Marla J. Gold

This June, we are highlighting Marla J. Gold, MD, FACP, FCPP, who is a Trustee at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia and recently retired from several roles at Drexel University. Dr. Gold serves as Dean Emerita and Professor of Health Management and Policy at Drexel’s Dornsife School of Public Health. She also worked as the university’s Chief Wellness Officer and Senior Vice Provost for Community Health, leading Drexel through the height of the COVID pandemic. 

Dr. Gold has a long record of public health service, with a focus on collaborating with communities to make a meaningful impact. This Pride Month, we spoke to her about her work to address HIV/AIDS in the city, how clinicians can better serve members of the LGBTQ+ community, and much more.  

  

You have had an extraordinary career in public health, medicine, and academic leadership. What inspired you to pursue a career focused on public health systems and community health?  

I have always felt driven to do the type of work that aims to make life better for others. Working with others on large system issues afforded me the opportunity to impact the largest number of people. Years ago, when I finished my Infectious Disease Fellowship at the Medical College of Pennsylvania (MCP), I was given the opportunity to teach and provide care at the City's Health Center One, which was a categorical STI/HIV diagnosis and treatment community health center. Experiencing health center work and seeing the great need in Philadelphia at that time was eye-opening. I met so many leaders in community health and felt I could be more impactful in that work than solely academic infectious disease work. The rest, as they say, is history. 

 

During your time as Philadelphia’s Assistant Health Commissioner for Infectious Disease Control, you helped shape programs addressing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other major public health challenges. What lessons from that experience continue to influence your work today?  

First, I am glad you say "helped shape" because there were and are many leaders in our regional public health community. None of us works alone, and we all learn from each other all the time. The lessons of community work ring true across all types of leadership positions. Listening and communication are key. You must always involve and be guided by the people whom you are trying to help. So many well-meaning academicians build systems they perceive are needed but do so in a vacuum, entirely missing the people who have long been doing this work and know the needs of their communities well. Our job is to listen and work with community members. Another key lesson is that a leader may know the message (i.e., the data and the science behind an issue), but that doesn't mean they should be the messenger. There are always more established community leaders, and building trust and working together is most effective if you want to jointly craft care systems that last. I also learned how to communicate optimally with the media, and that was critical to pave the way for change. The bottom line is that trust and understanding are the foundations of communication and change. That's more important today than ever in both public health and medicine.  

 

You spent many years leading and growing the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University. What are you most proud of from your time as Dean, and how did you hope to shape the next generation of public health leaders?  

I feel so lucky to have worked with a superb faculty, community leaders, Drexel administration, donors, and so many others in expanding the School of Public Health. Together, we grew academic offerings and public health research. Notably, student-applied experiences/internships were based on actual community needs, so our students' work experience often benefited community life in some tangible way. Philadelphia is a city of "eds and meds," given the wealth of academic institutions and scientific innovation institutions. However, I believe that having this wealth of academic institutions must translate to improved health for the people who live here. What good is all our institutional knowledge if the people who live here are no better off because of us and our institutions? I am most proud of how the School of Public Health made a difference in the city. In addition, when I am learning about a new health policy, or reading a science paper, or meeting new leaders in health and medicine- and they are connected to the Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health in some way, it's frankly thrilling. Education and applied experience can amplify an institution’s reach in a good way. Add trust and communication, and you have a win for all of us who live here. 

 

You’ve been a Fellow of the College for several years. What first drew you to the College, and what keeps you connected to its mission today?  

I love public health, and I love medicine. These fields intersect and even overlap in places, of course. Those loves combine to make the College a natural home for me. I am also a book nerd, and the collection of books and materials here is amazing. Critically, as a home for public health and medicine, the College can be a nexus for our professions where we can come together in a non-competitive way, mentor each other, support each other, and learn from one another. We are a community! In this new world of technology and science, the College is a supportive home for us humans who are working to improve life for others. The College is also rooted in the history of our fields and of the region. Learning from our past is critical both for understanding how we got here and for informing the work of changing our systems and ourselves as we move into the future. The educational offerings of the College, the committees and programs, and the Fellowship are all important parts of what draws me here. Add the Mütter and the incredible items and offerings at the Museum and [Historical Medical] Library, and I am home. 

 

You recently joined the College’s Board. What excites you most about becoming more involved with the College community and its Fellows?  

The opportunity to provide a diverse, welcoming home base for the Fellows, as well as an educational home for visitors and residents of our region. The College is a foundational part of the "city of eds and meds," and as such, a key player in the health of the region. I also love being an infectious diseases physician with expertise in public health, and I enjoy teaching and working with students and young clinicians. 

 

Your work has included leadership in HIV/AIDS care and advocacy for vulnerable populations. How do you see the role of public health leadership in advancing equity and improving care for LGBTQ+ communities today?  

I became involved in the AIDS pandemic in the 1980s while in medical school. As a lesbian, I felt a strong need to help take care of "my" community at a time when the federal government seemed to abdicate its responsibility to do so. It has been said that the AIDS pandemic underscored every frailty in the American health care system. I think it underscored that and plenty more. The inequities, racism, homophobia, classism, and so much more. Today, we are dealing with governmental issues that can be crushing. You ask about the role of public health, and let me say that by definition, public health has always been political. Medicine must be as well. In terms of LGBTQ+ communities, we need to condemn the way the federal government, and many others, are working to "erase" our trans brothers and sisters. We must educate ourselves about equity and inclusion and ensure the systems in which we work are designed to welcome and care for all. Leadership is also being "out" so that young people can see themselves in their leaders. The mission of public health is to create/ensure conditions in which ALL people can achieve optimal health. All means all.  

 

June is Pride Month, a time to reflect on both progress and ongoing challenges. From your perspective, what are some important areas where the health care community can continue to better support LGBTQ+ patients and colleagues?  

EVERY month is Pride Month to me. A lot has been written about the health care community providing a welcoming environment for ALL who access it. Materials are available for clinical practices, hospitals, and clinics. But honestly, it comes down to those principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We have a federal administration that is trying to delete DEI, trying to erase trans people, disappear immigrants, and doing so much damage to countless other people and communities. As clinicians, as public health experts, we have a responsibility to care for all equitably. This is a time to open our eyes and focus on the hard work at hand. We are caring for people and communities at a time when portions of the government aim to tear them down. We must work together and keep taking care of one another, and keep from burning out. People need us more than ever.