Center Staff

Mindi is the founder and director of SOURCE, the community engagement and service-learning center, serving the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Schools of Public Health, Nursing, and Medicine. In this capacity, she leads the team and supports the creation of strategies to integrate public health practice and community outreach activities into academic training in the health professions. These efforts are accomplished in partnership with approximately 100 Baltimore community-based organizations, as well as faculty, staff, and students. Mindi provides programs and services that embrace the values of public service, social justice, citizenship, ethical decision-making, activism, civic professionalism, human rights, diversity, and reciprocity.

Additionally, she holds faculty appointments in the Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Department of Health, Behavior and Society (primary), the Department of Health Policy and Management (joint), and the JHU School of Nursing (joint). She teaches and supports a variety of service-learning and experiential learning courses on campus. She developed and teaches the Baltimore Community Practicum course (JHSPH) and Topics in Interdisciplinary Medicine: Health Care Disparities (SOM). She created and serves as the faculty co-sponsor of the certificate program in Community-Based Public Health. Mindi also coordinates the JHU School of Nursing’s Community Outreach Program. She worked with colleagues to develop several key SOURCE initiatives, including SOURCE Service-Learning Faculty and Community Fellows Program, SOURCE Service Scholars, Connection Community Consultants, Baltimore Action Projects, HIV Counseling and Testing, and the Identity Clinic.

A Baltimore native, Mindi earned a bachelors degree in Community Health Education from the University of Maryland, College Park and a masters degree in Health Administration from Towson University. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist.

R. Tyler Derreth, PhD. is the associate director of SOURCE and faculty in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. His administrative work centers on collaborations faculty, staff, and students as they develop community partnerships that address social issues through various academic and co-curricular experiences. These efforts include leading the SOURCE Service-Learning Fellows program, supporting service-learning course development, community partnership outreach and establishing SOURCE’s research agenda. His research concentrates on the role of universities in cities, urban community–university partnerships, critical pedagogies, and social justice-oriented educational practices. In particular, he is focused on developing equitable urban university–community partnerships through service-learning and other academic practices that center marginalized voices in a critical educational environment.

Tyler earned a BA in English at Dickinson College before returning to his hometown of Baltimore to teach middle school English. He then went on to earn his doctorate in higher education at Penn State University where his dissertation focused on developing a sociocultural framework of community-based learning that breaks down institutional hierarchies. He is thrilled to once again be home in Baltimore working with its communities.

As assistant director of SOURCE, Lydia serves as a counselor/educator for the students and student leaders of the Johns Hopkins University Schools of Public Health, Nursing, and Medicine. Several of the center initiatives Lydia supports are the SOURCE Service Scholars program, the Community Outreach Program, Days of Service, and the School of Medicine’s Topics in Interdisciplinary Medicine course.

Lydia brings over a decade of experience in education to the team, both as an early childhood special needs teacher in Washington, D.C., and as a higher education coach and operations specialist supporting Simmons University MSW and DSW programs, and George Washington University MHA.  Most recently, she managed operations for the Bunting Neighborhood Leadership Program and the Baltimore Health Equity Impact Grants with Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute. Lydia holds a master's degree in education policy and leadership from American University.  

Jenai Johnson is a Houston, Texas, native and an experienced higher education professional with a background that spans K-12 and postsecondary education. She began her career teaching elementary students in grades 3 through 5, covering all core subjects and building a foundation in student-centered learning. Jenai is working towards a PhD in Higher Education Administration from Morgan State University, where she has served as a Graduate Research Assistant, an Academic Advisor, and Assistant Director at the Center for Academic Success and Achievement. Known for her dedication to student success, she has developed impactful programs that enhance learning environments, support academic advising, and prioritize inclusivity. She holds a Masters in Higher Education Administration from Louisiana State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Texas State University.

Thomasina Watts serves as the Program Manager for SOURCE, where she supports the growth and effectiveness of community involvement initiatives. She works closely with students and student leaders, and assists them in developing community outreach skills, exploring and understanding social justice issues, accessing community service resources, and making connections to the Baltimore community. Thomasina is a key point of contact for several SOURCE programs, including: Johns Hopkins Health Education and Training Corps (HEAT Corps), Baltimore Action Projects (BAP) with the Bloomberg American Health Initiative, and the HIV Counseling and Testing Program.

In her previous experiences, Thomasina supported public health interventions as an HIV Educator and Outreach Specialist and internationally as a Community Health Advisor. She gained research experience as a graduate Research Assistant with Johns Hopkins Center for Communications Programs (CCP), as well as with The Maryland Maternal Health Innovation Program (MDMOM), while completing the MSPH program at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. More recently, she was involved with community-level mental health and HIV-prevention research in the Department of Mental Health at the Bloomberg School, supporting outreach, recruitment and community engagement initiatives across the state.

Ashley is the Administrative Coordinator for SOURCE, where she supports the Center staff, students, faculty, and community partners. She works collaboratively to manage numerous day-to-day functions of the center. Her support focuses on administrative, budgetary, project management and relationship building for all SOURCE constituents. 

She has been serving the community as a public health professional for over a decade in both rural and urban environments. In her home state of West Virginia, she led initiatives to increase fresh food access throughout Appalachian food deserts and access to comprehensive reproductive health care. Most recently, she worked as a Sr. Community Outreach Specialist and Lifestyle Interventionist with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Brancati Center for Community Advancement to coach participants in the National Diabetes Prevention Program. She earned her B.S. Degree in Health Services Administration with concentrations in Economics and Sociology. Outside of work, you can find her stopping to smell the flowers—she is a nature enthusiast and enjoys spending time with her family outdoors. 

Ezzat Shehadeh joined SOURCE in 2018 as our inaugural Communications and Events Specialist. In this role, Ezzat manages SOURCE's Weekly Service Scoop newsletter, social media accounts, website content, event advertising and e-mail marketing campaigns.

Ezzat comes to SOURCE from George Mason University after serving as the Program and Communications Coordinator in the Center for Global Islamic Studies. Ezzat is a bi-lingual (Arabic and English) communications, marketing, programming and editing professional with over ten years of communication experience in media outlets and higher education. He earned his bachelor's degree in communication from George Mason University.

Glenn Ross serves as a Community Consultant to SOURCE. His primary functions with the center include: conducting tours of the East Baltimore community, speaking in a variety of academic settings, assisting with orientation activities for new students, and serving as a member of SOURCE’s Governing Board and Community Council. Glenn is active in a variety of local groups, and provides SOURCE with important updates and news from the surrounding communities. He has been a valuable member of our SOURCE team since the center was founded in 2005.