Author Archives: Elena Rosenbaum, Marva Richards, Andrea Gordon

About Elena Rosenbaum, Marva Richards, Andrea Gordon

Marva M. Richards MPH is Director of Community Outreach and Service Learning at Albany Medical College and helps medical students and community organizations form collaborations for meaningful service in Albany and the Capital Region as part of the medical education curriculum and as a means of growing future physicians who understand the non-biological determinants of health. Marva’s contribution to the design of the Service-Learning program’s introduction to the Social Determinants of Albany’s Health (SoDAH Day) during the first week of medical student orientation has evolved to a multi-day activity. As a member of two community task forces and as a board member on grass roots community organizations she recruits and facilitates a panel of diverse members of the community to illustrate to students the impact of structural racism in the communities where they live and work. She precepts the 4th yr. elective “Culture and Medicine”, delivers presentations on structural violence and the impact of racism on health disparities to NY state agencies, pediatric residents, pharmacy students, and various community groups. She is a 5-term member of the College’s Admissions Ranking Committee and is Associate Director of the college’s only long-standing pathway program for high school students. Marva is a founding member of the recently formed Restorative Justice Team at Albany Medical College and is completing the University of San Diego Restorative Justice Leadership and Facilitation Certificate program while designing RJ circles to facilitate conversations with medical staff about root causes of the social barriers to health.