Arnold School Awards
Gerry Sue Arnold Alumni Award: Aditi Srivastav Bussells
Currently a manager at Deloitte Consulting, Aditi Srivastav Bussells has more than a decade of public health experience. The 2019 graduate of the Ph.D. in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior (HPEB) program got her start with bachelor’s (American Government and Politics, University of Virginia) and master’s (Health Policy, George Washington University) degrees.
From there, she has gained experience at places like the American Academy of Pediatrics and AcademyHealth. During her doctoral program, Bussells led the Children’s Adverse Childhood Experiences Initiative as the research director for the Children’s Trust of South Carolina. At Deloitte, she has led projects related to minority health/health equity and Medicaid/Medicare.
“Before and after graduation, Dr. Bussells developed her skills as a seasoned management consultant with experience across policy, non-profit and industry settings,” says Megan Weis, an HPEB alumna and academic affiliate who is a research assistant professor with the USC School of Medicine Columbia. “Her key expertise lies in helping clients improve their organizations, from updating their organizational structures to enhancing team effectiveness.”
In her free time, Bussells serves her community in other ways. In 2021, she was the first South Asian American woman to be elected to Columbia City Council – receiving the most votes ever. She has also chaired the Taskforce to Prevent and End Homelessness, currently chairs the Health, Social, and Environmental Affairs Committee, and has been appointed by the governor as vice chair of the South Carolina Opioid Recovery Board Fund.
“Dr. Bussells leverages her deep understanding of strategic communications, branding, messages, capacity building and coaching to drive transformative change in the organizations she works with,” adds Weis. “As a recognized expert in child health, she focuses on critical areas such as risk behavior prevention, health equity and early childhood experiences.”
This award is open to all alumni who graduated less than 10 years prior to the current year. Alumni whose work has both made a difference to the profession and in the health of an identified community or population are eligible for this award.
Norman J. Arnold Alumni Medal: Veronica Scott-Fulton
A 1993 graduate (Master of Public Health in Public Health Administration) of the Department of Health Services Policy and Management, Veronica Scott-Fulton is the System Chief Nurse Executive for Bon Secours Mercy Health System in Cincinnati Ohio. Her MPH was Scott-Fulton’s second USC degree – following a bachelor’s in sociology and psychology that she completed in 1991.
She earned a second bachelor's degree (this time in nursing) at the Medical University of South Carolina and spent the next seven years as a registered nurse at Emory University Hospital. Scott-Fulton made the move into administration in 2005 as the medical-surgical director at Emory Hillandale. She also began her fourth degree during this time, completing a Doctor of Nursing Practice (Clinical Operations) from the University of Miami. She rounded out her academic credentials with an Executive MBA from the University of Florida in 2022.
“Dr. Scott-Fulton has definitely brought honor to her family and has built a foundation for generational excellence,” says her spouse, Dwight Fulton. “An opportunity and an education at USC changed the life of this African American woman, who started life with nothing but achieved a lot.”
Since completing her doctoral degree, Scott-Fulton has served in several executive roles – overseeing thousands of nurses and eight to 24 hospitals at the highest levels of leadership. In these roles, she has managed day-to-day operations while also implementing process improvements that reduce costs and improve patient outcomes. In addition to memberships in numerous state and professional organizations, her board participation includes High School to Medicine (introducing minority students to medical professions), the American Diabetes Association, ANA- Patient Care Ethics, UM – Operations/Administrative Agenda for Growth, and the Dreams Come True Foundation.
“Dr. Scott-Fulton is a nationally acclaimed and accomplished health care executive with proven success leading teams in the achievement of a vision for transforming and creating value in health care,” Fulton says. “As long as she has a voice in health care and public health, her story and her influence and impact in health care will continue nationally and internally.”
This award is open to all alumni who graduated more than 10 years prior to the current year. Eligible alumni should demonstrate work that has had both a positive impact on the profession and on the health of an identified community or population and has brought recognition to the Arnold School of Public Health.