Alumni Association Awards Series: Building Community and Connection in Baltimore
Alumni Spotlights
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1h 2m
• Celebrating Johns Hopkins' Sesquicentennial; presented by Hopkins at Home and the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association
• Featuring Shelly Choo (SOM ’11, BSPH ’14), Peter Kannam (Ed ’99), Daniel J. Trahey (Peab ’00), and Monica Guerrero Vazquez (BSPH ’18); moderated by Aaron Henkin
What does it look like to build meaningful, lasting community in a city shaped by both deep challenges and extraordinary resilience? How can leadership—in education, health, the arts, and grassroots advocacy—strengthen connection, expand opportunity, and uplift neighborhoods?
Join us for a timely and inspiring conversation with four Johns Hopkins alumni whose work is helping to shape Baltimore’s present and future. Drawing from their diverse experiences across public health, education, music, and community organizing, these leaders explore what it means to show up for a city, listen deeply, and build systems rooted in trust, equity, and collaboration.
From advancing health equity and maternal care to transforming music education and public schools, our panelists demonstrate how sustained commitment and local partnership can drive meaningful change. They reflect on the paths that led them to this work, the communities that motivate them, and the lessons they’ve learned about leadership, service, and connection in Baltimore.
Featured panelists include:
Shelly Choo, MD, SOM ’11, BSPH ’14 – Community Champion Awardee (2024)
Peter Kannam, Ed ’99 – Community Champion Awardee (2021)
Daniel J. Trahey, Peab ’00 – Community Champion Awardee (2018)
Monica Guerrero Vazquez, BSPH ’18 – Community Champion Awardee (2022)
Moderated by Aaron Henkin, an award-winning public radio producer with more than two decades of experience telling stories at the intersection of culture and community. He currently serves as Content Strategist at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation, where he collaborates with public sector innovators from cities across the country and around the globe to document their research and experiences.
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