Impact Awards and Board Member Announcements at the Chronic Disease Academy

CHICAGO (Aug. 30, 2022) — Today, in front of 300 Members attending its annual Chronic Disease Academy professional development meeting, the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) celebrated the election of two new officers, seven incoming Board Members, and the distribution of 11 Impact Awards to distinguished Members and public health professionals.

FY 2022-2023 Board Elections
The following Chronic Disease Directors and other NACDD Members will serve as At-Large Directors from Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2024.

  • Nimisha Bhakta (Texas) – Director, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Section, Division for Community Health Improvement, Texas Department of State Health Services
  • Khatidja Dawood (Minnesota) – Director, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Division, Minnesota Department of Health
  • Jamie Hahn (Nebraska)– Program Manager, Nebraska Chronic Disease Prevention & Control Program, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services

  • X-ner Luther (Federated States of Micronesia) – National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program Coordinator, National NCD Section Chief, Department of Health and Social Affairs, Federated States of Micronesia
  • Nancy Sutton (Rhode Island) – Chief, Center for Chronic Care & Disease Management, Chronic Disease Director, Rhode Island Department of Health

  • Barbara Wallace (New York) – Director, Division of Chronic Disease Prevention, New York State Department of Health
  • Felisa Wilson-Simpson (Mississippi) – Director, Office of Community Health Worker, Clinical Consultant, Office of Preventive Health & Health Equity, Mississippi State Department of Health

NACDD FY 2022-2023 officer roster includes:

President: Kristi Pier, MHS, MCHES, the Director of the Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control at the Maryland Department of Health, will remain in her role as Board President for another term as the incoming president resigned his position to accept a new career opportunity. Pier has worked extensively in public health for more than 20 years, in diabetes prevention since 2007.

President-Elect: Bala Simon, MD, DrPH, MPH, FAAFP, was elected new President-Elect. Simon is the Deputy Chief Medical Officer and State Chronic Disease Director at the Arkansas Department of Health and was the immediate past Treasurer of the Board. 

Treasurer: Teresa Aseret-Manygoats, MPA, is the Bureau Chief for the Bureau of Chronic Disease & Health Promotion at the Arizona Department of Health Services and previously served as an At Large Director on the NACDD Board.

Secretary: Linda Scarpetta, MPH, Director of the Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Control at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, continues her two-year term as Secretary.

NACDD offers thanks for the service of its outgoing Board Members: 

  • Susan Kansagra, immediate Past President (North Carolina)
  • Ryan Lester (Kansas)
  • Jill Myers Geadelmann (Iowa)
  • Tari O’Connor (Alaska)
  • Sonja Schriever (Idaho)
  • Jennifer Sousa (Florida)

The complete FY 2022-2023 Board is as follows:
Officers

  • President: Kristi Pier, MHS, MCHES, Maryland
  • President-Elect: Bala Simon, MD, DrPH, MPH, FAAFP, Arkansas
  • Treasurer: Teresa Aseret-Manygoats, MPA, Arizona
  • Secretary: Linda Scarpetta, MPH, Michigan

At Large Directors

  • Nimisha Bhakta, MPH, Texas
  • Khatidja Dawood, MS, Minnesota
  • Linnea Fletcher, MPH, MPA, CHES, Utah
  • Jamie Hahn, MEd, Nebraska
  • Marisa Lara, MPH, RD, CLC, New Hampshire
  • Patrick Luces, BBA, Guam
  • X-ner Luther, Federated States of Micronesia
  • Melissa Martin, MBA, RDN, LDN, Louisiana
  • Morgan McDonald, MD, FACP, FAAP, Tennessee
  • Lea Susan Ojamaa, MPH, Massachusetts
  • Nancy Sutton, MS, RD, Rhode Island
  • Barbara Wallace, MD, MSPH, New York
  • Felisa Wilson-Simpson, PhD, FNP-BC, PPCNP-BC, Mississippi

Associate At Large Directors

  • David Hoffman, DPS, CCE, New York
  • Leslie McKnight, PhD, Illinois

Impact Award Winners Announced

In addition to its incoming Board Members, NACDD is proud to announce the winners of this year’s esteemed Impact Awards, which Impact Awards Committee Member Linnea Fletcher hosted in a special ceremony during NACDD’s Annual Business Meeting.

