Joel Selanikio '86 receives Alumni Association's Haverford Award for his work with tsunami victims in Indonesia.
Washington, D.C.-based doctor Joel Selanikio '86, who recently spent one month aiding tsunami victims in Indonesia with the International Rescue Committee, received the Alumni Association's Haverford Award during Alumni Weekend, May 27-29. The Haverford Award recognizes alumni who reflect the College's concern for service and social justice by applying their skills and knowledge to achieve socially useful goals.
“I am honored by the award, but more than that it puts me in mind of the many, many people I've met since my years at Haverford who have spent far more time than I in working for social justice, for civil rights, for access to healthcare, and for many other things,” says Selanikio.“Next to these other people, who are working in developing countries and in communities around America, I feel that my accomplishments are modest, and I look to them, and to the Quaker ideals that I first encountered at Haverford, for inspiration.”
A graduate of Brown University School of Medicine, Selanikio began his public health career as an officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has also served as a computer consultant to the former Chase Manhattan Bank, and has used his experience in designing and developing IT systems to help capture and retrieve critical data during large-scale disasters and disease outbreaks. He is currently directing a World Bank-funded project to create easy-to-use software tools for data collection in developing country and rural settings.
As a former Senior Health Advisor with the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Selanikio was Chief of Operations for the department's Emergency Command Center in the aftermath of Washington's September 11 and anthrax attacks in 2001. He is currently a staff physician and assistant professor at Georgetown University Hospital, and acts as a technical consultant to the American Red Cross for its measles mass-immunization programs.
The Haverford Award was presented in a ceremony held Saturday, May 28, in Roberts Hall.
