Newswise — Former first daughter Barbara P. Bush, CEO and co-founder of Global Health Corps (GHC), will headline the sixth annual Lois K. Cohen Endowed Lecture Series in Global Health at University of the Sciences on Thursday, Oct. 22, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Each year, USciences’ global health lecture series addresses current issues facing public health practitioners and health policy makers. Bush will present her personal journey in developing the organization as well as discuss how it has grown and helped improve health disparities in the areas it serves.

“The work of Global Health Corps is a great model of work-force development and leadership development for young practitioners interested in global health,” said Dr. Andrew Peterson, John Wyeth Dean of Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy at USciences. “The intersection of Mayes College educating leaders in the areas of public health, healthcare business, and health policy is a great match for this organization's ability to develop leaders from outside of the health professions.”

Bush founded GHC in 2009 with five other individuals to address an emerging leadership gap in global health, and harness a burgeoning passion for social good among this generation’s youth. Since its inception, GHC has placed nearly 600 young leaders from 30 countries with non-profit and government health organizations, like Partners in Health and the Clinton Health Access Initiative, in Burundi, Uganda, Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia, and the United States.

As a leadership development institute, GHC competitively recruits recent college graduates and young professionals from diverse cultural and professional backgrounds and places them in health-oriented organizations across the world for a paid year of service. Fellows operate in teams of two—one American fellow with one in-country fellow—to create solutions for a variety of health issues like HIV, maternal and child health, nutrition, and access to healthcare. Two GHC alumni will join Bush at the Cohen Lecture to share their personal experiences with the program and to inform and inspire potential fellows, as applications for the 2016-17 fellowship class open on Nov. 4.

In 2015, Bush was recognized as one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business. Previously, she worked at the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Red Cross Children’s Hospital in South Africa, UNICEF in Botswana, and the UN World Food Program. Bush is a member of UNICEF’s Next Generation Steering Committee and on the board of directors of Covenant House International, PSI, and the UN’s Social Entrepreneurship Council.

This Lois K. Cohen Endowed Lecture Series in Global Health will be held in the AstraZeneca Auditorium of USciences’ McNeil Science and Technology Center, located on 45th Street at Woodland Avenue in Philadelphia. For assistance in making prior arrangements to interview Bush, contact Brian Kirschner ([email protected], 215.895.1186) or Lauren Whetzel Siburkis ([email protected], 215.596.8864). Follow along on social media by using the hashtag #USciencesGlobal or watching a live web stream of the event at usciences.edu/cohenlecture.

University of the Sciences has prepared students to be leaders and practitioners in the healthcare and science fields for nearly 200 years. Key to our distinctive education is a tradition of hands-on research and experiential learning that is evident in every graduate who has walked its campus. Since its founding in 1821 as Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, the first college of pharmacy in North America, USciences has grown to more than 30 degree-granting programs from bachelor’s through doctoral degrees in the health sciences, bench sciences, and healthcare business and policy fields. Discover how USciences students are proven everywhere they go at usciences.edu. – #ProvenEverywhere