Awards

Each year, the Colorado Public Health Association presents awards to individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to public health. From outstanding leadership to innovative programs and policies, our awards program highlights the exceptional work being done in our community. We are honored to recognize the hard work and dedication of these individuals and organizations in advancing public health in Colorado.

2023
Award
Winners

COLORADO SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AWARD CATEGORIES

Community Preceptor Award for Excellence in Public Health Practice

This award recognizes a public health practitioner in the Rocky Mountain region who has provided exceptional mentorship for one or more students from the Colorado School of Public Health during the last academic year, especially as a preceptor for practice-based learning.

This year’s award recipient is Dr. Christopher Czaja, a medical epidemiologist and program manager for the Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance Program at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Dr. Czaja is also an alumnus of the Doctor of Public Health program at the Colorado School of Public Health.

Not only does Chris offer much of his time to student mentorship while leading a team full-time at CDPHE, but he also has led and facilitated a new cross-collaboration between the Colorado School of Public Health and CDPHE which offers opportunities for master’s and doctoral-level students to complete practicum and capstone projects in a practice-based learning environment.
More than one Colorado School of Public Health student who had Chris as their preceptor and a mentor for their practicum and capstone experiences nominated him for this award.
To quote one student: “As a mentor, Chris was incredibly gracious with his time during a period in public health where his attentions were often needed elsewhere. Upon entry into my public health internship, Chris and his team made me feel welcomed and supported throughout the duration of my project. I was encouraged to attend the larger branch meetings to gain exposure to other branches of infectious disease within CDPHE for my professional development. During my practicum, we spoke about publishing my work to enhance dissemination of my results. He encouraged me to submit an abstract and brief report to a major scientific journal and premier public health society and helped to secure funding for me to attend a conference where I presented my practicum results. He has objectively provided so many ancillary opportunities for me outside of the confines of the practicum timeline and I am so grateful that I had him as my mentor. He goes above and beyond in his mentorship of students.”
Chris, thank you so much for the invaluable work that you do with our students, and the experience you are providing for future public health leaders.
Please join me in a round of applause in recognizing Dr. Chris Czaja as the ColoradoSPH preceptor of the year!

Community Partner Award for Excellence in Public Health Practice

This award recognizes an individual or organization as a community partner for their collaboration with the school and for their excellence and commitment to public health practice in the Rocky Mountain region.

This year’s award goes to the Centennial Area Health Education Center, and here to accept the award today is their Programs Director and 2023 MPH alumna from the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Northern Colorado, Samantha Vernon.

CAHEC is a small but mighty program whose efforts align to the school’s mission to promote all aspects of the health of the people and communities across Colorado.
To cite some of the work that they’ve done for Weld County and in partnership with the school:
Melissa Jensen, their Executive Director, provided connections for our school’s students enrolled in the Health Communications and Media course to develop brochures and podcasts that promote the organizations that are part of Thriving Weld—a collective impact coalition of local organizations in Weld County that are building a healthier and more prosperous community.
Erika Greenberg, CAHEC’s Health Education and Regional Health Connector, served as a lead instructor for ColoradoSPH students to become certified instructors in NARCAN/NOLOXONE training last year. Not only did she provide assistance to ColoradoSPH, but she also served as a consultant for UNC’s Health Promotion Program in an effort to combat fentanyl overdose through prevention and education. Thanks to Erika and CAHEC, some of our MPH students are now the leaders in NARCAN/NOLOXONE trainings on the UNC campus and will continue to serve the greater community.
Kori Walsh, CAHEC’s Regional Health Connector, has assisted ColoradoSPH efforts to develop a Youth Public Health Summit pilot program, serving on the Rural Public Health and Education Initiative Committee. Kori consistently provides ideas and suggestions and is always willing to connect ColoradoSPH at UNC with potential students who could one day be future public health professionals.
And finally, Samantha Vernon, Programs Director and recent ColoradoSPH graduate co-led a qualitative photovoice project, which explored the mental health components among underrepresented communities in the Northern Colorado area. Thanks to Samantha, ColoradoSPH students gained valuable real-world experience in research methods and have given numerous community members the opportunity to have a bigger and more impactful voice.

