Harvard, Meharry to Cohost 2026 Creator Summit on Health and Wellness for All
October 26, 2026 – This October, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the School of Global Health at Meharry Medical College will bring together public health creators and researchers for the 2026 Creator Summit on Health and Wellness for All, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Doris Duke Foundation.
The summit is part of Harvard Chan School’s Creator Program, which was founded by the school’s Center for Health Communication in 2023 and this year is cohosted with the School of Global Health at Meharry Medical College.
The 2026 Creator Summit focuses on what it will take to make health and wellness a right for all, not a privilege for a few.
Social media is increasingly dominated by individualistic ideas about health: Take this supplement, follow this exercise regimen, stick to this diet. But health depends on more than personal choices. It depends on whether you have health insurance, a safe place to live, clean air to breathe, and access to healthy food. The individualism dominating online health spaces can make structural changes feel impossible.
At this year’s summit, creators will collectively imagine the content, coalitions, and infrastructure that could help make such structural change feel possible. Through workshops and collaborative exercises, summit creators will help their audiences understand and act on the forces that shape health.
“Creators are a source of health information for more and more of us,” said Amanda Yarnell, Senior Director of the Center for Health Communication at Harvard Chan School. “So much of that information focuses on individual health choices. This summit offers leading creators the opportunity to explore how they might work together to help their audiences understand the systems and policies that shape health.”
“Where you live and the policies that govern it can matter more to your health than any choice you make on your own,” said Fazal Khan, Chair of the Political Determinants of Health Department at Meharry School of Global Health. “For many, your zip code can predict your life expectancy better than your genetic code. This summit is a chance for creators to help their audiences see issues like that, and build the coalitions and content that can turn structural barriers into structural change.”
The three-day event will feature keynote talks, workshops, and collaborative sessions designed to give participating creators:
- Training in health communications from leading public health experts
- A lifetime network of creators grounded in mutual care and empowerment
- Faculty and creative collaborators for future content, research, and more
- A renewed sense of purpose in telling stories that can help make health and wellness a right for all
- The opportunity to imagine the creator coalitions and infrastructure needed to advance a healthier world
Participating creators include:
- Alex Peay | @poppopbrucejohnson
- Brit Koch | @Britlkoch
- Dr. Cambria Nwosu | @cjnlegalnurse
- Eve | @women_inamerica
- Jouelzy | @jouelzy
- Kody Green | @SchizophrenicHippie
- Marsha Elle | @marshaellemusic
- Dr. Michael H. Forde | @DrMichaelHForde
- Natalie Lauren Sims | @natalielaurensims
- Nathan Jun | @nathancjun
- Pari | @women_inamerica
- Dr. Sarah G. Jamison | @dr.sarah_jam
- Shira Lazar | @shiralazar
- Steffi G. | @therealsteffig
- Dr. Varuna Srinivasan | @drvarunasrinivasan
About the Creator Program
Harvard Chan School’s Creator Program, launched by the School’s Center for Health Communication in 2023, works with creators to ensure that accurate health information is accessible to everyone.
At a time when one in two Americans get health information from social media, the program equips creators with accurate, vetted health information so they can show up for their audiences with clarity, credibility, and care. It allows creators to grow their skills via tailored toolkits and trainings, engage directly with leading public health experts and clinicians, and tap into a community of creators working to improve public health communication.
That community—fostered via monthly events and in-person activations like our annual creator summit—helps our creators network, collaborate, and problem-solve together.
In 2026 the Creator Program is cohosted in partnership with Meharry School of Global Health and informed by an advisory board of leading creators, public health experts, and creator economy leaders.
This year’s programming, including the summit, was made possible by financial support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Doris Duke Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of either the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation or the Doris Duke Foundation.
For more information, visit:
https://hsph.harvard.edu/research/health-communication/creator-program/
https://meharry.edu/academics/schools/school-of-global-health/
Media contacts:
Maya Brownstein, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, mbrownstein@hsph.harvard.edu
Mahia Valle, MBA, Communications, School of Global Health, Meharry Medical College, mvalle@mmc.edu
