“You can’t just sit in an office and write rules that will impact real people and expect a certain reaction. It’s our job in public health to get out there into the community and think about who we are not seeing, why are we not seeing that person, and how can we show up for that person?”
Rabi Yunusa, assistant teaching professor of Global Health and Health Systems and Population Health
Rabi Yunusa has made community-based work central to everything she does as a faculty at SPH. For her work, she received the 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award. Given annually by the UW Health Sciences schools and UW Medicine, this award honors individuals or groups who exemplify Martin Luther King, Jr.’s principles through commitment to addressing community needs, particularly communities of color and low income; development and implementation of significant programs to improve the human condition; and outstanding efforts to protect and empower all individuals.
Yunusa is a close partner of communities both in and out of the UW and is described by peers as “a cornerstone of our community, a source of inspiration and strength for all of us.” Yunusa is integral to the School’s equity, diversity and inclusion committees, and connects faculty of color with support. She serves as a faculty mentor to the International Student Survival and Success Program, advising their work on building community for international students, particularly those from the School’s global south partners.