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Upcoming events
Harvard Chan School hosts a diverse array of speakers, invited to share both scholarly research and personal perspectives. They do not speak for the School, and hosting them does not imply endorsement of their views, organizations, or employers.
Seminar | The ethics of AI in public health communication
Tuesday, April 23 | 1:00–1:50 pm ET | Kresge 502 or Zoom
Join Robert Jennings and Connie Moon Sehat for a discussion of their work co-chairing the ARTT and NPHIC Ethical Use of AI in Public Health Communications Working Group.
Lunch will be served.
This event is presented in collaboration with the Harvard Chan School’s Health Communication Concentration and the Stanford Health Equity Media Fellowship.
Past events
Seminar | Framing public health: Evidence-based strategies for effective communications
Tuesday, April 9 | 1:00–1:50 pm ET | Kresge 502 or Zoom
Featuring Moira O’Neil, Vice President of Research Interpretation at FrameWorks Institute.
This event was presented in collaboration with the Harvard Chan School’s Health Communication Concentration and the Stanford Health Equity Media Fellowship.
Career Panel | Building a career in health communication – Insights from industry experts
Tuesday, April 9 | 5:30–7:00 pm ET | FXB Atrium
This health communication career panel featured LaVerne Canady, Moira O’Neil, Katelyn Billings,andMary O’Reilly.
This event was presented in collaboration with the Harvard Chan School’s Health Communication Concentration.
Seminar | How leaders communicate effectively and
build trust
Thursday, March 28 | 1:00–1:50 pm ET | Kresge 502
Featuring Christine Heenan, Executive Partner and Chief Communications Officer at Flagship Pioneering.
This event was presented in collaboration with the Harvard Chan School’s Health Communication Concentration and the Stanford Health Equity Media Fellowship.
Workshop | Digital Safety DiscoTech
Thursday, March 28 | 5:30–7:30 pm ET | FXB Atrium
This interactive workshop provided attendees with the space and instructions to take action to protect their digital safety.
This event was led by Sam Mendez, who launched a digital safety kit in collaboration with our Center.
Seminar | Facts, fakes, and fascism: On mpox and misinformation
Tuesday, February 27 | 1:00–1:50 pm ET | FXB G11 or Zoom
Featuring Science Magazine journalist, Kai Kupferschmidt.
This event was presented in collaboration with the Harvard Chan School’s Health Communication Concentration and the Stanford Health Equity Media Fellowship.
Seminar | Using social media to advocate for environmental justice
Wednesday, January 24 | 1:00–1:50 pm ET | Kresge 502
Featuring Kristy Drutman, content creator and environmental educator.
This event was presented in collaboration with the Harvard Chan School’s Health Communication Concentration and the Environmental Justice Student Organization.
Workshop | Social video boot camp: How to craft compelling content for public health
Tuesday, January 23 | 5:30–8:00 pm ET | FXB G10
Featuring Kristy Drutman, content creator and environmental educator.
Seminar | Today’s media landscape, and what it means for public health
Wednesday, November 15 | 1:00–1:50 pm ET | Kresge 502
Featuring Dick Tofel, a veteran news executive and former president of ProPublica
Seminar | Crisis communications and reputation management in our times
Wednesday, November 8 | 1:00–1:50 pm ET | Kresge 502
Featuring Gabby Stern, director of communications at the World Health Organization
Seminar | Creators for change
Tuesday, October 31 | 1:00–1:50 pm ET | Kresge 200
Featuring David Craig, visiting scholar at the Institute for Rebooting Social Media at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center and clinical professor, USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism.
Seminar | Communications for policy impact: Messaging for public health leaders
Thursday, October 12 | 1:00–1:50 pm ET | Kresge G2 and virtual
Featuring Andy Burness, founder and president of health and science communications firm Burness.
