05/22/2026
Repost from Dr. Tosin Olateju
Tonight, my heart is full. ❤️
Receiving the Boston Congress of Public Health (BCPH) 40 Under 40 Public Health Catalyst Award – North America feels deeply personal for me. Not because of the title or recognition alone, but because of the journey, the people, and the purpose behind it all.
As I stood in that room surrounded by brilliant changemakers from across the world, I couldn’t help but think about how connected we all are. Different stories. Different causes. Different paths. Yet somehow, united by one shared calling: to make humanity better.
Sometimes I think about how we are all truly star stuff — connected souls placed in different corners of the world to cause good trouble, challenge injustice, heal communities, and leave humanity softer, safer, healthier, and more equitable than we found it.
For me, this work began long before degrees, titles, or awards. It began as a little girl in Nigeria accompanying my parents to orphanages and villages, learning that compassion is not just something you feel — it is something you do. Those moments shaped my understanding of service, dignity, and humanity.
And today, whether through public health policy, teaching, advocacy, research, or community work across Maryland and Sub-Saharan Africa, that same little girl still lives inside me — still believing that another world is possible.
A world where no child goes to bed hungry.
Where healthcare is not a privilege.
Where ZIP code, race, gender, or income no longer determine who lives or dies.
Where future generations may someday read about health inequities and social injustice as distant history they can barely imagine ever existed.
Oh, how I long for that day.
Until then, we keep going.
We keep building.
We keep advocating.
We keep loving humanity loudly.
I am deeply grateful to the Boston Congress of Public Health for this honor, and even more grateful for every person, mentor, colleague, student, community member, friend, and family member who continues to walk this journey with me.
This award belongs to all of us. ❤️
Congratulations to all the incredible awardees.
WomenInPublicHealth
Food And Care For All