“This year, we had more awards distributed than any category – a testament to how our field continues to face and overcome the challenges of our time,” said NACDD CEO John Robitscher, MPH. “The Impact Award winners and their work are an inspiration to all of NACDD Members to continue their dedication and hard work preventing disease and promoting health.”

The Impact Awards are nominated by NACDD Members and selected by a Committee of Board Members who evaluate the applications to identify the greatest impact on chronic disease prevention and control and health promotion.

This year’s Awards Committee was led by Teresa Aseret-Manygoats (chair), Linnea Fletcher, and Dr. Leslie McKnight. Impact Awardees must be a NACDD Member (more information on NACDD Membership and the Impact Awards is available at chronicdisease.org).

The 2022 Impact Awards Winners:

Community Impact
NACDD offers this award for both individuals and Chronic Disease Unit teams that have made a significant impact or achieved significant influence in a community related to chronic disease prevention and control.

  • Community Impact Award for an Individual:
    • Esther Hoang, Manager of Nicotine Use Prevention and Control (NUPAC) Program, Population and Community Health Bureau, Public Health Division at the New Mexico Department of Health. Hoang’s leadership in developing diverse community partnerships, helping break down language barriers to engage Native American/American Indian/indigenous communities, and championing health equity was vital to the advancement of the NUPAC Program benefit in New Mexico.

  • Community Impact Award for a Chronic Disease Unit:
    • The Diabetes and Kidney Unit at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, whose innovative work has advanced health equity and addressed social and economic factors that contribute to preventable health disparities, specifically in the focus on accessibility and acceptability of the National DPP by addressing barriers due to lack of coverage, language, cultural factors, geography, and assessment/recruitment.

Chronic Disease Innovator
Awarded to a state, tribal, or territorial Chronic Disease Unit that demonstrates an innovative approach to reducing the burden of chronic disease prevention and control. This year we had two winners:

  • The Chronic Disease Prevention Section at the Georgia Department of Public Health, whose innovation led to the successful implementation of Athletes as Leaders and the development of an app to empower girls.  
  • The Diabetes, Heart Disease and Stroke Program within the Center for Chronic Care and Disease Management at the Rhode Island Department of Health utilized an innovative approach to health system transformation through health information technology, including implementing of the Quality Reporting System.

Health Equity Champion
Awarded to an individual and a Chronic Disease Unit that has demonstrated progress in advancing health equity as a core value of their work and addressing the social and economic factors that contribute to preventable health disparities, or who have applied health equity principles to improve public health practice.

  • Health Equity Champion for an Individual:
    • Vivian Lasley-Bibbs, Director & Epidemiologist, Office of Health Equity, Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, whose efforts to increase awareness, provide leadership and oversight on projects that address health disparities, including the social and ecological factors, and address system-level factors that impact the health of disparate populations across the commonwealth of Kentucky demonstrate a lifetime commitment to advancing health equity in her career and personal affiliations. Lasley-Bibbs’s leadership on NACDD’s Health Equity Council positively contributed to developing the Race Toward Health podcast series.

  • Health Equity Champion for a Chronic Disease Unit:
    • MiRACE (Michigan Real Adaptive Changes to Equity) and MEAT (Michigan Equity Action) Teams within the Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Control at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The Teams are recognized for their commitment to advancing health equity in their work, including the creation of the community engagement toolkit, partner workshops, equity action lab, and continuing work to determine opportunities for more equitable distribution of contracts.

Rising Star Award
Awarded to an individual staff member in a state, tribal, or territorial Chronic Disease Unit who is not a director and has demonstrated exceptional leadership and innovation to promote health.

  • Jennifer Mandelbaum, the Program Evaluator in the Division of Diabetes and Heart Disease Management at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. Mandelbaum’s impressive breadth of work includes leadership that has addressed racial and socioeconomic disparities in diabetes and heart disease and extensive research conducted to determine best practices.