CPHA AWARD CATEGORIES

Award for Excellence in Policy

Established in 1988 by CPHA, this award is presented annually to a person or an organization for highly visible past or present efforts within local, state, or national efforts in support of public health issues.

THE WINNER IS – Chris deGruy Kennedy:

Representative Kennedy and his team were instrumental in advocating for and passing HB23-1244 which supported the Regional Health Connector (RHC) program with a sustainable funding solution.
He made time to connect with RHCs, program staff, and partners in order to ensure the RHC workforce was supported in their needs.
Representative Kennedy understands that conveners and connectors like the RHCs are an integral and necessary part of healthcare and public health systems.

Award for Excellence in the Promotion of Health Equity

Presented by the Colorado Public Health Association, the Colorado Society of Public Health Education, and the Public Health.

THE WINNER IS – Cynthia Hazel:

Dr. Cynthia Hazel is a valuable partner and great contributor to the Champions for Vaccine Equity program at (CDPHE) during the COVID pandemic. Cynthia joined our Champion program in November 2021. Since then she has provided her Public Health knowledge and expertise in vaccine equity and serving disproportionately impacted communities of color.
Cynthia is very instrumental in helping to reduce health inequities by presenting factual information with COVID-19 education, building vaccine confidence, and dispelling misinformation around COVID-19 vaccination.
I was blown away when during the height of the COVID pandemic, she was able to organize multiple vaccine clinics in a historically black and brown section of town.

Emerging Leader in Public Health

This award is given to an individual early in their career serving in a public health capacity who has demonstrated outstanding initiative on behalf of the Colorado public health community.

THE WINNER IS – Yesenia Wilson:

Yesenia is a rising star and emerging leader in public health who has given so much to the Colorado public health community and the Colorado community at large. This year, Yesenia led efforts in planning and executing the first-ever Policy and Advocacy Summit put on by the Colorado School of Public Health and the CPHA.
Yesenia’s collaborative efforts led to over 75 event attendees and glowing feedback about the content of the event. Yesenia spent months in preparation and the event was successful largely due to her contributions.
Yesenia has also demonstrated her immense leadership skills as a delegate of CPHA’s Emerging Leaders Committee. Her positivity and inquisitiveness are infectious, and she is not afraid to meet any challenge that faces her.

Exemplary Frontier Public Health Nurse Award

Recognizes a Public Health Nurse who has demonstrated exemplary service in a local public health agency located in a Colorado rural/frontier community.

THE WINNER IS – Marcie Clendenen:

Marcie has been a member of the CPHA PHN Section for two years and quickly became involved in several PHN Section projects. She continually challenges membership in centering the perspectives of rural Coloradans and those working in public health in rural regions of the state.
Marcie has become a trusted and valued PHN leader for CPHN PHN members statewide. Marcie has also taken an active role in working to move the Future of Nursing Recommendations forward, she enthusiastically serves as secretary for the Colorado Action Coalition Strategic Advisory Committee #4 (SAC#4).
Marci’s enthusiasm for improving public health in rural Colorado communities is definitely contagious and we are fortunate to have her as an exemplary public health nurse in Colorado.

General Recognition

Do you know someone who is deserving of recognition for contributions and accomplishments in public health, but the above awards categories do not quite fit? Tell us more!

