Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act

Congress has passed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act; it is expected to be signed into law shortly. Emory was successful in advocating for a number of earmarks in the original version of the legislation; unfortunately, the final version removed all member designated projects. There are still a number of provisions that are beneficial to Georgia - more details can be found here. 

Emory Healthcare Veterans Program

In honor of Veterans Day, the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program hosted a congressional briefing on November 4th. Sarah Schwartz and Shaun Lewis spoke with dozens of congressional staffers about the life changing work happening for warriors suffering from PTSD. The OGCA team will continue to raise awareness about the tools available at Emory to serve our veterans. 

NIH Advocacy

Emory has signed on to the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research letter to Appropriations Committee leadership urging $46.4 billion for the NIH base in the final FY 2022 spending bill.

Request for Nominations 

MSK Legislative Tour 

On November 8, members of the state Senate and House Health and Human Services Committees toured the new Emory Musculoskeletal Institute at Executive Park. Dr. Scott Boden, director of the Emory Musculoskeletal Institute and chair of the Department of Orthopaedics, and Jenel Wisdom, manager of clinical operations for Emory Orthopaedics, led the tour and highlighted for lawmakers how this state-of-the-art treatment and training facility will help attract and retain top talent to Georgia.

Clarkston Trunk or Treat

On October 31, OGCA and the Emory School of Medicine (SOM) participated in the 5th Annual Clarkston Trunk or Treat with Clarkston Mayor, Beverly Burks. Emory physicians (Drs. Stacy Higgins, Zanthia Wiley, and Janice Newsome) and medical students (Allen and Alice) were on hand to answer questions about COVID and flu vaccines as well as general health and wellness. A special thanks to everyone from the SOM for participating in this community event.

Latino Youth Leadership Conference

On November 6, the Latin American Association in partnership with Emory University hosted the 22nd Annual Latino Youth Leadership Conference (LYLC). Led by Professors Vialla Hartfield-Mendez and Karen Stolley and hosted by the Hatchery and Carlos Museum, this event welcomed approximately 100 high school and middle school students from around the Atlanta region. Special thanks to the dozens of Emory student mentor-guides from Emory, Georgia State, University of Georgia, and Kennesaw State University as well as assistant professor in the School of Nursing Roxana Chicas who shared her wonderful story. OCGA’s Alan Anderson, assistant vice president for university partnerships, supported and attended the event. Click here for more pictures.

Highlights from November 2 Election Results

• Doug Shipman will likely be in a run-off for Atlanta City Council President with Natalyn Mosby Achibong.
• Alex Wan won his old Atlanta City Council seat back (replacing Jennifer Ide who is stepping down).
• Amir Farokhi was unopposed and will continue to represent EUHM and our Midtown land holdings.  
• John Funny is the new Brookhaven City Councilman (replacing Joe Gebbia who retired) for Executive Park and Emory’s interests there. 
• Frank Auman was re-elected as Mayor of Tucker, in which Emory’s Ortho & Spine Hospital and facility at Northlake reside.
• Rusty Paul was re-elected as Mayor of Sandy Springs, in which Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital resides.
• John Bradberry will be the new Mayor of Johns Creek (replacing Mike Bodker who is stepping down), home to Emory Johns Creek Hospital.

Congratulations to Jessica Davis, Director of Federal Affairs, who has been selected for the 2022 class of the Woodruff Leadership Academy (WLA).  Begun in 2003, WLA combines a program of classroom sessions, off-site team projects, and weekend retreats to motivate professionals and managers within the Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center to develop, exercise, and strengthen individual leadership potential.

Congratulations to Brandon Gardner, Associate Director of Community Engagement, who will be co-leading one of Emory's Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). Emory's Human Resources team supports the ERGs. Brandon will be the co-chair for the African American Employee Group, where he hopes to empower, motivate, inspire, and maximize the potential of Emory's African American employees and allies.

For the next 6 months, Cameron Taylor is serving as interim VP for Communications and Marketing. She also continues to serve as VP for OCGA, and appreciates her team’s hard work during this period.