[{"id":297,"date":"2026-10-09T16:47:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T16:47:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/sbs\/?p=297"},"modified":"2026-10-09T16:47:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T16:47:25","slug":"inaugural-seminar-series-welcomes-apha-president-dr-nandi-marshall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/sbs\/2026\/10\/09\/inaugural-seminar-series-welcomes-apha-president-dr-nandi-marshall\/","title":{"rendered":"Inaugural Seminar Series Welcomes APHA President Dr. Nandi Marshall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences kicked off a new seminar series this fall, holding its first event on Thursday, September 17th. The seminar series is part of the department’s developing strategic plan, and aims to foster connections and share knowledge both within and without the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inaugural event featured guest speaker Nandi Marshall, DrPH, MPH, CHES, CLC, CDE, CPH, current President of the American Public Health association. Dr. Marshall is a community-engaged scholar who focuses on maternal and child health, with over 20 years of experience in community engagement at local, state, and national levels. She is also professor in the Department of Health Policy and Community Health in the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University. Dr. Marshall’s address, entitled “For Such a Time as This: Championing Public Health through Advocacy and Action,” discussed the current state of public health in the United States, what APHA is currently doing and what their goals are in the current climate, and, critically, how every individual in public health can continue to advocate and work toward wellbeing for all people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marshall’s address was introduced by her long-time colleague and friend, Krista Mincey, DrPH, MPH, MCHES, associate professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and director for Undergraduate Public Health Education and Training at the School of Public Health. “I met Dr. Marshall when we were doctor of public health students at the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University,” says Dr. Mincey, “She was a great public health leader then and it has been great to see her do the work she does with the platform she has. I knew if I could get her to come to VCU, she would provide a new perspective, encourage, and energize SBS faculty and the broader community.”<\/p>\n\n\n

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Dr. Krista Mincey introduces Dr. Marshall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Marshall began her presentation by giving attendees some background on herself as a person, sharing the family members who influenced her and inspired her to lead “with love and light.” Marshall’s father, Adewale Troutman, MD, MPH, MA, was also APHA President, making her the first legacy president (as well as the youngest ever). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marshall went on to discuss the current state of public health in the United States, which she characterizes as “overtly political” and visible; a departure from a public health structure that used to exist largely in the background for the average American. She also acknowledged the growing mistrust of public health experts and leaders, greatly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, where new guidelines were being released almost daily as scientists learned more about the virus. Overall, she summarized, the basic work of public health has not changed. The goal is still to identify new or evolving threats to public health, find ways to address them, and implement those solutions. The task of the next generation of public health leaders is to find ways to accomplish this goal within a new and rapidly changing environment, and to strengthen the U.S. public health system.<\/p>\n\n\n

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After a brief review of APHA’s current initiatives and advocacy priorities, Marshall discussed how social and behavioral scientists in particular are key to moving public health forward. They seek to understand how and why people make decisions and take certain actions when it comes to their health, and thus their insight is critical to making meaningful change. “Public health is about what shapes what people believe, trust, choose, and are able to do,” said Marshall, “Public health needs scientists who can sit with complexity without losing sight of people.”<\/p>\n\n\n

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Marshall wrapped up her talk by acknowledging the challenges that come with a career in public health. She recognized that sometimes we all want to ask “why me?!” and despair of the struggle. “Why not you?” she countered, reminding listeners not to let fear of failure overwhelm them and keep them from doing the work. The final slide in her presentation summarized the encouragement she wanted to convey: “Don’t give up. Stand strong. Plan with purpose. Preserve impact. Breathe.”<\/p>\n\n\n

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Attendees to the seminar celebrated Dr. Marshall’s candid demeanor, uplifting message, and passion for her work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At its core, public health is rooted in care, and I think Dr. Marshall embodied that in the way she spoke about her family and APHA priorities with us. I keep thinking about her quote, “Public health needs scientists who can sit with complexity without losing sight of people.” Like she reminded us in her slide about herself with her Disney photos, it’s important to remember the humans behind public health, too, not just the humans in the communities we serve and are a part of. She was truly inspiring!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Caroline Powell, M.S., SBS doctoral scholar<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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I appreciated how she demonstrated the connection between our department\u2019s mission and values and the association\u2019s mission and values. For instance, she pointed out how SBS values, such as impact, integrity, belonging, and collaboration, align with the ‘Breastfeeding equity is public health’ diagram. This representation emphasizes values like trust, equitable policies, a diverse and strong workforce, and visually connects with the earth and environment, which are essential for community health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Paula Rivera, M.P.H., SBS doctoral candidate<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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The message I took away is that public health needs us, especially in this moment, that we need each other, that we must stay committed to the work, and that we should lead with light and love in the face of fear and hate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Terry J. Wilson II, M.A., SBS doctoral scholar<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Following the presentation, attendees joined a reception hosted by the department where they were able to interact one-on-one with Dr. Marshall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When I asked about finding visibility and stepping into leadership, Dr. Marshall gave some of the most practical advice. She shared how joining smaller, specialized networks, like her early days co-chairing the Student and New Professional Caucus, allowed her to find her voice, build a transferable tool kit, and stand out within massive organizations. Seeing how that early caucus involvement helped pave the way for her to become APHA’s youngest and first-ever legacy president was proof that stepping into niche interest groups is a game-changer for anyone’s career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Emiolakan Oyeneyin, M.B.A., SBS doctoral scholar<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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All photos by Aaron Sutten<\/a>. To view the full gallery from the event visit: https:\/\/www.suttenphoto.com\/Public\/VCUDSBS-Marshall-Seminar<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to all who attended, and a huge thank you to Dr. Marshall for bringing us your light, enthusiasm and inspiration!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences kicked off a new seminar series this fall, holding its first event on Thursday, September 17th. The seminar series is part of the department’s developing strategic plan, and aims to foster connections and share knowledge both within and without the department. The inaugural event featured guest speaker Nandi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1899,"featured_media":298,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-department-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/sbs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/sbs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/sbs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/sbs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1899"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/sbs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/sbs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":340,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/sbs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297\/revisions\/340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/sbs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/sbs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/sbs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/sbs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":317,"date":"2026-10-01T13:37:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T13:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/sbs\/?p=317"},"modified":"2026-10-01T13:37:57","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T13:37:57","slug":"vcu-launches-interdisciplinary-center-for-gun-violence-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/sbs\/2026\/10\/01\/vcu-launches-interdisciplinary-center-for-gun-violence-research\/","title":{"rendered":"VCU launches interdisciplinary Center for Gun Violence Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Olivia Trani for VCU News<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based in the School of Public Health, the center will unite expertise across VCU to advance the science of gun violence prevention and translate evidence into strategies that save lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Public Health<\/a> has established the Center for Gun Violence Research<\/a> to advance the science of gun violence prevention and translate research into strategies that reduce firearm-related harm and strengthen communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The center will serve as a research hub for VCU experts across disciplines who are focused on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n