When students at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health nominate a faculty member for the Official Advising, Mentoring, and Teaching Recognition (AMTR) Award, they are recognizing more than academic excellence — they are honoring a teacher who has profoundly shaped their learning experience. This year, Andrea Medley, MPH (Jaad ahl’ K_iiganga, from the Dadens Yahgu laanas Raven Clan, Haida Nation) was selected as one of only five recipients across the school, becoming the first faculty member from the Center for Indigenous Health to receive the honor.
Presented through a competitive process based on student nominations and testimonials, the AMTR Award recognizes faculty members who go above and beyond their formal responsibilities to support students and enrich campus life. For Andrea’s students, the impact of her teaching and mentorship reaches far beyond the classroom.
Andrea was recognized for the care, intention, and community-centered approach she brings to teaching the Indigenous Harm Reduction course offered through CIH. Students described her course as a transformative learning experience — one that blends public health science with Indigenous cultural knowledge, lived experiences, and deep respect for community perspectives. By incorporating guest speakers and conversations with people directly impacted by substance use and harm reduction systems, Andrea invites her students to learn in ways that challenge assumptions and expands their understanding of public health practice. their understanding of public health practice.
Student testimony highlighted Andrea’s talent for creating collaborative spaces where learning feels grounded in compassion, accountability, and relationship-building. Many described leaving her course not only with new knowledge, but with a different understanding of how to move through the world and engage with communities more thoughtfully.
Andrea joined the Center for Indigenous Health in 2022 after earning her MPH from the Bloomberg School of Public Health. She brings with her a wealth of experience working across public health and Indigenous health in roles spanning programming, policy, and education. She is passionate about harm reduction, community-led health initiatives, Indigenous cultural safety, and reproductive justice. Throughout her career, she has worked with Indigenous communities across Turtle Island facilitating conversations about harm reduction, substance use, and sexual wellbeing.
This recognition reflects Andrea’s excellence as an educator and her commitment to Indigenous ways of teaching and learning, approaches grounded in relationship, reciprocity, respect, and community care.
