project) and community level (currently, Community Forge in Wilkinsburg and Operation Better Block in Homewood).

In this session we will focus on community engagement strategies for our county-wide Steering Committee which provides overall guidance for the ReCAST project, and for our Collective Efficacy Intervention that is being implemented in 10 neighborhoods over five years. Our project uses community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods that involve collaborative efforts between multi-sector stakeholders who gather and use research to build on the strengths and priorities of the community (Wallerstein, Duran, Oetzel, & Minkler, 2018). Our CBPR methods are illustrated in the roles for community partners and residents in our project. In each neighborhood site, our project is guided by a Community Advisory Board that includes a community-based partner and three residents who work as community facilitators.

Presenters:

• Mary L. Ohmer, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh, Co-PI, ReCAST

• Tracey Joiner, Director of Community Health and Support, Neighborhood Resilience Project

• Zinna Scott, Homewood resident, Community Facilitator and Steering Committee Member, ReCAST

• Theresa Jenks, West Side resident, Community Facilitator and Steering Committee Member, ReCAST

WORKSHOP BLOCK 2

2:45 to 3:30 p.m.

ROOM 121

Pitt Horizon Scholars: Broadening Horizons While Empowering Youth

The Pitt Horizon Scholars program is an emerging initiative designed to provide comprehensive support to youth and young adults who have experienced the foster care system, guiding them to and through their educational journey at Pitt.

This collaborative effort to shape a Campus Support Program for the Horizon Scholars is led by the Office of the Provost University Educational Outreach Center, in conjunction with the School of Social Work, the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, and many others. This program aims to tackle the distinctive challenges that impede the persistence, retention, and post-secondary completion of Horizon Scholars. The Horizon Scholars program builds from ongoing national requirements and efforts with the Fostering Success Initiative as well as existing programming at Pitt to facilitate access to Pitt and to provide supports through college.

The Pitt Horizon Scholars panel will raise awareness about the program to foster support and collective action to ensure the academic success of potential and current Pitt students within the foster care system.

Moderator:

• Daren A. Ellerbee, Director, Educational Outreach Center

Introduction:

• Betsy Farmer, Dean, School of Social Work

Panelists:

• William Battle, Educational Liaison, Department of Human Services

• Xavier Littlejohn, Program Assistant, Educational Outreach Center; Current Horizon Scholar

• Helen Cahalane, Principal Investigator Child Welfare Education and Research Programs, School of Social Work

• Cindy McCarthy, Horizon Scholars Endowment; Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Human Genetics, School of Public Health

• Mary Rose “Rosie” Hogan, Pathway Development & Outreach Coordinator, Educational Outreach Center

ROOM 531

Partnering Globally to Achieve Better Outcomes Locally

The University of Pittsburgh has engaged in strategic partnership with Newcastle University (UK) that includes a focus on inclusive innovation in universityled innovation districts.

In 2023, Pitt faculty and community partners from Hazelwood traveled to the UK to learn from colleagues in Newcastle, particularly around the Newcastle Health Innovation Neighborhood. In 2023, Pitt and Newcastle researchers are expanding the partnership to explore connections with universities in the Global South.

This project highlights the ways in which universities can mobilize global partnerships and international networks to achieve better outcomes for hyper-local (neighborhood) projects.

Presenters:

• Sabina Deitrick, University of Pittsburgh

• Heidi Ward, University of Pittsburgh

• Louise Kempton, Newcastle University (joining remotely)

• Dr. Danielle Davis, Davis Consulting Solutions

WORKSHOP BLOCK 3

3:45 to 4:30 p.m.

ROOM 121

Community-based Participatory Research and Praxis at the Nexus of Food, Water, and Energy Justice in Puerto Rico

This project consists of community-based participatory research and practice in the community of Corcovada, Puerto Rico, where recurrent climatic and non-climatic hazards, including hurricanes, earthquakes, and pandemics, create complex risks across interconnected food, energy, and water (FEW) systems.

Our research-community partnership maps community social capital, co-develops and validates a survey on community health risks and vulnerabilities, and engages in a participatory budgeting process where the community has direct involvement and decision-making power over project funding allocation.

The project continues to sustain and deepen relationships with the community of Corcovada by identifying resources that community members can draw from to exercise agency and make decisions on a program best suited to improve their community’s public health needs. Ultimately, by utilizing this bottom-up, community-centered approach, we seek to support community cohesion, reduce FEWrelated public health risks following disasters, and strengthen community resilience.

Presenters:

• Fernando Tormos-Aponte, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology

• Anaís Roque, Co-PI, Ohio State University

ROOM 531

Realizing Regional Resilience: Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative

A cross-disciplinary group of University of Pittsburgh students will collaborate with the Fayette County Cultural Trust (FCCT) and other key stakeholders in developing a county-wide asset map and recommendations toward sustainable economic development.

The project builds upon last year’s work to address the so-called “brain-drain” that greatly affects the Appalachian region, as the capacity of the region to remain economically competitive suffers with the outmigration of skilled human capital.

Presenters:

• David Sanchez, Assistant Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Associate Director, Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation

• Bryan Schultz, Director of International Programs, Pitt Business

• Kristin Kanthak, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science

• Michael Glass, Director, Urban Studies Program

• Fayette County Cultural Trust

THANK YOU

Thank you to our event sponsors, keynote speakers, planning committee, and the Pitt community for their part in making the 2024 Community Engaged Scholarship Forum possible.

2024 Sponsors

Office of the Chancellor

Office of the Provost

Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research

Office of Engagement and Community Affairs

University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences

Planning Committee

Michael Bridges

Jamilah Ducar

Aliya Durham

Ashley Eckard

Daren Ellerbee

Veella Grooms

Lorie Johnson-Osho

Gena Kovalcik

Molly McSweeney

Shallegra Moye

Erica Palmer

Trupti Sarode

Bee Schindler

Monique Smith

Lisa Upsher

Juliana Zipay

BECOME A PARTNER IN OUR PROGRESS

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