Students, faculty impact global health

Students and faculty will share how they are impacting global health during the GVSU Global Health Showcase October 14, at the Pew Grand Rapids Campus. The showcase is free and open to the public.

The event, sponsored by the College of Health Professions and the Center for Scholarly and Creative Excellence, will feature poster presentations in Loosemore Auditorium in the DeVos Center from 7:30 a.m.-noon. The theme is "Global Health Starts Locally" with keynote speaker Nkechy Ekere Ezeh, associate professor of education and director of the Early Childhood Education Program at Aquinas College. Her presentation begins at 8:15 a.m.

Ezeh is CEO and founder of the Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative in Grand Rapids and director of REACH, a non-profit organization serving vulnerable children in Grand Rapids. She received a bachelor's degree in language and literacy and a master's degree in early childhood education from Grand Valley and a doctorate in education from Nova Southeastern University in Florida. She was named a Distinguished Alumna by Grand Valley in 2016.

Ezeh was born in Nigeria, where her father was a tribal chief in their village. She has conducted professional development and parent education workshops all over the world, including Australia, China, Dubai, India, Japan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.

In 2014, Ezeh was appointed to serve a three-year term on the Michigan Department of Education's Office of Great Start Advisory Council. In 2016, she received the 2016 Hattie Beverly Education Award from Grand Rapids Community College, given to an outstanding African American educator in the Grand Rapids area. 

For more information on the Global Health Showcase, visit www.gvsu.edu/chp.