Join the Using Systems Thinking for Global Challenges and Social Change (virtual) Intersession Course M-F at 10:30-11:45AM. (AS.280.256 (12) . This course is for undergraduate credit only and serves to support students engaging in Map the System. Register here!
Map the System is a global competition, hosted by Oxford University, focused on exploring the broader context of social and environmental issues. All Johns Hopkins students can compete as part of a team on the Homewood campus.
“Seeking to understand systems requires more than just technical know-how and mapping skills; it also requires heart and a connection to our own and others’ humanity.”
The Map the System competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students at Johns Hopkins University. No experience in systems mapping is necessary. Individuals outside the Hopkins community are also eligible to join a team. However, all teams in the competition must comprise at least one Johns Hopkins student or recent graduate and have a maximum of five active team members.
Employers and Experts are invited to share their insights from the field by offering competitive student teams an opportunity to tap into professionals. Employers provide students with real-world perspectives, offer current challenges to the topic and enrich their understanding of complex issues and guide them towards innovative solutions.
Employers engaged in MTS JHU offer 2 phone conversations with a team, sharing perspectives. JHU offers access to a select team of students, and invitation to the JHU Competition and recognition as a Map the Systems Innovative Employer at JHU.
Map the System is run by the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, in partnership with educational institutions worldwide who each run the competition at their institution. On the Oxford site, you will find winning submissions from previous Global Finals, a list of past judges, FAQs, and much more.
Group Members: YounJung (YJ) Na, Melanie Vukovich, Georgia Artzberger
YJ, Melanie, and Georgia are MSPH students at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Together, they have diverse experiences in migrant health, infectious diseases, environmental health, and health systems issues to investigate a significant public health issue in the United States. They are excited to form the research team PathPals, representing the movement of people and diseases over time.
Breast Cancer – A Death Sentence for Ugandan Women?
Group Members: Dory Bittle, Teja Sathi, Kim Hwang Yeo
Breast cancer is the world’s most prevalent cancer and is the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide: 685,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer died in 2020. In Uganda, the age-standardized incidence is 21.3/100,000, and almost half of Ugandan women diagnosed with breast cancer will die of the disease. These high mortality rates are often explained by women presenting with late-stage disease when treatment is more challenging and outcomes are poor.
Our work seeks to understand the broader systemic challenges that women with breast cancer face, delving into the interactions with wider stakeholder relations that are keeping the current state of breast cancer inequity at the status quo. We combine our experience in Uganda, stakeholder interviews, and secondary research to put forth compelling approaches to make meaningful impact on this challenge.
Dory Bittle
Dory is a Masters of Science in Public Health student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. At Bloomberg, she studies population, family, and reproductive health. After graduation, she hopes to design, implement, and evaluate global sexual and reproductive health behavioral interventions and programs for adolescents and youth.
Teja Sathi
Teja Sathi is a mechanical and biomedical engineer committed to improving health outcomes for marginalized communities via medical technology innovation. Prior to joining the Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design in 2022, Teja was an R&D engineer at W. L. Gore and Associates’ Medical Products Division.
Kim Hwang
Kim Hwang, Yeo is a bioengineer focused on advancing healthcare technologies through cutting-edge, interdisciplinary approaches. He completed his BSc in Bioengineering at UC Berkeley with a departmental citation in 2022 and has trained in MSE in biomedical innovation and design at Johns Hopkins.
Juliet Zon
Juliet Zon is a general medical practitioner trained in Ghana and a first-year MPH/MBA student at Johns Hopkins University. With her background in healthcare and business, she is dedicated to bridging global health inequity gaps and strengthening health systems in underserved populations through innovative and evidence-based models.
Group Members: Deya Chatteriji, Anusha Sharda, Abbi Devins
Coach: Megan Christofield
Deya Chatterji
I am a full-time MPH student focusing on health systems and policy. I am very passionate about global health and health advocacy and am pursuing certificates in those areas. I have previously trained as a physician from India. I did my residency in community medicine. My journey in public health started even before I knew about the field of public health. I have advocated for adolescent and women’s health in my village in rural West Bengal, India. After providing a decade of health education and care, I decided to start an NGO, “The Golden Hour Foundation,” with some of my fellow villagers who dream of providing care to the people of that village and surrounding areas within the Golden Hour. I wanted to understand the role of policymaking in rolling out health services, which brought me to Hopkins. I joined the MTS platform to dive deeper into the issues that affect the quality of service provision in maternal health services among various racial groups.
