“Transcending Global Health Barriers: Education and Action” was the theme of The 18th Annual Global Health Education Consortium (GHEC) Conference and the 7th Annual Western Regional International Health Conference hosted by the University of Washington Department of Global Health. Among the highlights: Keynote speaker Harriet Fulbright, director of the Fulbright Center, received the GHEC Distinguished Service Award and answered questions on the “Peace Index.” Speaker Dr. Fortunato L. Cristobal gave a great example of a global health program in his talk, "Roles of Universities in Global Health: The Philippine Experience." Dr. Christopher Elias, president and CEO of PATH; UW’s Dr. Stephen Gloyd, executive director of Health Alliance International; and UW’s Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, offered a hard look at “Looking into the Future: What is government’s role in public health interventions?” The conference was organized by an interdisciplinary team of more than 20 undergraduate and graduate students along with faculty and staff from UW's Global Health Resource Center and GHEC. From the Series:18th Annual GHEC Conference and 7th Annual Western Regional International Health Conference - Transcending Global Health Barriers: Education and Action