Penn Center for Public Health unveils team to support practitioners through new Impact Hub

Penn’s Center for Public Health announced the formation of a new team on Nov. 17 to assist public health practitioners, unveiling the Public Health Impact Hub to build skills, reduce professional development barriers, and deliver customizable support.

According to the center’s release, the Impact Hub will help practitioners navigate government oversight, work with legislators, write grant applications to obtain more funding, and create and measure goals. The initiative is funded by the Scattergood Foundation, an organization that works to strengthen nonprofit work.

“We see this as a meaningful investment in the field, one that reinforces Penn’s leadership in public health education and innovation, and merges community, accessibility, and practical application,” Richard Wender, executive director of the Penn Center for Public Health and chair of Family Medicine and Community Health, wrote in the release.

In addition to Philadelphia public health initiatives, the Impact Hub will provide virtual and in-person trainings with global organizations. The release said the Hub hopes clients will be empowered to continue the work themselves following its support, whether that involves a single day of training or weeks of ongoing collaboration.

The Penn Center for Public Health is currently offering two, three-day learning institutes targeting various topics — geographic information systems, mixed methods research, program planning and evaluation, public health communications and marketing, and grant writing strategies — which it describes as efforts to support professional workforce development.

Samantha Matlin, a Penn Medicine professor and director of Workforce Education at the Center for Public Health, wrote in the release that the Hub was created to meet the needs of practitioners who often lack access to tools, resources, or training they want.

“This initiative is about meeting people where they are — offering real-world solutions, flexible formats, and sustained support that can build capacity across their organization and beyond,” she added on its website. Center leaders framed the Impact Hub as a way to expand practical support for those working in the field, coupling tailored training with long-term capacity building for organizations and partners.