First Johnson-Baker Scholarships Awarded to Master of Public Health Students

The UNC Asheville-UNC Gillings Master of Public Health (MPH) program today announced the first 10 recipients of the Johnson-Baker Scholarship. The $10,000 scholarships, provided by the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC), are named in honor of two of the program’s founders, who contributed to the health of Western North Carolinians in a myriad of ways and both died at the height of their careers.

The competitive tuition-offset scholarships are awarded to up to 10 students per MPH class who have lived or worked in Western North Carolina (WNC) and have expressed a commitment to serve WNC communities that have been underserved and disproportionately affected by structural biases. 

The 2023-25 Johnson-Baker Scholars are: Adriana Alvarez, Natalie Beach, Ryan Bostic, Albert Chow, Dakotah Fozzard, Vanessa Howe, Chasity Leake, Niki Maness, Imani Saya, and Taylor Young. 

Johnson-Baker Scholars will continue to serve Western North Carolina communities as they cultivate public health skills in the UNC Asheville-UNC Gillings Master of Public Health program. 

Travis Johnson, MD, MPH,  the first director of the Asheville MPH program. He was a passionate advocate for maternal, child and other public health services in underserved communities. He always sought to “do what is right, love mercy, and walk humbly.” In this MPH program, he wanted to “partner with local agencies to give students the opportunity to solve cases based on real-life issues in real-time.” 

Melissa Baker, MPH was a community health catalyst who enhanced collaboration in caring for children with disabilities, led region-wide quality improvement initiatives in pediatrics and women’s health, and was instrumental in making sure physicians, mental health counselors, schools and law enforcement throughout Buncombe County and WNC understood both the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and how to help people with trauma build resilience skills.

The UNC Asheville-UNC Gillings Master of Public Health program is located on the MAHEC campus of in south Asheville. Students attend classes with their cohort once a week during the academic year. In 21 months, they earn an MPH in place-based health. More information about the program may be found at: www.mahec.net/mph.