THE WINNER IS – Sara Miller:

Sara has been in the field of public health for over thirty years and she still has a passion for public health that is unwavering. Her contributions to the field of public health in Colorado are numerous:
Sara worked for CDPHE for 9 years, was the Director of the Colorado Cancer Coalition, was the first Executive Director of Trailhead Institute, and teaches Public Administration as adjunct faculty at the Colorado School of Public Health.
Sara founded Otowi Group in 2017, a consultancy that works with public health clients to improve structures, systems, and programs by building effective partnerships and generating solutions, her contributions spread all the way to Puerto Rico, beginning work there after Hurricane Maria.
Sara also is a steadfast advocate and has a passion for the Colorado Public Health Association, serving currently on the Board of Directors as the Treasurer.

John Muth Award:

Named in honor of Dr. John Muth, who served as CPHA President 1983-1984 and El Paso County Department of Health Director, and practiced internal medicine and obstetrics & gynecology in Colorado. This award is given to a member of CPHA who has made an outstanding contribution to the Association.

THE WINNER IS – Jason Vitello:

Jason joined the CPHA board in 2016 as the first at-large board member with a specific focus on health equity.
He has since made tremendous contributions and impacts, including: partnering with COSOPHE to launch a health equity webinar series which highlighted key health equity experts working on various pressing issues across Colorado, creating and leading CPHA’s Health Equity Coalition of 100+ members, serving as the first Health Equity Director and first Health Equity Officer, increasing the racial/ethnic and professional diversity of the board and membership, integrating health equity into all of CPHA’s focus areas, guiding CPHA in making and living a formal commitment to health equity and being an anti-racist organization, and serving as the liaison between CPHA and DU in creating the Health Equity Network Exchange.
Jason led Pulse Checks where our community could share in our grief and be reminded of our resilience, through his, and know that we were not alone.

Lifetime Achievement Award

This award honors an individual who has retired from full-time employment in public health, in recognition of their significant contributions and leadership in the field of public health.

THE WINNER IS – Elise Lubell

In the 80s, Elise worked at the Hall of Life Health Education Center and a medical publishing company on a toxicology database. Elise was hired by Jefferson County Health Department, now known as Jeffco Public Health, as their first public health educator in 1987.
In 1991, she took over the helm of the newly organized Health Promotion and Lifestyle Management Division, where she remained for over 30 years. The Division was the home of many innovative and award-winning initiatives that addressed the major root causes of morbidity and mortality including tobacco and substance use prevention and intervention; nutrition, healthy eating, and physical activity, food insecurity and food systems; health education and promotion tactics embedded within a policy, systems and environmental change framework, and elevated health communication to prominence.
After retiring she is still very committed to advancing our field. She is the active president for COSOPHE, the Colorado Chapter for the Society for Public Health Education, and very much involved with CPHA.

Lillian Wald Award
Lillian D. Wald (1867–1940) was a nurse, social worker, public health official, teacher, author, editor, publisher, women’s rights activist, and the founder of American community nursing. Her unselfish devotion to humanity is recognized around the world and her visionary programs have been widely copied everywhere.

The Lillian Wald Award was given to a public health nurse who demonstrates leadership skills among peers and community; has practiced a minimum of 5 years; and is creative, resourceful and innovative in addressing public health concerns in the community. This person is caring in relationships with colleagues and clients, and initiates, implements and evaluates public health interventions that focus on health promotion and disease prevention, and shares public health knowledge with colleagues and the community.

THE WINNER IS – Cynthia Horn:

Cynthia Horn, NP, is our Chief Nursing Officer. She is an outstanding public health nursing superstar. She has worked with WCDPHE for over 20 years. She is always patient and empathetic with her patients and staff. Her knowledge of our clinical programs is nothing short of amazing.
Cynthia is an expert in Family Planning, STI, Immunization, TB, CPED/WWC, and WISEWOMAN. Cynthia also understands the administrative side of these grant programs.
She has been a wonderful teacher for me personally and has helped so many nurses throughout her career. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cynthia was a steadfast leader in directing testing services so that people in her community could be protected. She did this while also ensuring that our clinic ran normal operations“ never closing for our patients that needed care.
Coming out of the pandemic, she has played an invaluable role as we have achieved 100 community-based clinics offering STI screening/testing and immunizations over the past year.

