Honoring Dr. Adam Barkin ’91 and Dr. Beth Linas ’97: 2023 RUTH GORHAM AWARD RECIPIENTS

By Molly Johnson, Communications Manager

Every year, Graland’s Alumni Board honors a member (or members) of the alumni community with the Ruth Gorham Award for their extraordinary contributions to the school. Ms. Gorham, the longest-serving teacher in the school’s history (62 years!), will always be remembered as a dedicated educator and mentor who nurtured the joy of learning in her students. For this reason, Graland is pleased to announce that this year’s award recipients are Dr. Adam Barkin ’91 and Dr. Beth Linas ’97. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, each of these individuals served on Graland’s Medical Advisory Board and dedicated countless hours to ensuring that the community was safe, informed, and that in-person learning could continue for as many students as possible. Like many Graland teachers we know and love, Dr. Barkin and Dr. Linas are knowledgeable, supportive, curious, passionate, and dedicated to serving others. Ms. Gorham would be proud that these Graland alumni and medical professionals are the 2023 recipients of her award.

About Dr. Adam Barkin ’91

After graduating from Graland in 1991, Dr. Adam Barkin attended Kent Denver and eventually Williams College in Massachusetts. Following his undergraduate studies, Dr. Barkin attended Vanderbilt Medical School and also completed a master’s degree in public health at Harvard. In 2006, Dr. Barkin moved to Denver with his wife Jill, where they currently reside with their children, Jacob ’24 and Eli ’26. Throughout the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Barkin served on Graland’s Medical Advisory Board. While on the board, he shared that he was “blown away by the knowledge, commitment and dedication of all the other board members who each brought a different perspective and foundation of knowledge which helped shape recommendations.” Currently, Dr. Barkin is the medical director of the emergency department and president-elect of the medical staff at Sky Ridge Medical Center.

About Dr. Beth Linas ’97

Dr. Beth Linas graduated from Graland in 1997 and went on to attend East High School in Denver. Her undergraduate studies took place at Brandeis University, followed by doctoral work at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Linas was also named a policy fellow for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology from 2015-2017. She currently resides in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Josh Levine. Dr. Linas served on Graland’s Medical Advisory Board starting in summer of 2020. She shared that this experience reminded her “that public health practice lies outside the classroom, beyond research and academic papers, and is most impactful when working directly with your community.”

At this time, Dr. Linas is a research epidemiologist at RTI International.