Maria Cortese Hering

Assistant Director, Global Health Training

Maria Cortese Hering is the Assistant Director of Global Health Training at the Center for Global Health. In this position, Maria works with Penn medical trainees (MD students, fellows, and residents) to find placements for global health experiences in primarily low-resource settings. She also works with CGH’s affiliated international institutions, placing selected medical students in short-term clinical and research positions at Penn.

Maria earned her BA in Film from Temple University after which she moved to Kenya to volunteer for a year. While there she created a video program for an International NGO and documented grassroots organizations across east and southern Africa. Upon her return, she worked in film, video and multimedia in both Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

Maria obtained an MA in African Studies from Ohio University where she was a FLAS fellow in Swahili as well as a FLAS Summer Fellow in Swahili at the University of Dar es Salaam. It was upon completion of this degree that Maria focused her work on communicating the research of scholars in higher education. This work included the documentation of an NSF-funded paleontological field season, for a team from Ohio University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, in Tanzania and Kenya.

Maria joins CGH from the Office of Global Support Services at Penn where she served as the Manager of Global Data and Communications. Her role covered management of the website, data analysis and delivery, and coordinating communications and outreach throughout the University with respect to global administration. While working in GSS Maria finished her MPH in Global Health from Penn. She focused on nutrition from the perspective of global food policy and security. Her capstone was a systematic review of literature that addressed the intersection of agriculture, nutrition, and climate change in Africa.