The Health Opportunity Leadership Institute (HOLI), based out of the Powell School, has been named grantee of the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation for the second year in a row.
HOLI initially received a planning grant from the Foundation to stand up a first-of-its-kind center dedicated to cultivating the next generation of health leaders – focused on undergraduate and graduate students across CUNY. That early investment in 2025 created the momentum that turned a vision into ready-to-launch program.
So far, the MCHF’s support has allowed HOLI to develop a multi-year business plan to guide long-term impact, engage more than 330 CUNY students eager to participate in leadership development and experiential learning to prepare them for their future, recruit 15 Fellows and Senior Fellows — seasoned leaders in the health sector — to mentor and work with students, build partnerships with 10 regional and national health-focused organizations, and activate interdisciplinary teams and internships with students tackling timely and urgent health challenges.
The initiative is led by Dr. Dave A. Chokshi, HOLI’s founding director and the Sternberg Family Professor of Leadership at the Colin Powell School. Chokshi, who served as commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasized that the program addresses a critical need: cultivating leaders from diverse and historically marginalized communities who can forge connections between improving health and unlocking economic opportunity.
“We are deeply grateful that the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation has now approved a renewal grant to support HOLI’s official launch in 2026,” said Chokshi. “This continued investment affirms a shared commitment to equity, opportunity, and leadership grounded in lived experience.”
About HOLI
The Health and Opportunity Leadership Institute (HOLI) cultivates a new generation of leaders in public health, medicine, health policy, and public affairs drawn from diverse and historically marginalized communities. The initiative responds to what residents of these communities witness daily: poor leadership costs lives and livelihoods, while effective leadership enables human flourishing.
In tandem with developing this new generation of leadership, HOLI aims to conceive and advance solutions for entrenched challenges including healthcare affordability, homelessness, child poverty, and racial inequities.
About the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation
The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of New Yorkers, bolster the health outcomes of vulnerable communities, eliminate barriers to care, and bridge gaps in health services. Named after a tireless advocate for immigrants, children, and the poor, the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation funds programs and initiatives across New York State that either provide direct healthcare services or address the social determinants of health. For more information, visit cabrinihealth.org.
