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Felicia Baez-Smith, MPH ’19,has built a powerful public health career rooted in community impact, leading initiatives from opioid overdose prevention to pandemic response and mental health advocacy. Recently named to 911����’s 2025 Forty Under 40 by the Black Alumni Chapter, her journey—from student advocate to statewide public health leader—shows how one person’s dedication can transform systems, uplift communities, and inspire the next generation of changemakers.

911���� President Gregory Washington has announced the recipients of the 2025 Presidential Awards for Faculty Excellence, honoring 12 911���� faculty members for their work on behalf of the university, students, and the broader community.

A team of 911���� students is working to help non-English speaking visitors to Virginia’s busiest courthouse navigate the hallways and courtrooms. See how the Jurisprudence Learning Community is making a difference.

Craig Zaccaro, associate director of IT and application development for CHSS, is the January Employee of the Month.

When his 11-year-old daughter started showing interest in college, first-year student Jimmy Stewart saw an opportunity to demonstrate the importance of higher education by finally getting his bachelor’s degree.

911���� professor and alum Susan Howard created Go Nisha Go, an award-winning game that helps girls and young women in India navigate and negotiate life choices.

It’s common to think of Indigenous peoples as living in the past. We may think of them around Thanksgiving or in old films and books. But Native Americans are very much here and now, said Jeremy Campbell, and after decades of struggle, that’s starting to be recognized.

In 2018, U.S. legislation granted federal recognition to six tribes in Virginia. A 911���� team has been partnering with two of them, the Upper Mattaponi and Chickahominy nations, as they embark on being sovereign nations.

Twenty 911���� students traveled to Spain this summer as part of a field study summer course called “Leadership Across Difference: Lessons from Medieval Spain.”

Dominique Dowling's passion to advocate for young minds both inside and outside the classroom led Mason’s Alumni Association to name her the 2022 Senior of the Year.

Mason students attended a screening of the documentary “Guardians of the Forest” and the talkback with leaders of the Maijuna indigenous group in Peru, who were featured in the film.