When Sumera Haque, SPH MPH ’01, came to the U.S. in 1999, she was a single mother of two boys. Trained as a physician in her native Pakistan, she was unsure what to expect in her new country.
Nearly two decades later, Haque has an international reputation for her work in public health and serves as executive director of the Johns Hopkins Women’s Health Center. She’s also one of 60 recipients nationwide of the 2019 Presidential Leadership Scholars Program, which is sponsored by four former U.S. presidents.
Bridging those two points in her story was the Milken Institute School of Public Health (SPH), where Haque earned a master’s in public health.
“I give GW credit for my success,” she says. “GW became like my family. It provided me so many opportunities and the foundation for the work I do now.”
Her degree marked the start of what has become a two-decade relationship with the school, including an eight-year stint as senior director of clinical operations for the GW Medical Faculty Associates (MFA), and as an alumni ambassador for the Office of Alumni Relations. She also facilitated the collaboration between the Office of International Medicine Programs and Pakistan’s first medical school, Shaikh Zayed Medical College, Lahore.
Currently, Haque serves as a faculty advisor at the Global Women’s Institute. She also mentors and coaches GW undergraduate and graduate students interested in careers in medicine and public health and hospital administration.
Among her many teachers and mentors at GW, she credits few in particular: SPH professor emeritus, Josef Reum; former GW president Steven Knapp; Lynn Goldman, SPH dean since 2010; and former MFA CEO, Stephen Badger.
“I was not a born leader,” she says. “I think I became a leader because of their guidance and mentorship.”
Haque’s career as a public health official and hospital executive has focused on women’s health globally. She has been a consultant to the World Bank on HIV-AIDS, a liaison to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.
She has experienced firsthand the gender discrimination issues faced by women in developing countries and has dedicated her life to helping women with similar experiences. She advocates for women’s rights and equal access to healthcare and education, for her work she has received the SHERO Award for community service from Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland). She also serves on the Judging Academy for the Global Teacher Prize, a $1 million award for an exceptional teacher.
In January, Haque was at home in Rockville, Maryland when she learned of her selection for the prestigious Presidential Leadership Scholars Program. Started in 2015 and supported by the presidential centers of George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson, the program aims to boost the leadership skills of impact players across government, nonprofit, corporate, and military sectors to tackle issues of global importance.
For Haque, it means she’ll learn from former presidents and their administration officials and network with a cadre of highly respected colleagues. She’ll also develop her skills in leading the nascent Johns Hopkins Women’s Health Center at Sibley Hospital – the first of its kind in the Washington, D.C. area. The center aims to provide connected and integrated care to meet the needs of women’s healthcare.
The center will also serve as a hub for academic training and teaching for women’s centers in developing countries and provide new opportunities for collaboration and partnership for women’s health leaders and advocates.
As the first Pakistani-American woman selected for this prestigious program, Haque remains somewhat floored by the opportunity—which is life changing for many.
Her sons have watched their mother blaze trails through the years, and have followed in her footsteps. Her younger son also graduated from SPH and now works at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, while her older son is a teacher. But they’re less surprised by the news of this next step in their mother’s success.
“They were more confident than [I was] that I’d be accepted,” Haque says with a smile.
-Dan Simmons
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UPDATE: Sumera Haque graduated from the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program in late June 2019. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush shared remarks during the program and congratulated each of the scholars as they crossed the stage at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas.
Haque says she looks forward to applying these new leadership skills to her work in women’s and global health initiatives.
“Having come to the U.S. as an immigrant under the Clinton administration, and becoming citizen in the Bush Administration, I feel honored to graduate from their world class Presidential Leadership Scholar Program,” Haque shared after the ceremony.
“I have learned so much from the Presidents, their amazing team, and my distinguished fellow scholars. I am more motivated than ever to give back to this country that opened its arms and heart to me and my boys.”
