About Ward Infinity
Ward Infinity is Johns Hopkins University and Medicine’s cohort-based social entrepreneurship accelerator serving Washington, DC communities. We resource entrepreneurial teams serving DC's historically underinvested communities to improve health, wellness, and sustainability outcomes. We provide the teams with fiscal, knowledge, and social capital in a five-month accelerator that is both supportive and challenging so they can catalyze community vibrancy.
Our Goals
Eliminate Disparities
Health disparities increase medical costs by $77 billion and indirect costs by $83 billion each year. Our strategy distributes resources to increase health and vitality and reduce costs.
Increase Inclusion
Vulnerable communities are often not consulted on changes that affect their quality of life. Our approach empowers residents to shape changes in their community.
Build Trust
As we've seen with the COVID vaccine roll-out, trust between patients & providers either impedes or encourages healthcare service use. Our process listens and responds to community needs.
Ensure Viability
Our program not only takes you through the innovation process, but it also ensures your venture is sustainable, increasing wealth, and ensuring a positive economic impact on the community it is serving.
Interest Areas
Food
Increase availability and/or access to nutritious food
Relationships
Create stronger bonds and enhance emotional wellbeing
Environment
Shape healthy places where residents live, work, and/or play
Health Technology
Improve health access and/or literacy through tech-based solutions
Healthcare Systems
Build better access to equitable health systems
The Johns Hopkins Innovation Method
Our Model
Our health-focused social innovation design approach combines training sessions, personalized workshops, coaching and mentoring to help accelerate the path to sustainable and profitable social enterprise in three ways:
- building community social entrepreneurial capacity in a respectful, people-first, asset-oriented way (Engine of Change)
- changing health, wellness, and sustainability outcomes in historically underinvested communities and beyond (Community Vibrancy)
- helping universities and other established institutions engage and resource communities through collaboration and co-design. (Policy & Practice)
Community-Driven Solutions
-
The WANDA Academy
A women's circle that reclaims sisterhood and heritage foods to address food security.
-
DMV Urban Greens
An urban organic farm that provides produce for free/low cost while eliminating transportation barriers.
-
Taste and Talk
Gatherings in a familiar setting to explore the benefits of plant-based diets on $10/day. Health coaching for 9 months following the program.
Media Releases
-
-
Johns Hopkins Hosts Competition to Address Health Disparities
December 2, 2021A Food Hall Rising in Ward 7 Will Focus on Fostering Black-Owned Businesses
September 29, 2021Recipes for Change: AU Lands Historic Grant to Study Wasted Food
September 28, 2021Our Stories Drive Change: Black Entrepreneurs in D.C., and Johns Hopkins Sibley's Ward Infinity
September 26, 2021Ward Infinity Program Helps Foster Community-Driven Solutions to DC Health Issues
September 1, 2021Developer Duo Tackles Mixed-Use Project From the Ground Up in Deanwood
August 6, 2021Lunch and Learn: Storytelling, Theatre and Lunch
April 29, 2021Ward Infinity Presents Keynote Talk at MadPow Healthcare Design Conference
April 20, 2021Forbes names Market 7 Founder, Mary Blackford, an Honoree on the Next 1000 list
February 16, 2021Dr. Veronica X. Vela Discusses Social Innovation to Improve Community Health
February 15, 2021 -
Marissa McKeever, Esq. is Empowering the DC Community with Care
December 23, 2020Women Living in Wards 7 and 8 Can Now Enroll in a Free Health and Nutrition Class
June 30, 2020DC community marketplace founder wins $150K in national grant contest
July 15, 2020A Market Supporting DC Black-Owned Businesses Is a Big Award Finalist
June 26, 2020Market7 DC Fights Food Deserts
June 22, 2020Tambra Raye Stevenson and Mary Blackford Named as Changemakers in the DC Food System
July 16, 2020Black Flea Market in D.C., Breaks Ground on Permanent Home
January 6, 2020 -
Benning Market Set for Ward 7's River Terrace
December 11, 2019Meet the innovators fighting for health and nutrition east of the river — with an assist from Sibley Memorial Hospital
August 1, 2019WANDA nutrition program teaches DC communities about food, culture and identity
July 25, 2019Three Generations of a Ward-7 Family Find Work and Fulfillment in Urban Farming
July 2, 2019Ward Infinity Participants Offer Solutions to Health Issues
July 2, 2019Insight on National Minority Health Month with Marissa McKeever
April 17, 2019Sibley Hospital's Ward Infinity Seeks Public Funds
April 10, 2019