Mentor Award
Awarded to an outstanding chronic disease prevention and control professional who has guided, supported, and promoted the training and career development of other chronic disease prevention and control practitioners working in a State Health Department. Nominees should have a sustained record of mentoring over time, and nominators must be mentees of the nominee or colleagues who have personal knowledge of the nominee’s mentoring efforts.

  • Adeline Yerkes, Owner/Manager of AMY Consulting, LLCs, Private Consultant on Health Systems, and a Senior Public Health Consultant for NACDD. Yerkes, a founding Member of NACDD, is a proven mentor whose learners appreciate her business acumen, grant writing and management, and knowledge of both public health and clinical environments. These skills positioned her as a subject matter expert and mentor in the field of chronic disease prevention and control. She continues to be consulted frequently by her peers and mentees alike. Throughout her dedicated career, Yerkes contributed to the career development of her colleagues serving in state and territorial departments as they worked to build and implement evidence-based chronic disease and health promotion programs. As a result of her mentoring and coaching, many of her mentees have contributed at the national level to the work of the Association.

Joseph W. Cullen Excellence Award
Awarded to an individual outside the traditional public health field who has made outstanding contributions in the field of chronic disease.

  • Dany Bourjolly Smith, Director of Employee Benefits for the City of Wilmington, Delaware, whose leadership efforts resulted in the successful implementation of the City of Wilmington’s health benefit coverage of the lifestyle change program for city employees and for the creation of video testimonials for the Employer Platform and ability to share her organization’s successful journey with preventing diabetes and promoting health among the city’s employees on a national scale.

Our ProVention Health Foundation presented two special awards this year.

The ProVention Health Foundation Excellence in Achievement Award, which honors an organization that demonstrates exponential value to the work of public health through innovative approaches, was presented to Screenvision Media. 

John Partilla, Chief Executive Officer, Gerald Griffin, Chief Revenue Officer, and Lisa Brewer, Regional Account Executive, accepted the award. Screenvision Media, a premier cinema, video, and media organization that curates powerful and uncluttered storytelling for brands, exhibitors, and audiences at movie theaters nationwide is a critical partner to ProVention and NACDD.

The ProVention Health Foundation Health Policy Award was presented to The Honorable Rosa DeLauro, United States Congresswoman representing the Third District of Connecticut. DeLauro has championed chronic disease prevention and health promotion as Chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee. In this role, she oversees our nation’s education, health, and employment investments.

NACDD’s CEO, John Robitscher, presented the special award, Project Officer of the Future to Devi Hawkins-Prather, Public Health Advisor and Project Officer with the Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support. Through her work in the National Partnership Branch, Devi exemplifies the best in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s service to grantees. Hawkins-Prather works with her grantees in partnership to achieve the best outcomes possible for projects and programs, oversees and problem-solves, and uses her position to advocate, support, and position grantees for mutual benefit.

—

NACDD appreciated that its incoming Board Members and the Impact Award winners were announced in-person at the Annual Business Meeting during our recent Chronic Disease Academy in Chicago. Funded by the CDC, the Chronic Disease Academy is NACDD’s signature annual event. More than 300 NACDD Members attended and engaged in Academy programming focused on the 2022 theme, “Moving Forward: Equity, Action, Resilience.”

NACDD is grateful to the sponsors of the 2022 Chronic Disease Academy.
The full list of Chronic Disease Academy sponsors:
AdirA, LLC.
Amazon Web Services
Family Medicine Education Consortium, Inc.
Gallup
Genentech
iHeartMedia
Impairment Science
Leavitt Partners
Medscape Education
Perry Media Group
ProVention Health Foundation
Rocket Camp
Screenvision Media
The Reis Group
ZEST Social Media Solutions

Learn more about the Chronic Disease Academy and previous Academy events, our Impact Awards and past winners, and the NACDD Board of Directors at chronicdisease.org

Careers at NACDD

You are exiting NACDD’s website to enter a third-party site
Continue