the same kind of in-person programming that had defined Grow502’ s early work. Now, several years later, we are excited to be restarting Grow502 with renewed energy and many hopes for the future. The issues that motivated its founding are still present in our city, and our team is determined to carry the mission forward in new ways.
From the start, Grow502 has been rooted in the idea that meaningful change must center community voices. Our structure remains centered on four pillars: education, advocacy, community engagement and creative media. Each of these areas works together to address health equity from different angles, whether that means hosting educational events, training students to engage with policymakers, collaborating with local organizations on service projects or using creative storytelling to make public health data accessible and compelling. All areas are led by student leaders who bring unique talents and perspectives, working together with advisors, volunteers and community partners to keep Grow502 rooted in collaboration.
Today, the organization is led by an executive board of medical students who each oversee one of these pillars, supported by advisors, volunteers and community partners across Louisville. Executive Director Leen Abozaid and Executive Vice-Director Tala Maya help guide the overall vision. Junaid Shahzad and Aishu Gollamudi coordinate as Directors of Community Outreach, Gopika Gopan directs Creative Media efforts, Michaela Reinhart manages Educational Programming and John Fernandez oversees Treasury. Associate Professor Susan Sawning, Co-Course Director-Introduction to Clinical Medicine at ULSOM, continues to serve as the long-standing faculty advisor. Sarah Voor and 2025 graduate Zoha Mian also lend their support on the student board. Zoha provides a unique perspective as a member of the original board that helped create Grow502, offering valuable continuity between the organization’ s founding vision and its current renewal.
This year, our board is focused on rebuilding momentum, deepening community partnerships and laying the groundwork for sustainable growth. With every panel we host, every advocacy effort we support and every creative project we launch, we see opportunities not only to educate ourselves as future physicians, but also to stand alongside the people of Louisville in working toward healthier, more equitable communities.
When Grow502 was first founded, Executive Board members used the four pillars to create weekly curriculums on different health topics. The former board hosted these week-long curriculums for mental health and substance use, lead poisoning, diabetes and stroke and maternal and infant mortality. During Mental Health and Substance Use Week, Grow502 hosted a Panel and Case Review. The session detailed an encounter with a patient who presented to Emergency Psychiatric Services in acute psychosis with a history of drug use, as well as psychological and physical trauma. The week also included a Virtual Advocacy Workshop where participants petitioned Kentucky Medicaid to offer medication to ease opioid withdrawal. Another event that week was a virtual training for opioid overdose with Naloxone in which kits were provided to attendees. All of this was promoted by the use of creative social media, video campaigns and other outreach efforts.
As Grow502 gets its second start, we hope to implement the principles it was founded upon just as strongly and are always looking for future partners eager to close the gap in health between Louisville’ s West and East ends. In the past we have collaborated with the Public Health Department, Cardinal Street Medicine, Feed Louisville and the Trager Institute. We are currently in the process of rekindling our partnership with the Trager Institute and several student-led organizations.
Rekindling old and finding new partnerships has been an area of success for Grow502’ s restart, but our biggest challenge has been acquiring funding. Accessing the resources that had been left to a new generation of board members proved to be difficult, and the team worked tirelessly to reignite the work that had to be done. With the collective efforts of the team at large, Grow502 has made progress since 2024 and will forge ahead. Currently, Grow502 is broadening its programming to address new areas of health inequity. Upcoming events will include a homelessness and health panel, alongside our first pop-up clinic in November that will offer free preventive services and connect underserved residents with long-term care options. These initiatives are paired with efforts to strengthen partnerships with clinical institutions, public health agencies and community organizations to ensure our work is both impactful and sustainable.
Our long-term vision is for Grow502 to serve as a permanent community engagement arm, with health equity woven into medical education and practice. By creating opportunities for students to learn about systemic drivers of health outside the classroom, Grow502 hopes to influence how future physicians are trained and to provide a model for integrating health equity into medical curricula. Advocacy will remain central to our mission. We seek to influence policy and systemic change in areas like housing, food access and health care
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