First Center Retreat - Global Obesity Researchers Plan for Next 5 Years

On April 5, 2012, over 20 key members of the Johns Hopkins Global Center on Childhood Obesity held the Center’s first retreat in Baltimore, which is a big success. Members from across Hopkins and some other leading research institutions including the NIH, met to discuss center priorities and goals for the next 5 years.

The event was planned by a center retreat planning committee led by Dr. Shiriki Kumanyika from the University of Pennsylvania after months of many discussions. The day-long retreat was moderated by Robert Kleinschmidt, a senior organization development consultant at Hopkins assisted by his two other colleagues. In addition to refining the Center’s overall mission, the group discussed the scientific and operational priorities for the Center. This successful event not only produced a sharper vision of the Center’s goals but also initiated several follow-up activities, including a center SWOT ("strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats") analysis and the creation of a forum to exchange questions central to the Center’s research.