APHA and Lerner Center Sommer Klag Advocacy Achievement Award

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The American Public Health Association (APHA) and Johns Hopkins Lerner Center for Public Health Advocacy will provide an opportunity for full-time academic faculty members to be recognized for exceptional public health advocacy work.

The Sommer Klag Advocacy Achievement Award aims to promote a culture of advocacy in academia. The Lerner Center established a strategic partnership with APHA to elevate advocacy as a critical part of public health training and education across the country. We define advocacy as strategic actions taken to drive social, organizational, or policy change on behalf of particular health goals or population health. This encompasses a range of disciplines and practices that effectively engage and inform policymakers, media, and the public to act and embrace evidence-based solutions for public health challenges.

Traditionally, advocacy has been undervalued in public health training, particularly in academic settings. We are seeing a growing recognition of the need for advocacy skills, and it is time to recognize and elevate success stories. 

In 2018, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health launched a strategic plan, in which ‘advocacy” appeared as a essential pillar for approaching today’s public health challenges. In that spirit, Sidney and Helaine Lerner initiated a generous gift for the Sommer Klag Advocacy Awards program. The awards honor past giants in our field, namely Deans Emeriti Alfred Sommer and Michael Klag, and inspire the next generation of advocates and champions. 

Previous Winners

2025    Apryl Alexander, PsyD