As a fellow, Kelly will be working toward a master of public health degree through an initiative designed to tackle critical health issues.
Callie Kelly, assistant director of Campus Recreation and Wellness for student wellness at Elon University, has been named a 2022 Bloomberg Fellow as part of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
As a fellow, Kelly will be part of a 60-member cohort that will receive world-class public health training to tackle critical health issues across the country. She has been awarded a full scholarship to pursue a master of public health degree at Johns Hopkins University.
The Bloomberg American Health initiative was established in 2016 with a $300 million gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies in honor of the centennial of the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Through education, research, and practice, the Bloomberg American Health Initiative works to tackle critical 21st-century challenges to health in the United States, aiming to improve health and save lives nationwide. The Initiative has since its founding emphasized advancing equity, using evidence, and changing policy.
“At this critical moment for the health of our nation, we are excited to welcome this new class of Bloomberg Fellows to the school,” says Bloomberg School Dean Ellen J. MacKenzie. “Through the fellowship, we are looking forward to partnering with and strengthening great organizations across the country.”
The initiative selects fellows from organizations working on one of five critical health challenges facing the nation: addiction and overdose, environmental challenges, obesity and the food system, adolescent health, and violence. Kelly is one of 20 fellows who will be working in the area of addiction and overdose. The fellows come from 24 states and the District of Columbia.
“I believe my entire career has prepared me for this very moment,” Kelly says. “Studying at the Bloomberg School of Public Health is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I am incredibly humbled and grateful to be among the fellows.”
Kelly oversees a range of substance education programs at Elon, including advising the ASHES substance-free living and learning community and the Phoenix Free collegiate recovery program. Prior to coming to Elon in 2016, Kelly served as a prevention specialist with SouthLight Healthcare in Raleigh, N.C., and with Alcohol and Drug Services of Guilford in Greensboro, N.C. Kelly has also worked as a tobacco education specialist.
“Elon’s collaboration and partnership with the Bloomberg American Health Initiative will provide a unique opportunity to align our missions to significantly impact public health outcomes related to student mental health and substance use,” Kelly says.
Kelly is actively involved in various local and statewide organizations that address substance misuse and recovery in higher education. She is also a member of the Association of Recovery in Higher Education (ARHE), The Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC) and Addiction Professionals of North Carolina (APNC).
In May, she received the Innovation Award from Elon’s Division of Student Life, an award presented to a professional who has developed programs, services or ways of working that are new, unique or forge new pathways in supporting our divisional mission and goals.
Launched in 2017, the Bloomberg Fellows program provides full scholarships for full- or part-time study. Fellows agree that upon completion of the program, they will work for their collaborating organization for at least one additional year.