Public Health Champ Award

The Public Health Champ Award was created in 1982 and goes to a full-time public health employee who is not in a high-level management position. The recipient must be a member of CPHA and have made an outstanding contribution to public health.

THE WINNER IS – Sammi Jo Lawson:

As a colleague and witness to her outstanding dedication, unwavering passion, and transformative impact in the field of public health, I am convinced that Samantha is the embodiment of a leader in this critical domain.
Samantha has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership skills, taking on complex challenges and spearheading initiatives that have improved the health outcomes of vulnerable populations. Her ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders, including community organizations, government agencies, and healthcare providers, has been instrumental in driving positive change.
She actively seeks to address health disparities and implement interventions that promote health equity for underserved communities.

Roy Cleere Distinguished Service Award

The Colorado Public Health Association’s Distinguished Service Award was renamed in 1974 in honor of Dr. Cleere who was the director of the Colorado Department of Health for 38 years. The award goes to someone who is a member of CPHA and has made an exceptional contribution to the field of public health in Colorado.

THE WINNER IS – Kelsey Robinson:

Kelsey’s unwavering dedication and exceptional accomplishments align perfectly with the spirit of this esteemed award. Like Dr. Cleere, Kelsey has devoted herself to improving public health in Colorado.
Through her remarkable guidance, she has established a solid foundation of knowledge and best practices for LPHAs in developing community health assessments and improvement plans.
Kelsey’s creation of the peer learning network echoes Dr. Cleere’s commitment to collaboration, weaving together public health planners across the state and fostering a vibrant tapestry of collective growth and progress.
Following in Dr. Cleere’s footsteps as a catalyst for positive change, Kelsey leads the development of the state health assessment and state health improvement plan.

Sabin Award

The Florence Sabin Award was established in 1947 by CPHA. The award is made for achievement in the public health field, in recognition of the outstanding leadership of Dr. Florence Sabin in the promotion of better public health in Colorado. This award is made to a person whose primary career is not in the public health field.

THE WINNER IS – Allison Rosenthal:

Allison Rosenthal has actively been involved in the Colorado Public Health Association, most recently serving as the Director of the Culture of Data Committee. She has continuously contributed to not only her committee but the organization as a whole.
Allison currently works as a Statistical Analyst at the Colorado Department of Public Safety’s Office of Research and Statistics, where she consistently goes above and beyond to incorporate public health theories and practices.
She advocates strongly for our broader community’s health and safety on and off the job.

