PopFam Future Changemaker Scholarship

A Chair’s Initiative to Celebrate PopFam at 50

In the past five decades, PopFam has launched the careers of more than 2,000 public health changemakers around the world. These leaders form a vibrant global community of nonprofit pioneers, policymakers, academics, scientists, and health innovators—working on the frontlines to drive change and make lives better for all people everywhere.

To celebrate this legacy and invest in the next generation of leaders, I am thrilled to launch the PopFam Future Changemaker Scholarship. Using the Chair’s Fund, we will award scholarships ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 – with a total of $50,000 per academic year. These scholarships will support outstanding PopFam students with a deep commitment to underserved populations, compelling work experience, strong academic performance, and financial need. This is about ensuring that talented leaders can thrive.

I am inviting you - PopFam alumni, partners, and friends - to help grow this fund—by matching scholarships or contributing to future cohorts. Please contribute.

Together, we can broaden our impact and shape the future of public health leadership here in New York City, across the United States, and throughout the world. PopFam is investing in bold, exceptional leaders who are redefining what’s possible in public health—today and for generations to come.

In solidarity,

Thoại D. Ngô, PhD, MHS (he/him)

Harriet and Robert H. Heilbrunn Professor and Chair Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health