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With decades of experience in philanthropy and community engagement, Kathy and Ed Ludwig have learned a few things about creating impact, particularly the value of prioritizing leadership. As Kathy puts it, “Good leaders make things happen.” 

The Bloomberg School is an incubator of public health leaders, which makes the Ludwigs’ involvement with the School a natural fit. 

Kathy remembers seeing public health leadership firsthand when, in 2003, the couple joined a faculty-led Public Health in Action trip to Thailand. Their visit to an HIV-AIDS treatment site led by Bloomberg School and Chiang Mai University researchers provided a meaningful close-up of public health. “That kind of partnership and collective action continues to be a powerful memory,” she says.  

In fact, it was project lead and Epidemiology professor Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH ’91, who galvanized the Ludwigs’ interest in public health. Beyrer, now director of Duke University’s Global Health Institute, is a renowned advocate for public health and human rights and directs global research on HIV epidemiology, prevention, and treatment, with a focus on marginalized groups. His passionate leadership drew the Ludwigs into his work and public health broadly, inspiring them to become even more involved with the School. 

While Ed was already serving as chair of the Bloomberg School Health Advisory Board and as a University trustee, Kathy decided to take on a leadership role with the Center for Public Health and Human Rights (CPHHR), serving as founding advisory committee chair in 2009 and now as co-chair. In 2023, she became HAB vice-chair, sharing duties with Suprotik Basu, MHS ’02.

The Ludwigs’ board service has provided them with myriad opportunities to learn more about public health and to meet the exceptional educators, scientists, and practitioners who drive the work of the #1 school of public health—the leaders who make things happen. To ensure that those leaders can realize their vision, the Ludwigs have made several financial commitments to the Bloomberg School. 

Advocating for marginalized communities and focusing on the intersection of human rights and public health are priorities for the Ludwigs. They have provided core support for the CPHHR director and supplemental funding for Epidemiology professor Len Rubenstein’s work in human rights and the law. They led the endowment of the Tutu Professorship in Public Health and Human Rights, which this spring celebrated the installation of Epidemiology professor Joe Amon, PhD, MSPH, as the second holder of the professorship—Chris Beyrer having been the first.

More recently, Kathy and Ed have stepped forward with a contribution to the new Bloomberg School South Building. The gift honors leadership in two ways, recognizing both Ellen J. MacKenzie’s eight years of service as dean and the School’s excellence in training public health leaders. They believe that the building’s modern, interactive design, along with the Wolfe Street renovations, will strengthen the School’s leadership position because, as Kathy says, “a world-class environment naturally inspires innovative work.” 

The Tutu Professorship celebration reinforced for the Ludwigs this connection between a state-of-the-art workspace and excellence in public health education and research. While the pandemic showed us how much we can accomplish virtually, it is the unique energy of humans working together in real life that sparks creativity and breakthroughs. 

Designed to inspire, the School’s reengineered campus will nurture budding public health scientists and practitioners as they prepare to lead in making communities healthier. Because, as the Ludwigs know, good leaders make things happen.  

Suzanne Flinchbaugh is a senior writer in the Office of External Affairs at the Bloomberg School. For more information about South Building, the Wolfe Street renovations, or to discuss making a contribution to support these or other projects, please contact Alice McMurry, director of development, at amcmurr6@jh.edu.