HBSSO

Get to Know HBSSO

Mission

HBSSO represents student interests to the Department. It cultivates student engagement and acts as a liaison between students and HBS faculty and staff. 

Scope

HBSSO serves a variety of functions, from organizing events to facilitating student mentorship programs to planning the use of the HBS student work room. The organization also coordinates student representation on HBS committees, offering the Department student perspectives on critical developments related to practice, research, and more. 

Structure

The leadership of HBSSO is made up of four co-chairs, with one representative from each HBS degree program. 

With the aim of serving and advocating for the needs of HBS students, the organization chairs coordinate the following events:

• HBSSO Meetings (HBSSO chairs and committee members), once per academic term
• General Meetings (student body), twice per academic year
• Meet-the-Chair Event (HBS chair and student body), twice per academic year
• Student Social/Development Events (student body), as requested

Current Leadership

The current HBSSO co-chairs are:

MHS Co-Chair: Anushka Dar

Anushka Dar is a first-year MHS in Health, Behavior and Society student. She earned her BA in Biology and Global Public Health with a minor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from the University of Virginia in 2025. Anushka is highly interested in researching and working toward community-based health strategies for survival and flourishing for queer communities of color and other communities along intersectional lines of marginalization. She is currently serving as a SOURCE service scholar partnered with FreeState Justice and is a graduate research assistant in the Center for Public Health and Human Rights.  

MSPH Co-Chairs: Sofía Espinoza and Cynthia "Cyn" Gathunguri 

Sofía is a second-year MSPH in Health Education and Health Communication student who is also completing a certificate in the Evaluation of International Health Programs. She is passionate about addressing chronic health disparities in under-resourced populations, globally and in the United States. She is presently serving in her field placement in Puno, Peru, on the project, Addressing Hypertension and Diabetes through Community Engaged Systems (ANDES).

Cyn is a second-year MSPH in Health Education and Health Communication student, born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She earned her BS in Health Education with a concentration in Community Health from Morgan State University in May 2023. She is completing the Community-Based Public Health Certificate and serves as an intern at the Institutes for Behavior Resources (IBR)/REACH, where she is working on projects related to fentanyl accessibility and overdose prevention. She is also completing her field placement with the Safe Start Project at the Harriet Lane Clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Cyn has received a certificate in health disparities and health inequalities and is passionate about community-engaged research, health equity efforts among underserved communities, and supporting harm reduction strategies for people impacted by the opioid crisis. 

ScM Co-Chair: Shahreen Zannat

Shahreen is a second-year training program student in the ScM in Genetic Counseling program. She earned her BS in biological sciences from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County with a double major in psychology in 2022. Her interests include advocating for people with disabilities and people of color from marginalized communities. As a person with a disability and an immigrant from Bangladesh, Shahreen is passionate about health equity and serving underserved communities. Her master's thesis is about advance care planning among adolescents and young adults with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.