In 2014, Paul Lewis'18 created Harvard College Vision Global Health Society, an officially recognized student organization at Harvard College. The group's breadth and depth built on our founder's interests and is reflected within the complexity of the name—a double entendre and acronym. VISION originally stood as an acronym for Vision Impairment Screening and Intervention for Optical Needs, and Global Health Society is the name for Unite for Sight partners who help provide cataract surgeries to low-income individuals in developing nations. The organization mentored youth to fundraise for cataract surgeries and learn about global health leadership. Today, the name reflects a vision for a society concerned about global health issues.

Vision built on Paul Lewis's experiences from dozens of activities that exposed him to diverse areas of community intervention and acted as a foundation for the high quality programming we have today. Health Peer Advisors and Liaisons and Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisors introduced him to peer health education. Health Leads and Harvard Square Homeless Shelter taught him resource advocacy, and working as the Eliot House Charity Chair gave him insight into fundraising. The Native American Youth Enrichment Program and National Student Leadership Conference gave insight into youth programming. Facilitating Life Science 1a and tutoring at the Bureau of Study Council taught him strategies for teaching. He cultivated the knowledge into The Global Health and Leadership Conference. At the time, there was a lack of activities for youth to talk about global health issues and immerse themselves in actual research-based projects and community interactions. While many service-related conferences and programs are available for high school students, they all lacked a concrete product and mentorship, or they promoted voluntourism rather than effective impacts. Families regularly enroll their children in programs and conferences, but the impact ends up being ephemeral and superficial. The Global Health and Leadership Conference fills a gap in youth education in a productive and supportive environment.

The Global Health and Leadership Conference promotes student engagement with global health topics by bringing together Harvard faculty, students, and guests to educate high school students. The conference encourages students to conduct evidence-based, cost-effective interventions that impact their community. The conference is hosted by the Harvard Global Health Institute and Harvard College Vision: Global Health Society. It hopes to help students make a difference and grow as civically minded leaders for the future.

The 2017 conference was a one day event with the theme of health care.
The 2018 conference was a two day event with the theme of women in global health
The 2019 conference was a two day event with the theme of caregiving
The 2020 conference was meant to be a three day event with the theme of refugee health. Due to COVID-19, the conference was administered in a shorter virtual model