Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley to speak at Global Health Initiative Symposium and Dinner

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley ’09

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley will be the featured speaker at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine’s Global Health Initiative Symposium and Dinner.

The event will be Monday, April 4, at 6 p.m., in the Berry Room at the Wright State University Nutter Center. A silent auction will be held to raise funds for medical students in the International Education Program.

The theme for this year’s symposium and dinner is “Global Is Local.” The annual event brings distinguished speakers to share their perspectives on international health issues and raises funds to assist medical students in traveling to underdeveloped countries.

Most of the money raised goes to fourth-year students in the International Education Program, who are required to complete a rotation abroad. Participation in national and international medical aid, research and cultural experiences helps these future doctors gain a better understanding of the global nature of medicine and public health. The hope is that, by creating a more experienced health care team, medical care delivery and health outcomes will improve throughout the world.

Whaley’s career has been distinguished by her commitment to public service, civic involvement and interest in local government. First elected to the Dayton City Commission in 2005 at the age of 29, she was the youngest woman ever chosen for a commission seat in the city. She was elected mayor of Dayton in November 2013.

She is committed to strengthening Dayton’s communities through thoughtful and strategic programming. She led the community in creating a county-wide land bank system to address the local housing crisis with a more regional approach and serves on the Montgomery County Land Reutilization Corporation, whose mission is “to facilitate the transition of blighted, foreclosed and abandoned properties into viable, marketable properties by working collaboratively with public and private entities in a financially responsible, transparent manner.”

Whaley earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Dayton and her Master of Public Administration degree from Wright State University, where she remains involved in teaching a course on Women and Leadership, and working with university administrators and faculty on an effort to cultivate women leaders throughout the community.

The Global Health Initiative (GHI) was founded in 2000 by Boonshoft School of Medicine first-year students. GHI’s mission is to enhance the education of Wright State medical students by facilitating their exposure to both the medical issues facing people in other countries and the medical issues of people in this country who have immigrated from other countries, and in so doing, inspire greater compassion, social justice and empathy within Wright State’s future physicians.

For more information, contact Nicki Crellin, associate director for advancement, at nicki.crellin@wright.edu or 937-245-7628.

Register for the event at medicine.wright.edu/ghi-symposium.