2022 Award Winners

Award for Excellence in the Promotion of Health Equity

JULISSA SOTO

Julissa has worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to ensure that Latino immigrants have information about and access to vaccines for COVID-19. Throughout the past two years, I've watched her work long hours nearly every day of the week to bring vaccination clinics to immigrants throughout Colorado. She's helped host vaccination clinics at churches, schools, community centers and essentially any location accessible to Latin immigrants who will allow her to set up shop. I believe she has made it her personal mission to ensure that every person who wishes to receive a vaccination has access to one. While this has been a challenging undertaking in the broader community, it has taken a special touch and commitment to outreach to Spanish-speaking immigrants who may be lacking in information, receiving inaccurate information or may be concerned about government interaction and intrusion. Julissa has made it her mission to create a welcoming, culturally accessible and appropriate environment to promote public health and welfare. 2nd Nomination: We have been working with Julissa directly as the POC for COAccess whose community has had limited access to masks and COVID-19 testing throughout the response. In her work distributing tests, masks, and vaccinations to the Latino community she has single handedly put more at-home rapid antigen tests into one priority population than any other organization. 3rd Nomination: Since September 2021, Julissa has organized 70+ COVID-19 vaccine pop-up clinics in Colorado immigrant communities (less than 50% are vaccinated). Julissa regularly brings in hundreds of Latinos for vaccination at each community mobile vaccination event. She goes wherever people are, and on their timelines like evenings and weekends. To date, her clinics have vaccinated almost 20,000 in Latino communities. She has become Colorado's outspoken leader seeking Latino public health equity. Her new program, Vacunas en su Casa, brings not only Covid-19 vaccination but also other critical child and adult vaccinations from DTaP/Tdap to Varicella, into the Latino communities. (Colorado is 44th in the nation in overall vaccination and Latinos are impacted the most.) Through Julissa's leadership state and county health leaders are now seeing the changes that are needed for equity are not impossible and can work. Julissa is all about solutions not just lamenting the health equity problem. Working with state and county health departments as well as Colorado Regional Accountable Entities (RAEs), she's formed strong partnerships to test and implement innovative solutions. Solutions that are translating into public health reform that finally addresses the health care disparity in Colorado. 4th Nomination: Julissa Soto has been a trailblazer in health equity for more than two decades. In fact, her work often epitomizes the goals of health equity by ensuring each person, without exception - gets the opportunities they need to live their best lives. Most recently, Julissa worked to ensure equity in the fight against COVID-19. She spearheaded efforts across Colorado to break down language and economic barriers to combat the virus by engaging diverse community groups and religious organizations of all kinds. Her community engagement efforts helped to save thousands of lives in Colorado and led to the vaccination of more than 18,000 Latino adults, youth and children, as well as the distribution of more than 90,000 COVID-19 tests and 40,000 masks. Throughout her career, Julissa has been a strong and effective advocate focused on health equity. Having received accolades from Governor Polis and U.S. Senators Hickenlooper and Bennett, she's often recognized for her work as one of Colorado's leading Latino immigrant advocates. But Julissa's advocacy and actions focus on equity for all people - regardless of color, language, immigration status, religion, sexual orientation, economic status or mental health status. Julissa Soto truly sets the standard for this award. 5th Nomination: Julissa Soto's approach to promoting Health Equity has improved vaccination rates and access to care for Coloradoans. She goes where the community trusts and is able access care. She puts community at the forefront of all her efforts. We need this type of innovation in promoting health equity excellence.

Award for Technical Innovation in Public Health

GARY DEYOUNG

Dr. Gary DeYoung joined public health after a successful career in education at the collegiate level. To his surprise and to the surprise of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded. Throughout the response, Gary developed internal systems to track the status of thousands of case investigations, hundreds of potential outbreaks, collect survey responses, and schedule thousands of community vaccine appointments. He developed systems to serve where there were gaps and challenges in other systems to ensure MCPH's response was not delayed by technological issues. Gary helped our community members stay up to date with accurate data via our Data Dashboard as well as our healthcare providers and community partners to maintain situational awareness of disease burden. MCPH's successes throughout the COVID-19 response relied on the systems that he innovatively developed. Despite the burdens we collectively carried throughout the response, Gary maintained an approachable demeanor, sense of humor, and true compassion for his colleagues. Our community may not know how much he has done throughout the last two years, but we all appreciate that lives were saved, programs were improved, and public health is better because Gary DeYoung made a career change.

Emerging Leader in Public Health

ARI RUIZ LEDOUX

Ari is an inspiring emerging leader in Public Health. She recognizes the importance of representation in this field, and believes more young women of color should be at the table. Ari is someone who is on the frontlines of social change and sees the value in community coming together to protest, share food, and be heard within their communities. Ari is coming in hot. She has an incredibly powerful and moving voice, and uses spoken word poetry to touch the hearts of many. Ari is involved in multiple youth organizations, including EYE For Prevention, Rainbow Coalition, and more. Ari has been essential in our PhotoVoice project and #EYEsurvive Expo, she has given multiple trainings, workshops, and presentations, and is a dedicated youth leader. Ari is a mentor for the other youth, and an educator for the adult allies. She is committed to social justice, youth mental health advocacy, substance misuse prevention, and being the change we want to see in our communities! Ari is an inspiration and truly deserves this award and recognition.

