For Mike Dillon MPH ’23, there has never been a more important moment to address the public health crisis facing the LGBTQ community.
LGBTQ people face significant challenges in receiving equitable and inclusive health care. They face discrimination, stigma, limited access to health care, including gender-affirming and reproductive health care, and frequent violence and misinformation against them and their health care providers. LGBTQ people experience staggering health disparities, including higher rates of mental illness, substance use disorders, homelessness, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV/AIDS. They are less likely to have health insurance, often delay health care, and many experience a lack of cultural competency from their health care providers.
Driven by the recognition of the urgent need to improve health services and outcomes for the LGBTQ community, Dillon made a donation to support LGBTQ health equity efforts at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The funds will help provide essential knowledge and resources to budding public health workers.
“We need to develop a new generation of LGBTQ leaders,” Dillon said. “We need their expertise, innovation and fresh perspectives to create real change. Harvard has the opportunity to make a lasting impact on our community.”
The gift will establish scholarships to attract talented students interested in LGBTQ health equity and create research grants to support graduate and postdoctoral research. In addition, the gift will support a university-wide service fellowship and enable emerging leaders from across Harvard’s faculty to apply for internships and practicums in this field.
Dillon would like to see more interdisciplinary collaboration on these issues at Harvard, uniting scholars on the intersectionality of marginalized communities.
“Public health is the key to changing history,” he said. “Only healthy communities can build strong communities.”
After a successful 30-year career in a variety of leadership roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Dillon sought new ways to make a difference outside the corporate world.
He enrolled in the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative (ALI), a university-wide, year-long educational program that enables experienced leaders to tackle some of society’s most intractable challenges through interdisciplinary learning, leadership development training, and collaboration with colleagues.
“ALI teaches you to think about pathways to create social change and how to make the biggest impact,” Dillon says. “ALI has given me the freedom to think outside the box about what my legacy will be and how I can work toward change.”
After completing his fellowship, he decided to pursue a master’s in health policy at Harvard Chan School. “I thought a lot about LGBTQ health equity,” he says. “I knew it was important to learn the language of public health.” Dillon’s desire to further support the burgeoning research and scholarship in this field led him to donate to Harvard.
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