After two semesters of preparation, the graduates of the Penn Community Scholars Program will present their innovative ideas to potential collaborators and funders.

The event will include networking opportunities, the pitch presentations, and a keynote presentation from Dr. Rafael Pérez-Figueroa, Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Community Engagement and Public Health Service at Rutgers University School of Public Health.

An esteemed judges panel of funders and academics will choose who gets the “top pitch” awards. This year’s judges panel includes:

• Rafael E. Pérez-Figueroa, MD, MPH – Rutgers (keynote speaker)
• Meghan Lane-Fall, MD, MSHP – Penn
• Heather (Falck) Major – IBX Foundation
• Melody Esther Tulier DrPH, MPH, MCP – Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• Victoria A. Cargill, MD – Milken Institute
• Jocelyn Jones Arnold – Gender Justice Fund, and previously City of Philadelphia

Now in its ninth year, the Penn Community Scholars Program was developed to foster and promote community-academic partnerships and community-based participatory research. This 14-session training is designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of community members to serve as equal partners in research. The Program features guest speakers from community-academic partnerships and other topic area experts in health equity, health care innovation, and more. In addition to learning the foundations of research, leaders from community organizations receive tools and resources to craft their “pitch” in a way that is attractive to funders and academic partners.

Join us for a morning of connection, collaboration, and celebration with some of the best community and academic leaders in Philadelphia.

We think you’ll want to stick around…
After the symposium, the REACH Accelerator will take place 12:30pm-2pm – a networking event to connect you with potential community or academic partners, and a time to meet the REACH team who can help you meet your personal and organizational goals.