WAU VISIONARIES GALA FOCUSES ON HEALTHCARE AND SERVICE
Takoma Park, MD. (Monday, September 17, 2018)—Washington Adventist University conveyed four prestigious Awards for Excellence at its 6th annual Visionaries Gala last evening. Noting that WAU is preparing world-class citizens to serve in communities around the world, university President Weymouth Spence thanked the honorees for their service to humanity. By honoring these heroes of healthcare and medicine, Dr. Spence said, “We are creating an environment of excellence” in which to educate our students.
Dr. Spence cited three reasons behind the Visionaries Gala. First to share WAU’s vision for engaging the minds and transforming the lives of our students. Second, to recognize people who have made excellence their standard. Finally, President Spence said, “We are working to make a WAU education accessible to all students.” To that end, he identified a final goal of encouraging charitable giving to the university that will provide a “path to success” for all students.
The 2018 Visionaries Gala Awardees are:
For Excellence in Global Humanitarian Service
Shalini G. David, President & CEO, Christalis
Shalini David describes herself simply as a “servant of God”. A nursing graduate of Washington Adventist University, she now operates Christalis, which comprises an orphanage, assistance program and family development program located near Kasese, in the western region of Uganda. Christalis has provided tuition, school supplies, uniforms, shoes, mattresses, Bibles, bicycles, solar lights, mosquito nets, food, life-saving surgeries and medical treatments for children in need.
For Excellence for a Legacy of Healthcare Innovation
Harry R. Jacobson, M.D.
A medical investor and entrepreneur, Dr. Jacobson is a former Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs at Vanderbilt University and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center. During his 11-year tenure at VUMC saw the budget expand from $750 million to $2.5 billion, all while delivering superior care at substantially lower costs, its federally-funded research group move from 14th to top-10 in the country and more than $1 billion of newly constructed facilities were opened. Dr. Jacobson has founded or co-founded several companies, and currently serves as Managing Partner and Co-Founder of TriStar Health Partners.
For Excellence in Patient-Centered Medical Care
Drs. Asefa Mekonnen and Belen Tesfaye
The husband and wife team of Asefa Mekonnen and Belen Tesfaye focuses their philanthropic work on education and healthcare to under-served communities. Dr. Asefa Jejaw Mekonnen was born in Gonder, Ethiopia. He has served as Chief of Pulmonary Medicine at Suburban Hospital/John Hopkins Medicine and is currently Director of the Premier Sleep Disorders Center and Partner at Rockville Internal Medicine Group.
Dr. Belen A. Tesfaye earned her medical degree in 2004 from Jimma University Medical School, Jimma, Ethiopia, with top honors. She completed her internal medicine residency at Howard University Hospital, as well as a clinical gastroenterology and hepatology fellowship, where she was elected to the National Medical Honor Society, Alpha Omega Alpha. She is a member of the American College of Gastroenterology, American Society for Neurogastroenterology and Motility and serves on the committee for the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
For Excellence for a Lifetime of Military and Veteran Service
Lt. Gen. Nadja Y. West, 44th Surgeon General of the U.S. Army
The Commanding General of the U.S. Army Medical Command, Lt. Gen. Nadja West is the first black Army Surgeon General and was the first black female, active-duty, Major General and the first black female Major General in Army Medicine. West is also the first Army black female Lieutenant General. She is the highest ranking female to have graduated from the United States Military Academy. She graduated from West Point with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering and earned a Doctorate of Medicine Degree from the George Washington University School of Medicine. She is also a graduate of the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) and National War College. In an eventful career, Gen. West deployed to Operation Desert Shield, continued to serve through Desert Storm, and was Deputy Task Force Surgeon on deployment to the Republic of Macedonia and Kosovo.
This 6th annual Gala raised over $120,000 to-date. Approximately 200 people attended the event held at the Congressional Country Club in nearby Bethesda, MD.
Washington Adventist University is Montgomery County’s only four-year private college. Part of the Seventh-day Adventist system of higher education, Washington Adventist University has been educating college students since 1904 on a 19-acre campus in suburban Takoma Park, close to the nation’s capital. Approximately 1,100 students of all faiths participate in the university’s eight graduate and 42 undergraduate programs. The 2018 edition of U.S. News & World Report ranked Washington Adventist University among the best regional colleges in the north.
Media Contact:
Doug Walker, 301-891-4134, dkwalker@wau.edu