Joseph Kanter, Joel Lamstein to speak at SPHTM commencement ceremonies

Dr. Joseph Kanter (MD/MPH '10) and visiting professor Joel Lamstein will be the 2023 commencement speakers for the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

Kanter, chief medical official for the State of Louisiana, will deliver the keynote address for the undergraduate commencement ceremony on Friday, May 19. 

Lamstein, the retired president and CEO of John Snow, Inc. and visiting SPHTM professor, will address the master's and doctoral students on Saturday, May 20.

Kanter is the state health officer and medical director of the Louisiana Department of Health, a promotion he received during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the top medical professional in the Department of Health, Kanter has been a vital leader in addressing the pandemic in Louisiana, from mitigation measures to vaccine deployment. 

For his efforts, Kanter was awarded the Lisa Jackson Professional Achievement Award at the 2022 Tulane Alumni Awards Gala.
 
After a residency in emergency medicine at LSU, Kanter served as a clinical emergency physician, medical director of the Health Care for the Homeless clinic, and clinical assistant professor of medicine at both LSU Health Sciences Center and Tulane School of Medicine. He served as director of health for the city of New Orleans and led Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s comprehensive opioid mitigation strategy, increasing availability of medication-assisted treatment, promoting harm reduction services, and initiating a city-wide effort to reduce the stigma of addictive disorders. After his career with the city of New Orleans, he began working at the Louisiana Department of Health, as an assistant state health officer, interim assistant secretary, and regional medical director.

Lamstein formed John Snow, Inc. (JSI), a powerhouse public health consulting firm, with Dr. Bert Hirschhorn in 1978. Over more than 40 years, the organization has worked in 107 countries, has eight offices in the United States, has a staff of 4,000, and works on a wide range of topics including behavioral health, health communication, supply chain management, immunization, and more.

He majored in math and physics at the University of Michigan and worked at IBM, before taking a position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). At MIT’s Sloan School of Management, he worked with professors interested in applying private sector management skills to public sector issues, particularly public health, which led to the founding of Management Sciences for Health (MSH) and his eventual formation of JSI.

Both speakers will be honored with the Creighton Wellman Medal, named for the founding dean of the school. The Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine was the first such school in the U.S., originally launched in 1912.