SOURCE Service-Learning Academy Leadership Team

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 is responsible for creating 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) and the Department of Health Policy and Management (joint). She is adjunct faculty at the JHU School of Nursing. 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 co-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, and HIV Counseling and Testing.

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. 

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 at Penn State University in Higher Education 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.

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.

Kelly Bower’s research and her public health nursing practice focus on the elimination of racial disparities in women’s health. Using a lens of social justice, she aims to understand why these disparities exist and to develop interventions to reverse them. Her research examines the role of racism and respectful maternity care in maternal and child health outcomes. She also studies women’s involvement in maternal, infant and early childhood home visiting programs and the impact childhood trauma has on involvement. She applies a community-engaged approach to her research that comes from her 18 years of experience practicing as a public health nurse in Baltimore, currently with the Baltimore City Health Department and the B’More for Healthy Babies Initiative. She has received funding from the Johns Hopkins Clinical Research Scholars (NIH KL2) program and the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute. She earned her PhD from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where her dissertation focused on the relationship between residential segregation, food store availability and racial disparities in obesity among women.

Haneefa Saleem, PhD, MPH, is an Associate Professor in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research focuses on the social, behavioral, and structural aspects of substance use and HIV in the U.S. and globally. Through her research, Dr. Saleem is advancing our knowledge of the social and structural vulnerabilities faced by people who use drugs and other marginalized groups, resulting in disproportionately high health burdens. She conducts research that identifies programmatic strategies to increase access and adherence to HIV prevention and treatment and substance use disorder treatment options for marginalized populations. Dr. Saleem was a 2018-19 SOURCE Service-Learning Faculty Fellow and co-instructs a service-learning qualitative research practicum course, where students collaborate with community organizations in Baltimore to address community-identified needs while gaining practical public health experience. She is also actively involved in the School’s Baltimore Community Engagement Committee as representative from the Department of International Health. Dr. Saleem received a BA in Public Health Studies from Johns Hopkins University. She also has an MPH and PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She lives in Baltimore with her husband and son.

Nicole Warren is a certified nurse midwife with more than two decades of combined research, clinical practice, and teaching experience in reproductive health. Her work is guided by a commitment to Respectful Maternity Care and eliminating mistreatment of childbearing persons. Current projects include addressing disparities in maternal health in Maryland, evaluating the impact of educational interventions to improve care of women affected by female genital cutting, and group antenatal care in Mali, West Africa. Dr. Warren is an award-winning teacher with specialized training in service-learning pedagogy and has collaborated with the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Women’s Health.

Ciara M. Huff is a Baltimore native whose passion for child welfare started very early. As a young girl, she observed her mother, a devoted childcare provider, care for and nurture children in the community, which sparked her interest in child advocacy. Ms. Huff entered her academic career intending to advocate for at-risk youth. She holds a B.A. in Criminology & Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a minor in Human Development, an M.A. in Legal & Ethical Studies, and an M.S. in Negotiations & Conflict Management from the University of Baltimore.

Ms. Huff started as a volunteer advocate for CASA of Baltimore in 2014. As a volunteer, she supported children in five cases, in which one closed due to the child being placed in a safe and permanent home. Additionally, due to the conflict she experienced among the parties of this case, she developed and implemented Conflict Management and Effective Communication training for other CASA volunteers. She became CASA's Executive Director in 2019.

Ms. Huff believes that children are our most vulnerable population, especially those abused and neglected, and it is an obligation of those with the capacity and ability to make a difference, give children a voice, and help them reach their full potential. She takes the necessary actions daily to make a difference in a child's life. Ms. Huff serves on the CLIA Youth and Phase 3 Training Corporation boards and the Selection Advisory Council for GreenLight Fund.

Jayson Jarual Green is the Executive Director of New Song Community Learning Center, Baltimore City Public Charter School Operator of New Song Academy #322, a PreK-8th charter school located in the heart of Sandtown-Winchester. Jayson has spent his career working with young people and their families to expand their educational and employment opportunities building strong community connections. Previously, Jayson served as the Executive Director of the Y in Druid Hill in West Baltimore.  

Born in the Bronx, NY, Jayson grew up in a community much like West Baltimore understanding the critical importance of education and equity. Jayson has led organizations by raising and stewarding the critical funds needed to accomplish their missions.  

Jayson also serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for B-CIITY (Baltimore City Intergenerational Initiatives for Trauma & Youth). He is a devoted Husband to his beautiful Wife, proud Father of two amazing young women, and loving Grandfather of two precious little girls.