Exemplary Frontier Public Health Nurse Award

LAUREN GILBERT

Lauren has shown exceptional leadership during Summit County Public Health's COVID response. From leading our Contact Tracing Team, to managing PODs for COVID vaccine distribution, and most recently, as our Nurse Manager, Lauren brings calm and thoughtful direction to our small but mighty team. Lauren was instrumental in helping SCPH administer over 30,000 vaccines since Dec 2020. 2nd Nomination: Lauren was an outstanding leader during the COVID response. She was heavily involved in all aspects of the pandemic response, from coordination of a robust Contact Tracing Team to overseeing the COVID vaccination clinics. She was calm under pressure, open to suggestions, developed innovative and creative solutions, and maintained a sense of humor throughout the response. Lauren is your candidate for this award!! 3rd Nomination: Lauren is extraordinarily dedicated to her work, always seeking to advance the health of people in our county while being kind and compassionate toward the patients served. She was instrumental in helping our department provide vaccines during the pandemic and went above and beyond to help us excel in our delivery of care to the community. 4th Nomination: Lauren demonstrates an incredible ability to lead. She moved into her manager role in the midst of our COVID-19 response just as vaccine arrived. She seamlessly transitioned from leading our Contact Tracing Team to leading our vaccination distribution. This was a huge undertaking, as willingness from local providers to vaccinate was underwhelming. Lauren organized and oversaw 150 PODs throughout the community and coordinated 575 volunteers. This huge undertaking resulted in Summit County Public Health providing 32,118 doses of COVID-19 vaccine. The largest number of vaccines given at any one POD was over 1500 in just four hours! Not only does Lauren shine in her ability to organize and coordinate events, she identifies ways to make improvements and build enhanced partnerships for better health in Summit County. She wears numerous hats, which allow her to develop relationships, make community connections and expand her expertise in whatever comes her way. She enhances PH's reputation in Summit by providing solid research behind her recommendations, and good PR. It is undeniable that Lauren has been a gift to Public Health and Summit County and is deserving of recognition for her unyielding energy and passion for enhancing the health of our community!

General Recognition

PAOLA BABB

I first met Paola through the Hunger Free Colorado's community council. She has always been a champion of our community regarding food insecurity and food access. When the pandemic hit, food insecurity was increasing and it was through her efforts that made an impact not only in the marginalized communities but Spanish speaking residents. Her efforts brought the attention of her current position at DPHE where she continues to champion marginalized communities and LEP speakers. Her compassion and passion for her work has made her indispensable. I could not think of anybody else who deserves more recognition than Paola in all of the work she has done in providing equity in the health sector for hundreds of families here in Colorado. Her work speaks for itself and her dedication and due diligence are evident in all the relationships she has created throughout the local government agencies and organizations that help families gain access to healthy living. Incredible work!

John Muth Award

LISA PETERS & SAMANTHA BERTOMEN

Lisa and Samantha have done an extraordinary job reviving and leading CPHA's Emerging Leaders Committee. In the past 12 months, they built a completely new vision and infrastructure for the committee, which is now reaching hundreds of students and emerging leaders in public health; engaging them in dynamic ways; and supporting CPHA's strategic goal to build a public health movement. The changes they have implemented will positively impact CPHA for years to come and have been an example of what's possible for CPHA to achieve. Lisa and Samantha have successfully cultivated a community for those entering public health that connects them to professional opportunities and networks. The folks in this community are the ones who will address our most pressing public health issues, and we need new public health professionals who are excited and ready to tackle the work to be done. With Lisa and Samantha's fearless leadership, the next generation of public health in Colorado has taken a significant step forward and the future of CPHA and Colorado's public health community is bright.