Abbi Devins
I’m a full-stack software developer studying to be an AI engineer. I have a background in medicine (I am a doctor of medicine), but I chose to pursue engineering as a career after graduating from my program. I am interested in finding solutions to the reproductive healthcare discrepancies in this country, which is why I joined the MAP system project here at JHU this year. I hope to be able to combine my background in medicine, software engineering, and artificial intelligence to find solutions to this complex issue.
Anshu Sharda
I am a freshman at JHU, studying neuroscience and economics, and I am on the pre-med track. Through MAP the System, I am interested in researching more into social issues relating to healthcare so that I can learn more about disparities in medicine and potential solutions.
Group Members: Anayeli Garcia Villa and Louie Martinez
Anayeli Garcia Villa
Anayeli Garcia Villa is a senior at Johns Hopkins University majoring in Environmental Health Engineering. Her interests in environmental engineering include water quality, drinking water, and wastewater treatment systems. Her experiences growing up in rural Mexico helped her understand the direct ties between access to public infrastructure and public health. Anayeli served as project lead for Engineers Without Borders, working on the final implementation phase of a water distribution system in a rural Guatemala community. Anayeli’s experiences motivated her to participate in Map the System to further understand why specific communities lack access to safe drinking water.
Louie Martinez
Louie Martinez is a senior at Johns Hopkins University majoring in Public Health Studies. Louie’s interests in public health are interdisciplinary and include food/water systems, health education, and rural health outcomes. Louie has worked extensively with the Center for Indigenous Health (CIH) throughout the Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, and Baltimore. Louie grew up in an old uranium mining town in rural New Mexico, where water contamination and lack of governmental oversight have exacerbated negative health-related consequences across the greater southwestern United States. Louie’s upbringing and his work during his undergraduate career have fueled an interest in water security work and water justice.
As a Map the System program coach, April Foiles brings a wealth of experience in educational innovation and a deep commitment to leveraging systems thinking for social and environmental change. April is certified in design thinking and is a skilled facilitator and coach. She is the Assistant Director of Learning Innovation and Technology at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. Her notable achievements include being awarded the 2018 Johns Hopkins Idea Lab grant for connecting people across differences. In fulfillment of that grant, April produced a highly attended storytelling show in collaboration with Stoop Storytelling which addressed preconceptions people have about each other, and recorded interviews between twenty conservative and liberal pairs of people in partnership with StoryCorps; these interviews are now housed at the Library of Congress.
After over a decade as a university professor, Heather Braun is now a Senior Assistant Director of Life Design Lab at Johns Hopkins University. She studied design thinking at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design and has led human-centered design workshops at Stanford University’s Bechtel International Center, the University of Akron, Lafayette College, and organizations around the U.S. She has piloted Design Your Life programs for incoming freshmen and working professionals, co-founded a 5k and a writer’s conference in Macon, GA, and worked with aspiring young writers in Akron, OH through Reimagining the Civic Commons, a national initiative supporting urban equity, environmental sustainability, and economic development. Heather currently leads life design and career readiness courses for Hopkins students, alumni, and working professionals. She also facilitates sessions for Reflection Point, a non-profit that fosters empathy and inclusive workspaces through the open discussion of literature.
Isabel is a seasoned designer and educator passionate about community empowerment and healthcare equity. For the past eight years, she has dedicated her expertise to collaborating with community organizations in Baltimore, focusing on improving healthcare access for the Latino population, with a particular emphasis on Latina women and reproductive health. In her current role, Isabel is a coach and trainer, guiding undergraduate students in their mission to support families in accessing public benefits and vital community resources. Her work addresses the social determinants of health within clinical settings, combining her design acumen with her commitment to equitable healthcare access. With a keen understanding of the complex intersections between healthcare, community dynamics, and systemic barriers, Isabel brings a holistic approach to her coaching and training efforts. Through her leadership, she empowers students to navigate these challenges with empathy, resourcefulness, and a dedication to fostering positive change in the lives of vulnerable populations.
Keira is a full-time celebration enthusiast focusing on what makes us revel and how communities unite to thrive. She is the Sr. Assistant Director of Life Design at Johns Hopkins, leveraging creative spaces, futurist and feminist lens, host for The Dinner Party, navigating conversations on grief, and performer in Philadelphia’s Vaudevillian New Year Brigade.
