For her work centering communities in public health, Anjulie Ganti was named a 2026 Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Awardee.
Given annually by the UW Health Sciences schools and UW Medicine, this award honors individuals or groups who exemplify Martin Luther King, Jr.’s principles through commitment to addressing community needs. Ganti is the director of experiential learning for the public health-global health major (PH-GH) at the UW School of Public Health and teaching professor of health systems and population health.
Ganti embodies Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s teachings and philosophy through her work and impact on UW and the surrounding community throughout King County and the state; most notably through experiential learning and curriculum design and training.
Starting in autumn 2018, Ganti worked tirelessly with community partners, faculty, and students to overhaul experiential learning within the PH-GH major and community. Students gained skills around cultural humility, in addition to a foundation in public health, prior to engaging with community-based organizations to learn how to be in community with people, because how students show up and interact with others matters.
Ganti coordinated with community-based organizations including the Vulnerable Populations Strategic Initiative and UW Disability Advocacy Project, to name a few, to establish projects for 300+ students annually that deepened their learning and applied practice and benefited the organizations and the people served by them. These efforts have resulted in expanded health education, skills development, and awareness for future public health leaders.
Ganti’s relationships and leadership as a bridge builder with communities is one of the reasons why she is receiving this award. These relationships were not formed in the last month, the last quarter or the last year. These connections were formed from struggle, personal sacrifice, discomfort and sometimes safety. In 2023, Ganti received the UW’s Distinguished Teaching Award in recognition of her status as a teacher and educator for thousands of students.
Ganti is receiving this year’s SPH Community Service Award for her work in always putting communities at the center of public health. She is recognized for her advocacy for justice and equality, for embodying the spirit of Dr. King, and for taking to heart Dr. King’s cry that injustice in health is the worst injustice of all.