Lifetime Achievement Award

TOM DUNLOP

Tom has been working in environmental public health for 52 years. Five decades of service is no small feat and, in that time, Tom has had a distinguished career and continues to be a public health archetype and a source of inspiration and knowledge for Pitkin County Public Health. Tom started in environmental public health in 1970 at the Larimer County Environmental Health Department. In 1976, he was hired by the City of Aspen to create their Environmental Health Department and it was combined with Pitkin County in 1980. Under Tom’s guidance the department had a reputation as an innovator in environmental health programs. In 2001, Tom ‚ “retired” from Pitkin County but continued his work in public health through NACCHO, ASTHO, CDC, and NEHA. He served on numerous boards and partnered to teach food safety courses. In 2012, he was rehired by Pitkin County to supervise the Smuggler Mounting Superfund Site and continues in this role today. In 2020, Tom came out of retirement to work full time during the Covid-19 pandemic response. His expertise and knowledge were invaluable to Pitkin County Public Health during this time. I would be happy to provide his cv upon request; given the length of his career, it is 14-pages long.

Lillian Wald Award

ANN SCARPITA

Ann has been working in TB programs for over 15 years and has been the Tuberculosis Nurse Consultant for the State of Colorado for nearly 7 years. In this role, she serves as a tuberculosis (TB) subject matter expert, providing direction and guidance to Colorado public health agencies to manage TB patients through care and promoting best practices. Ms. Scarpita played an important role when the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment launched its TB Elimination plan ‚ Elimination in Colorado "The Time is Now" in December 2016. Along with this work, Ann recently completed a Master's of Science in Nursing in August 2022 and has worked tirelessly on the collaborative CDPHE and CPHA PHN Section Toolkit entitled, "Colorado Professional Scopes of Practice in Public Health: A Toolkit For Understanding Public Health Roles". The toolkit includes an extensive dive into delegation in Colorado and a self-directed e-learning module focused on nursing delegation in Colorado. The toolkit development process included building a diverse workgroup of 23 members and contributors that included public health professionals across each type of public health role. Ann led the project from initial concept to final product and will continue as the lead as we move into the dissemination and knowledge improvement stages.

Public Health Champ Award

GILLIAN GRANT

Gillian Grant is a Champ because she embodies inclusive public health practice across her work at Trailhead. Of particular note is her steady leadership with the Regional Health Connector program, which is an innovative Colorado-based workforce dedicated to connecting the systems that keep people healthy. As an incredible advocate and champion for this work, Gillian has transformed the program by elevating the strengths of each RHC, who themselves promote health equity, amplify awareness of social needs and resources, and advocate for community voice and choice. The RHCs operate in a complex, often misunderstood role, but under Gillian's leadership, the program's impact across the state has become undeniable. Gillian brings her whole, authentic self to everything she does - which inspires the RHCs and her colleagues alike to do the same. Anyone who crosses paths with Gillian will remark on her generous, kind spirit and vision for a world where every person can be who they are in any space. This includes modeling/encouraging rest, joy, and community. It is an honor to work with a gem like Gillian - we are all better for it. We urge the committee to honor her with this award, which she would never ask for, but undoubtedly deserves.

Award for Excellence in Policy

COLORADO ORGANIZATION FOR LATINA OPPORTUNITY AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS (COLOR)

From their Birth Justice Advocacy work to their Reproductive and Sexual Health Equity work to their work in Medicaid and Connect for Health Colorado enrollment and COVID vaccination promotion, COLOR's work towards equitable, stigma free, compassionate healthcare for all Coloradans is a remarkable achievement in statewide policy. COLOR has led several successful campaigns including Senate Bill 9, which creates the Reproductive Health Care Program allowing more Coloradans to receive reproductive healthcare through Medicaid, regardless of immigration status.

Awards

2023 Award Winners

COLORADO SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AWARD CATEGORIES

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CPHA AWARD CATEGORIES

2022 Award Winners

2023
Award
Winners