People
The Global Public Health and the Common Good program is led by an interdisciplinary team of faculty and practitioners in disciplines ranging from nursing, social work, law, and education to biology, communications, engineering, and more.
Leadership
Summer Sherburne Hawkins, Ph.D.
DIRECTOR, GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE COMMON GOOD
PROFESSOR, BOSTON COLLEGE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR CHILD AND FAMILY POLICY
Summer Sherburne Hawkins is a social epidemiologist with an interest in addressing policy-relevant research questions in women鈥檚 and children鈥檚 health. Her research examines the impact of policies on health disparities in parents and children, particularly using methodology that integrates epidemiology and economics. She uses applied econometric techniques to evaluate natural experiments created through policy changes within and between US states, including substance use policies, reproductive health-related policies, breastfeeding policies, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Professor Hawkins has published in prominent peer-reviewed public health journals on the topics of tobacco and cannabis use, maternal morbidity and mortality, infant feeding practices, and preventive health services as well as the impact of state policies on disparities in these health behaviors and outcomes.
In addition to her roles at Boston College, she is also chair of the SACRU Working Group 6 on Gender Equity in the University and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. Prior to joining 天美传媒appSSW, Professor Hawkins was a Cohort 7 Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholar at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health from 2009-2011.
Timothy Karcz
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE COMMON GOOD
Timothy Karcz manages the operations of the GPHCG program related to academics, communications, and student-facing programming, applying his experience in interational public health, environmental health and as the Assistant Director for the 天美传媒app Center for Human Rights and International Justice. Prior to coming to 天美传媒app, Tim worked as a Project Support Officer for an international public health organization working in Latin America and Africa, supporting projects related to pandemic influenza, maternal and child health and HIV/AIDS. He holds an MA in Higher Education Administration from Boston College and a BA in Environmental Science with a focus in Biology from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
听
Program Affiliates
Mar铆a Alejandra Guti茅rrez Torres
Doctoral student
Research Interests: Public health, peacebuilding, early childhood development, mental health, gender, social justice and equity, migration, forced displacement, intervention design, Colombia, and Latin America听
Kurt Straif
Visiting Professor
Research Interests: Environmental, occupational and behavioral risk and preventive factors of cancer; Global control of cancer as integral part of the SDG 2030 agenda; more recently, epidemiology of COVID-19; the health impact of the climate crisis.
Jacqueline Calder贸n
Visiting Professor
Dr. Calder贸n is a research professor at the Autonomous University of San Luis Potos铆 in Mexico. She researches environmental toxicology and has led studies on the relationship between contaminants such as arsenic and lead, and public health. Her research has also explored the impacts of environmental factors on breast cancer.
Student Ambassadors, 2026鈥�2027
Because of their merit and passion for public health, GPHCG Student Ambassadors have been selected to represent the program at 天美传媒app and beyond. It is their job to lead the next generation of public health professionals and help create meaningful impact in their communities.