Seminar | Unprecedented: Lessons learned from covering fast moving pandemics
Wednesday, September 20 | 1:00–1:50 pm ET | Kresge 502
Featuring Apoorva Mandavilli, science and health journalist at the New York Times.
Creators Summit on Mental Health @ Harvard Chan School
August 3-4 / all day
In August 2023, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health reconvened leading creators from our 2023 Creators Summit on Mental Health for an exclusive in-person followup. Participating creators engaged with experts and clinicians at Harvard and beyond to talk about cutting-edge research and policy prescriptions, learn key evidence-based health communication principles, and share their communications expertise with our campus community. Learn more about the agenda.
Top social media influencers on how to build a successful social-video channel
Friday, August 4 / 1:00—1:50 pm / Kresge 502 and virtual
Top mental health influencers discussed how to effectively use TikTok and other social platforms to communicate health information and inspire audiences to act.
This special all-access event, intended for Harvard students and staff, was part of the Center for Health Communication’s invitation-only Creators Summit on Mental Health.
Creators Summit on Mental Health
April 5-28 / Virtual
Throughout April 2023, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health convened an exclusive group of leading mental-health creators for a virtual summit. Participating creators engaged with experts and clinicians at Harvard and beyond to talk about cutting-edge research, emerging policy prescriptions, and critical new resources in mental health.
Explore the summit and meet our participating creators.
Spring workshop | Learn to use TikTok to share health and science information
Tuesday, March 21 and April 4 / 5:30-8:o0 pm ET
Student workshop | From Act Against AIDS to Let’s Stop HIV Together: The 14-year evolution of an HIV campaign
Thursday, March 23 / 1-1:50 pm ET
Lessons learned about framing, priority audiences, and unintended effects from Jo Ellen Stryker, Chief of the Prevention Communication Branch in the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Panel + Networking Hour | Careers in Health Communication
Wednesday, March 22 / 5:30-7:00 pm ET
AMA | New York Times global-health reporter Stephanie Nolen
Wednesday, March 22 / 1-1:50 pm ET
In this event, Stephanie Nolen, a journalist at the New York Times, answered student questions about global-health journalism.
Student workshop | TikTok, Gen-Z influencers, and the child tax credit: Lessons for public health
Wednesday, February 8 / 1-1:50 pm ET
Featuring Mikka Kei Macdonald, creative director, Community Change, and Ashwath Narayanan, founder + CEO, Social Currant.
New course | Engaging with the Press: A Practical Look at Effective Public Health Communications
Fall 2022
In this 7-class noncredit seminar, Richard J. Tofel, former president of ProPublica and distinguished visiting fellow at Harvard Chan, gives students a deeper understanding of the relationship between public health and the press, a subject of particular importance in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read our Q&A with Tofel about why this class matters. Follow us on Twitter to catch up on key lessons learned each week.
Student workshop | How to use narrative to highlight disparities and catalyze change
Tuesday, November 8 / 1-1:50 pm ET
Featuring Linda Villarosa, contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine and author of “Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation.”
Student workshop | Countering health misinformation: What really works
Thursday, October 27 / 1-1:50 pm ET
Featuring Briony Swire-Thompson, head of the Psychology of Misinformation Lab at Northeastern University.
Student workshop | A COVID-era case study in modern crisis communication
Friday, September 30 / 1-1:50 pm ET
Featuring Gabriella Stern, director of communications at the World Health Organization.
Social | Fall open house for health and science communicators
Monday, September 26 / 5-6:30 pm
Today’s public health leaders must engage with an increasingly fragmented and skeptical world. This open house provided attendees with insights about how the Center for Health Communication and the Health Communication Concentration can help them to become more powerful health and science communicators.
Seminar | The Media and the Message: Understanding the Media Landscape and Its Impact on Public Health
Spring 2022
In this three-part, noncredit seminar, veteran health journalist Joanne Kenen gave students a clear view of changes in the American media landscape and how they affect public health.
Read one student’s reflections on what they learned in this course.