Bringing more than 14 years of experience in non-profits and higher education as a facilitator, career coach, and civic boundary spanner, she believes we learn who we are through a tenacious pursuit of self-knowledge and the letting go of fear to offer our unique form of generosity. In the past, she has worked for Grinnell College in service and social Innovation, Princeton University’s civic engagement, and with Friends General Conference expanding welcoming communities. Keira is a certified career coach, holds a Master of Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and certifications in Harvard Business and Johns Hopkins Innovative Design Thinking. linkedin.com/in/keira-wilson/
Kevin Parker’s career has been focused on public service innovation, holding senior advisory roles at the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins, spearheading unemployment insurance modernization at the U.S. Department of Labor, and leading technology initiatives in North Dakota, Illinois, and Rhode Island, Boston, and Las Vegas. His work emphasizes technology-driven solutions, workforce development, and user-centric digital designs to foster a culture of learning and organizational change. Kevin recently grew his expertise through fellowships at New America’s New Practice Lab, Georgetown University’s Beeck Center, and Harvard’s Belfer Center, Technology and Public Purpose program. He holds a BA from the University of Illinois, an MBA from Boston University, and an Ed.M from Harvard University. Beyond his professional endeavors, Kevin enjoys exploring unique destinations, collecting and creating art, indulging in political satire, and playing basketball.
Marsha Lynn Hammond can be found at the intersection of design, healthcare, education, and hope. Having received an MA in Teaching and a BFA in Interdisciplinary Sculpture from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Marsha brings creativity, curiosity, and innovation to her work as an Educator, Designer, and Entrepreneur. For over a decade, Marsha served as Assistant Director of Career Development at MICA and has held various roles prior, including Director of Undergraduate Admission, Head of International Recruitment, and Adjunct Faculty.
Since 2015, Marsha has served as the Founder, Creator, and CEO of Mind the Current LLC, a social enterprise supporting cancer patients, hospitals, and oncology professionals worldwide with products and services to reframe clinical treatment mentally. Her flagship product, DhremoTherapy IV Decals, can be found at www.dhremo.com. (“Dream-oh” Therapy rhymes with Chemotherapy). Her social impact work in oncology and entrepreneurship has garnered her recognition as a Warnock Social Innovation Fellow, Purdue Business School’s Shore Hatchery Top Pitch Winner, OpenWorks Enterprise Fellow, and thought leader and speaker for audiences including Google Women Tech-Makers, AOL Inspire Series, Parsons School of Design and CancerCon, the largest international conference for the Adolescent and Young Adult cancer community.
With over 13 years of experience as a communications and partnerships strategist, Meei has navigated the realms of high-profile organizations like the World Bank, International Finance Corporation, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs with finesse. Her knack for thought leadership shines through as she crafts captivating content on diverse subjects ranging from agriculture to renewable energy.
But Meei’s journey isn’t confined to boardrooms and think tanks – she’s a true explorer. From co-founding a startup to consulting in the private sector, her path has been as varied as her interests. Starting as a “hard science” fan in the labs of Singapore, she seamlessly transitioned into the social sciences, earning a BA in Political Economy of Industrial Societies. Not one to rest on her laurels, she delved deeper, pursuing an MA in Asian Studies with a philosophical focus. linkedin.com/in/meeichild/
Megan Christofield is a Project Director & Principal Technical Advisor at Jhpiego, where she supports teams around the globe to introduce and scale up access to contraceptives, apply systematic advocacy approaches, and use systems thinking, foresight, and design to amplify impact. She is a creative thinker and recognized thought leader, published in the Journal of Global Health Science & Practice, BMJ Global Health, and STAT. Megan is trained in reproductive health, design thinking, and leadership & management from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and in Futures Studies and Speculative Design from Parsons. She has an undergraduate degree in Peace Studies.
Wanda Scott Erinle is the founder and CEO of two businesses, WE Consulting Solutions and Empowerment School. She brings deep expertise from her career, navigating diverse environments into her facilitation, coaching, and consulting. She has 30 years of expertise in managing customer expectations, designing and delivering training, and coaching employees at all levels to build inclusive and emotional intelligence competencies in diverse, high-demand environments. Her experiences give her critical insights into unique challenges that inform her coaching, facilitation, and leadership development work. She has a proven track record of helping her clients become more self-aware, building on their strengths mentally, emotionally, and spiritually so that they become better communicators empowered to influence change.
Wilson Lamy is an Assistant Director of JHM Quality & Safety System Initiatives and a certified Lean Sigma Master Black Belt for Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil and Architectural Engineering from Drexel University.
Wilson has over 25 years of experience leading, coaching, mentoring, and facilitating teams in Operations from manufacturing to supply chain in his first 18 years and healthcare for the last seven years. He enables healthcare professionals to solve problems more effectively and improve the healthcare experience for patients and staff. Wilson enjoys volunteering and being involved with the community by mentoring youth and leading Hispanic/Latino organizations for the last 21 years, most recently as co-chair for Hopkins Familia, a JHM Hispanic/Latino Employee Resource Group (ERG) for the previous five years, focusing in three key areas career development, patient care, and community outreach. linkedin.com/in/wilsonlamy/
