AMWHO University of Oklahoma
Vision
We envision a generation of global public health students equipped with the diplomatic skills to pursue Health for All.
Mission
Our mission is to develop experiences that advance the understanding of the World Health Assembly in order to empower future leaders in global health policy.
Team
Director's Letter
Dear Prospective Delegates and Esteemed Colleagues,We are honored to host and would like to welcome you to our first annual American Mock World Health Organization One-Day Summit. Founded in the Spring of 2017, we are a young chapter with high hopes of engaging students in global public health issues, policy-making, and international diplomacy. The goals of this conference that you will be participating in is to not only simulate the World Health Assembly experience but also to build a professional network of like-minded peers and public health experts. As Conference co-directors, we aim to provide everyone involved an educationally enriching experience and more knowledge on the factors which influence international public health.
Furthermore, this conference is to strengthen your ability to think critically about global health issues. This then gives you the tools to deal with the problems that you come across given the political, social, and economic differences in a body of people with such diversity in opinions. As a unified body, you will be working together to create what is called a resolution, in which you will outline the specific and feasible solutions to the problems that you face. In order to write these resolutions and engage in debate, we will be providing you with all necessary materials, guidance, and instruction to take your knowledge about public health topics and transition it into the position that you will be taking for the entirety of the conference as the nation that you will advocate for. We hope that by developing the skills of effective communication and critical thinking in a platform such as a mock-WHO conference that you can carry these skills over into your future learning environments and careers, no matter what they may be.
We are incredibly excited to announce our theme for this Conference: “Impacting Health through Education: A Global Perspective.” With such an assortment of socio-economic well-being across each region and the entirety of the World Health Organization, disparity and a lack of access to basic necessities such as clean water, medicines, and education are incredibly prevalent issues. It is crucial solutions are sustainable rather than short-term. Considering the varied relationship between ‘Education’ and ‘Health’ provides an insightful view on the foundation of a healthy society. Our two sub-themes under this topic are (1) Diffusion of Health Knowledge and (2) Implementation of a Sustainable Health Workforce. The sub-theme that you choose to focus on in your committee will guide the writing of your resolutions and the discussions ahead.
As the conversation surrounding public health and the growth of nations socio-economic standing continues to change, we are confident that each individual who is participating in this conference can be a beacon of change on an international scale. We hope you see the experience you have engaging with other individuals as being an opportunity to use your drive and passion to expand conversations surrounding Health and Education. At the core of the purpose of this simulation is carrying your knowledge forward to be the change that you would like to see in this world.
Additionally, our incredible executive board will be guiding you through the entire learning curve that is being able to conduct a simulation of this scale. With their passion for this organization and many diverse backgrounds, we hope you have an unforgettable experience and enjoy your development as an individual throughout the summit.
Sincerely,
Kody Oliver and Lizzy Kosco
Co-Directors, AMWHO University of Oklahoma
Speakers
Dr. Gary Raskob
Keynote SpeakerBio
Dr. Gary Raskob
Gary Raskob is Dean of the Hudson College of Public Health, and Regents Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine, at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His research and scholarly interests are in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism; clinical trials; prevention research; evidence-based medicine and public health; and the translation of research evidence into practice and health policy.
Dr. Raskob serves as Chair of the Steering Committee for World Thrombosis Day, on behalf of the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH). He has participated
extensively in clinical practice guideline development for several specialty organizations including the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), the American Thoracic Society (ATS), and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Dr. Raskob also serves as a member of the external advisory panel on thrombosis and hemostasis for the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and as an advisor on blood disorders to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He is author or co-author of more than 200 publications on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of thromboembolic disease, including 19 articles in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Dr. Raskob is the immediate past Chair of the Board of Directors for the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, the organization which represents more than 100 universities in the US and globally with accredited schools and programs in public health. Dr. Raskob is active in public health service in his community, and serves as Chair of the Oklahoma City-County Board of Health, which has oversight responsibility for the health department serving the 1.3 million residents of Oklahoma City-County.
Dr. Raskob received his PhD in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Oklahoma, a Master of Science (MSc) degree in clinical epidemiology and health research methodology from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, and a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacology from the University of Toronto, Canada.
Dr. Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan
Bio
Dr. Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan
Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan is a community-based participatory researcher, trained in intervention science, with the goal of combining research with action for social change. Dr. Jernigan received her doctorate in public health from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in cardiovascular disease prevention at Stanford University, where she also completed a degree in documentary filmmaking. Valarie is the Principal Investigator of four National Institute of Health (NIH) -funded R01 studies aimed to improve indigenous food environments through policy and system interventions including "THRIVE,"
a randomized trial of healthy makeovers in tribally owned convenience stores and “FRESH,” a food sovereignty and community gardening intervention with Osage Nation. Dr. Jernigan is a standing member of the Community Level Health Promotion Study Section for the NIH and member of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research College of Reviewers. Dr. Jernigan is an Associate Professor of Health Promotion Sciences in the College of Public Health, the George Kaiser Family Foundation Chair of Community Medicine and the Assistant Dean of Research at the School of Community Medicine, University of Oklahoma.
Susan Wegrzynski
Bio
Susan Wegrzynski
Susan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Eastern Illinois University; a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Central Oklahoma; and earned a Master of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2016 where she was awarded the Distinguished Graduate Nursing Student Award. She possesses ten years of experience in public health nursing including SoonerStart, Children First, the Oklahoma Birth Defects Registry and the Newborn Metabolic Screening program for the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Additional experience includes inpatient and home-based adolescent and adult psychiatric nursing. In 2014, Susan was awarded a fellowship to attend the Oklahoma Public Health Leadership Institute (OPHLI).
Her OPHLI group project to encourage the consumption of water and to reduce the use of sugary drinks in the Oklahoma population became the Shape Your Future: Rethink Your Drink statewide media campaign. Susan is currently employed as the Program Coordinator for the OU Physicians Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Her interest in bariatric surgery lies specifically in the life changing results for women of childbearing age.
Susan believes women should be as healthy as possible before pregnancy thus reducing the risk of serious health issues in mom and baby.
Activities
2018 Summit - Health and Education: A Global Perspective
Sponsors
Get In Touch
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Address & Map
Norman, Oklahoma