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CPHA Awards 2019

Congratulations to the 2019 Award Recipients! 

Award: Excellence in the Promotion of Health Equity 

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

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Recipient: Risa Turetsky

Although national policies have failed our youth, Risa Turetsky has worked with local municipalities and community partners to help pass a multitude of local policies that protect our kids against the manipulative tactics of the tobacco industry and create a safe and healthy community where children and teenagers can thrive.

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Award: Excellence in the Promotion of Health Equity

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

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Recipient: Dr. Sheila J. Davis

The Sheila Davis I know attends every protest and rally in Denver and Boulder, she is a long-time volunteer at the local food pantry, works with Black Lives Matter 5280, serves on the Board of the Boulder Chapter of the NAACP, and is a member of the Task Force for Police Oversight in Boulder. As the living and walking definition of excellence in the promotion of health equity, Dr. Sheila Davis flattens hierarchies by advancing the national conversation on maternal and infant health while boldly showing up as an advocate for social justice in her community.

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Award: Technical Innovation in Public Health

This award was established in1972 in recognition of P.W. Jacoe, a Colorado Board of Health member in the 1950s, for his devotion to duty, his excellence of work and accomplishments, his interest, his leadership and contributions to the physical science field of public health. The award is to be given to a person who has made an outstanding technical innovation in public health.

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Recipient: Michael Ogletree

Program Director Michael Ogletree leads the Mayor's Challenge/Bloomberg Grant for the City & County of Denver which is deploying cutting edge air sensor technology to create a citywide air quality monitoring network and evidence-based health intervention program at public schools in Denver, resulting in behavior change and better-informed policy to improve health outcomes. The City, in partnership with Denver Public Schools (DPS), is creating a citywide air quality (AQ) monitoring network to provide real-time AQ data utilizing low-cost cutting-edge air pollution sensor technology, redeveloped with solar, battery storage and data connectivity to make it useful for wide scale deployment and replicable in any municipality.

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Award: Emerging Leader in Public Health Award 

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.

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Recipient: Sedona Allen

Sedona works as the Youth Advisor for Denver Public Health, is the founder of HEAT (Health Equity Advocacy Team) which engages teens and young adults in the field of public health with a focus on the advancement of health equity, is leader within CDPHE's Community Active Living Continuum, and is a student at Naropa University in Boulder. Sedona advocates fearlessly for youth engagement, leadership, and professional development.

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Award: Exemplary 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.

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Recipient: Crystal Brandt

Crystal started her career as a public health nurse in the San Luis Valley and then worked in Alaska for a long time then Jeffco and has been with Clear Creek for 7 years. Crystal is the ultimate public health nurse that every nurse should strive to be. She is one of my most valuable and beloved peers.

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Award: General Recognition Award

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!

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Recipient: Stephanie Salazar-Rodriguez

Bringing together people and organizations is a priority for Stephanie, who has spent her career at Colorado nonprofits. As a Regional Health Connector, Stephanie helps communities and people in Denver's many health-related organizations understand and connect to local health resources. She also works directly with more than 20 health clinics, hospitals and practices. Stephanie, a second generation Denver resident with Latino and Native American heritage, said that many in Denver's health community are talking about health equity, leveling the healthcare playing field, and how to forge positive relationships with communities of color. Stephanie has said: "You start to make connections and foster relationships by showing up."

 

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Award: Lifetime Achievement Award

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

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Recipient: Dr. Mark Johnson

After 30 years at Jefferson County Public Health, and many more at other health agencies, Dr. Johnson is retiring June 2020. Dr. Johnson was instrumental in so many efforts in Colorado Public Health that it is hard to list them all; SB 08-198 is probably one of the key examples. He is a public health historian, a true believer in government providing good services, and an amazing organizational leader. He is an exceptional mentor and teacher, and someone who truly understand work life balance, supporting your team, and growing better people, not just better employees.

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Award: 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.

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Recipient: Ashley Wheeler-Bell

Ashley is a principled and learned advocate for health equity. It was she who began the conversation about more strategic integration of the Health Equity Coalition into CPHA, and she led the effort for this year's Public Health in the Rockies Conference focus: health equity. Ashley's nurturing presence is constant. She is also a gentle truth-teller who observes and soaks in her environment before chiming in with what are often clear, deep observations which make myself, a member of the Health Equity Coalition, more self-aware.

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Award: 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.

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Recipient: Dr. Kimberly Levin

Dr. Kimberly Levin is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and the chief medical officer for Pitkin County. Despite the high demands of these roles and serving multiple hospitals and clinics, Dr. Levin has not only been an integral partner but also a champion for public health. Most notably, Dr. Levin led the recent efforts in the City of Aspen to enact a full flavor ban on all nicotine products and played a key role in increasing the legal age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21 in 2017, supporting the City of Aspen to be the first in the state to enact these policies.

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