10-15-2023 Women to Watch - Flipbook - Page 29
TEEN TO
WATCH
KIM HAIRSTON
Makenzie Greenwood
Founder, Hampstead’s Little
Free Pantry
LLOYD FOX
Sarah Kattakuzhy
Associate director, Kahlert Institute for Addiction Medicine; co-director, Research
Initiative on Infectious Diseases and Substance Use. Both roles are based at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Sarah Kattakuzhy, 41, has had many mentors throughout her career, from her former boss at the
National Institutes of Health to her current colleagues at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. But she said her biggest sources of inspiration are her patients, who are being treated for substance
use disorder.
She’s in awe of the obstacles they’ve overcome and the constant work they do for their recovery. “Any
good idea I’ve ever had has come from a patient,” she said.
This year, she’s proud to have helped drive the launch of the Kahlert Institute for Addiction Medicine,
which aims to use cutting-edge research and clinical care to combat addiction to opioids, alcohol and
other substances. “It’s been incredibly meaningful to participate in an effort that feels like it’s meeting
the gravity of the country’s addiction crisis,” Kattakuzhy said.
“Change is really hard, and we have to change the way that we approach addiction,” she added. “We
have to keep beating that drum, provider by provider, helping people reduce their stigmatization, but we
also need to make big moves, because this is such a huge challenge. It’s a literal life-or-death situation.”
Makenzie Greenwood was only
9 when she founded Hampstead’s
Little Free Pantry — a donation-based
pantry that’s open 24/7 in the annex
of St. John’s United Methodist
Church at 1205 N. Main St., so those
in need can access food at any time.
“I just had a genuine want to help
the community,” said Greenwood,
now 16 and a junior at Manchester
Valley High School.
The pantry has been accessed
approximately 8,000 times since
then, and Greenwood has donated
over 89,000 pounds of food through
monthly giveaways in partnership with the Westminster Rescue
Mission. She said she hopes to be a
model for other young people, showing them “how easy it is to spread
kindness and love.”
— Abigail Gruskin
— Angela Roberts
WOMEN TO WATCH | 2023 | 29
