The recipients of Penn’s inaugural Projects for Progress prize have been named. Each winning team will receive up to $100,000 to implement an initiative that will make a positive impact on the city of Philadelphia by working towards one or more of the following objectives: eradicating or reducing systemic racism, achieving educational equity, or reducing health disparities based on race, gender, sexual orientation, and/or social determinants of health. Penn students, staff, and faculty submitted applications.

Shelter Health Outreach Program—Community Family Care Clinic

The team will establish a Community Family Care Clinic (CFCC) at the People’s Emergency Center in West Philadelphia, focused on offering prenatal, women’s, and pediatric healthcare twice weekly by professional providers. In partnership with Sayre Health Center, Penn Medicine, and Chosen 300, a homeless advocacy organization, CFCC will combat health disparities in Philadelphia’s homeless and underserved populations through consistent, community-centric care.

• Evelyn Gotlieb, Wharton 2021—undergraduate, concentration in healthcare management and policy, minor in chemistry
• Junduo Liu, College of Arts & Sciences 2022—undergraduate, double major in biochemistry and health & societies, minor in bioethics
• Michael Hagan, College of Arts & Sciences 2022—undergraduate, major in neuroscience
• Ian McCurry, Perelman School of Medicine 2022—doctor of medicine program
• Deepti Tantry, College of Arts & Sciences 2022—undergraduate, major in neuroscience, minor in healthcare management
• Mentor: Joseph Teel, Perelman School of Medicine—associate professor of clinical family medicine and community health

Bridging Gaps and Building Capacity: Student and Educator Supports for School Reopening in Learning Network 2

To help mediate the effects of the global pandemic, this initiative will address elementary students’ school readiness and teachers’ instructional capacity and mental health needs by providing evidence-based programming and professional development at one or two summer learning sites in West Philadelphia, followed by network-wide professional learning supports throughout the 2021-2022 academic year.

• Caroline Watts, Graduate School of Education—director, Office of School & Community Engagement; senior lecturer, professional counseling programs
• Diane Waff, Graduate School of Education—professor of practice; director, Philadelphia Writing Project
• Zachary Herrmann, Graduate School of Education—executive director, Center for Professional Learning
• Marsha Richardson, Graduate School of Education—senior lecturer, human development & qualitative methods
• Regina Bynum, the Netter Center for Community Partnerships—director of teaching and learning, University-Assisted Community Schools

A Collaborative Initiative to Renovate and Optimize the Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center

Through major renovations, updated instrumentation, and additional environmental justice-focused STEM programming, this initiative will enhance the Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center and its K–16+ collaborative learning opportunities. The team has engaged with key stakeholders in the West Philadelphia community to identify and prioritize their needs and goals.

• Erica DePalma, the Water Center—research program coordinator, Earth and environmental science
• Chinedu “Ocek” Eke, School of Engineering and Applied Science—director of graduate student programming, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Anna Balfanz, the Netter Center for Community Partnerships—senior research coordinator
• Cooper Yerby, School of Arts & Sciences 2023—doctoral program in Earth and environmental science