When Selwyn Ray became director of community relations for the Johns Hopkins Health System, he began the job by reading the last will and testament of the founder of the system’s flagship hospital.

Before his death in 1873, Baltimore philanthropist Johns Hopkins stipulated that the hospital that would bear his name would care for all who needed it, regardless of race, gender or age. The requirement resonates deeply with Ray.

“That tells me that our institution was founded to serve the people who live in the neighborhoods near our hospitals. Not just because of last April 27,” says Ray, referring to the unrest in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray. “But because of the man who said it 126 years ago! He said, ‘I want you to take care of the people who live here.’”

Ray, a lifelong Baltimore resident, was hired in August to serve as an ambassador to the many neighborhoods of Baltimore’s east side. He is based at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where he leads the Community Advisory Board and oversees programs that benefit people who live near the medical center.

He also will steer Hopkins Bayview’s community health needs assessment and will serve on the Johns Hopkins Bayview Executive Council. Within the school of medicine, Ray will design programs to help other hospitals and departments in the Johns Hopkins family to improve the health of their communities.

Ray has spent nearly 35 years in service of others. A graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law, Ray was a policy advisor to the Baltimore City health commissioner and community relations director for the city’s Safe and Sound Campaign, which aims to improve the health, safety and well-being of Baltimore’s children.

He is a former executive director of the Maryland Mentoring Partnership and acted as interim CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Chesapeake. He was the executive director of the Maryland Mentoring Resource Center until accepting the job at Johns Hopkins.

A Family Tradition of Health Care

A commitment for delivering top-quality health care runs in the family. Ray’s late mother, Lelia, was a nurse at both The Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Rosewood Center. His late father, Uthman, was a civic activist and family physician in West Baltimore.

“That was old-school community health!” the 58-year-old director says. “My father taught me very early not to judge others, and that’s something I’ve always tried to adhere to.”

He says the task of building and maintaining community relations belongs to all Johns Hopkins employees. “It’s everyone’s job. Whether we’re in a hospital or out in the neighborhood, we’re all community relations. Every one of us represents Johns Hopkins, and that’s something to take seriously.”

As he works with leaders in grass-roots organizations, nonprofits and local government, Ray is already helping to improve East Baltimore’s health. He points to a Hopkins Bayview food pantry program that fed more than 802 disadvantaged adults and children this fall.

“The way I look at it, we’re not just a hospital,” Ray says. “We’re a neighbor—a good neighbor.”