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Get the most interesting and important stories from the University of Pittsburgh.Each year at the Community Engaged Scholarship Forum (CESF), Pitt elevates and reflects on collective approaches to community-engaged scholarship at the University by providing an opportunity for faculty, staff and community members to present their community-engaged work, discover new avenues of partnership and network with those who do similar work.
The forum also celebrates students, faculty and staff who have significantly impacted their communities.
The March 3 forum, titled “Community-Centered Futures,” included a full day of featured speakers and workshops, including keynote speaker Justin Heck, senior director of research and data production at Opportunity@Work, and two panel discussions centering place and space featuring University and community voices.
Winners of annual awards were also announced and honored.
Tracy Soska and John Wilds Outreach and Engagement Leadership Award
Celeste Welsh, director of community engagement for Pitt Athletics, won for her dedication, inspirational leadership and ability to foster meaningful connections between Pitt Athletics and the local community.
CESF Collaboration Champion Award
Tina Ndoh, associate dean for public health practice and associate professor of environmental and occupational health in Pitt’s School of Public Health, was honored for her deep commitment to community partnerships and meaningful collaboration rooted in trust-building, healing and a sustained commitment to equity.
Partnerships of Distinction Awards
These awards recognize outstanding partnerships that are exemplars of community engagement. Honorees demonstrate reciprocity, mutual benefit and significant community impact.
The 2025 Partnerships of Distinction awardees are:
Bracuí Community Engagement Partnership: History, Memory and Justice
The Bracuí Community Engagement Partnership is a long-term collaboration between the University of Pittsburgh and the Quilombo of Bracuí, a community of descendants of enslaved Africans located in Rio de Janeiro. Active for more than two decades, the partnership is anchored through Pitt's Center for Latin American Studies in the University Center for International Studies, the Associação dos Remanescentes Quilombolas de Santa Rita do Bracuí, and AfrOrigins. The Bracuí partnership stands as a model of reciprocal, community-centered engagement, where Quilombo members serve as co-creators and partners, helping to set research priorities and contribute directly to archaeological work. Collaborative research supported the community’s successful pursuit of official quilombo recognition and continues to advance land rights and reparations efforts. Pitt students and faculty gain hands-on, ethical field experience, while the community builds lasting capacity through training, increased visibility and expanded access to funding.
Data Justice for Pittsburgh’s Black Neighborhoods
Data Justice for Pittsburgh's Black Neighborhoods is a community-driven initiative led by the Black Equity Coalition in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh, the City of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University's Create Lab, the Larimer Consensus Group, the UrbanKind Institute and independent health professionals. The initiative works to build decision-making power for Black Pittsburghers who have historically been excluded from conversations about how data is collected, used, governed and disseminated. Community members are centered in the work, acting as peers and subject matter experts to help guide workshop topics and ensure community needs are prioritized. Through transparency and community participation, the initiative has worked to create an infrastructure for residents to hold the city accountable in its data practices and delivery of services.
Social Medicine Fellows Program
The Social Medicine Fellows Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is a yearlong experiential training program that prepares medical students to become leaders who bridge the gap between academic medical institutions and communities. Rather than imposing academic priorities, fellows follow community-identified needs and work alongside organizations like the Healthy Village Learning Institute, Braddock Youth Project, Casa San Jose, JADA House International, the Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh and Youth Sports in the Hill. In the phased program, fellows begin by volunteering at community events and hosting health education workshops and screenings, allowing them to build trust before co-designing a longer-term project aligned with the organization’s mission. Launched in 2017 from student advocacy, the program has trained 102 fellows to date across six historically marginalized Pittsburgh neighborhoods: Braddock, Hazelwood, Hill District, Homewood, McKeesport and South Hills.
More information about the 2026 forum can be found on the CESF website.
Photography by Aimee Obidzinski; Marimba Milliones (second from left), president and CEO of the Hill Community Development Corporation, discusses how local systems can support economic well-being on a CESF panel. Also on the panel were, from left, Mary Ohmer, associate professor in the School of Social Work; Andrea Matthews, executive director of the Brashear Association; and moderator Shatara Murphy, executive lead for community-connected economic strategy in Pitt External Relations.