Secretary of North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services Dr. Mandy Cohen recently received an honor from her alma mater.

Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health released its alumni awards for 2020 this past week. Cohen, who earned her master’s degree from the university in 2004, was given the Leadership in Public Health Practice Award.

“[Cohen’s] strong leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic response, including her use of data and ability to communicate calmly and with empathy, compassion, and transparency, led many North Carolina citizens and elected officials to band together, such that the state was called one of five that will recover from the pandemic,” said the School of Public Health in a release.

Cohen tweeted her gratitude for the recognition on Wednesday.

“Thank you [Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health] for this incredible honor at such a critical moment for public health,” she wrote. “Eternal gratitude to the incredible team at NCDHHS who share in this recognition. Thank you [North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper] for the opportunity to serve!”

The internal medicine physician has served in the Secretary of Health role since being appointed by Cooper in 2017. Cohen also teaches as an adjunct professor in health policy and management at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

To read the full list of Harvard Public Health’s 2020 Alumni Awards, visit their website.

Photo via the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.

Related Stories
‹
WHO Downgrades COVID Pandemic, Says It’s No Longer Emergency
Written by MARIA CHENG and JAMEY KEATEN The World Health Organization said Friday that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies worldwide and killed at least 7 million people worldwide. WHO first declared COVID-19 to be an emergency more […]
Loneliness Poses Risks as Deadly as Smoking, Surgeon General Warns
Written by AMANDA SEITZ Widespread loneliness in the U.S. poses health risks as deadly as smoking a dozen cigarettes daily, costing the health industry billions of dollars annually, the U.S. surgeon general said Tuesday in declaring the latest public health epidemic. About half of U.S. adults say they’ve experienced loneliness, Dr. Vivek Murthy said in […]
US Deaths From COVID Hit 1 Million, Less Than 2 1/2 Years In
Written by CARLA K. JOHNSON The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 1 million on Monday, a once-unimaginable figure that only hints at the multitudes of loved ones and friends staggered by grief and frustration. The confirmed number of dead is equivalent to a 9/11 attack every day for 336 days. It is roughly equal […]
How a Kennedy Built an Anti-Vaccine Juggernaut Amid COVID-19
Written by MICHELLE R. SMITH Robert F. Kennedy Jr. strode onto the stage at a Southern California church, radiating Kennedy confidence and surveying the standing ovation crowd with his piercing blue Bobby Kennedy eyes. Then, he launched into an anti-vaccine rant. Democrats “drank the Kool-Aid,” he told people assembled for a far right conference, branded […]
North Carolina Moves To Limit Out-of-State Access To Vaccine
North Carolina is shifting its vaccine distribution guidance to dissuade people from traveling long distances to receive a COVID-19 shot in the state. Under updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention clarifying travel policies, North Carolina has enacted stricter vaccination policies to improve North Carolinians’ access to the vaccine. “To promote the […]
South Carolina Considers Breaking up Public Health Agency
South Carolina’s public health workers have been tasked with keeping the state safe for 143 years, ever since lawmakers created a health board in 1878 after a yellow fever outbreak killed 20,000 Americans. Now, as the coronavirus pandemic surges, legislators are trying to break their agency apart. As in most states, South Carolina’s public health […]
North Carolina Revises Vaccine Distribution Plan, Halts Evictions
North Carolina is making substantial changes to its coronavirus vaccine distribution plan, paving the way for all adults 75 years or older to be prioritized under the first phase of distribution. Mandy Cohen, the state’s top public health official, said in a news conference Wednesday that residents in that age group can expect to get […]
Pandemic Backlash Jeopardizes Public Health Powers, Leaders
Tisha Coleman has lived in close-knit Linn County, Kansas, for 42 years and never felt so alone. As the public health administrator, she’s struggled every day of the coronavirus pandemic to keep her rural county along the Missouri border safe. In this community with no hospital, she’s failed to persuade her neighbors to wear masks and take […]
Orange County Shares Eventual Vaccine Distribution Plan for Residents
The Orange County Health Department shared its COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan for residents on Friday, a phased rollout of the drug mirroring that of North Carolina’s health department. With the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine earning approval from the federal Food and Drug Administration Friday, North Carolina is expected to receive thousands of initial doses. Vaccination, however, […]
Orange County Sheriff's Office Limits Public Access, Cites Local COVID-19 Spread
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office closed its office access to the public this week, a temporary move to protect its workers’ and the public’s health amid rises in COVID-19 cases. Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood signed a printed letter on the door of the office in Hillsborough, saying the measure is to protect the health […]
›