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The NNPHI Awards Program recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations that have made exemplary contributions to improving the public’s health and embody NNPHI’s mission and values. NNPHI’s mission is to support national public health system initiatives and strengthen public health institutes to promote multi-sector initiatives resulting in measurable improvements of public health structures, systems, and outcomes.  

NNPHI’s Annual Conference provides crucial opportunities for our network members, partners, and the public health ecosystem more broadly to connect, learn from colleagues, develop skills, and gain actionable takeaways that they can implement in their communities. Our award recipients embody these values and exemplify outstanding and innovative work, leadership in public health, and devotion to a healthier and more equitable world. Please join us in celebrating their achievements! 

Lifetime Achievement Award

This award recognizes the bold leadership, mentorship of public health institutes, and impactful careers in advancing public health of Lisa David and Dr. Joe Thompson.  

Lisa David is the President and CEO of Public Health Solutions, the largest public health nonprofit serving New York City, and also serves on the NNPHI board of directors. Lisa has over 30 years of experience in the public health and healthcare sectors. Under her guidance, Public Health Solutions has improved health outcomes among low-income families and communities by providing direct services such as food assistance, health insurance enrollment, maternal and child health support and sexual and reproductive health services; delivered robust fiscal and administrative grant support for over 200 community-based organizations across the city; and developed coordinated and accountable networks that bridge health and human services that make a sustainable impact on community health.  

Dr. Joseph Thompson is the President Emeritus of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, a professor in the Colleges of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and a general pediatrician. Dr. Thompson has led vanguard efforts in planning and implementing health care financing reform, tobacco- and obesity-related health promotion and disease prevention programs. He has worked with Arkansas’s executive and legislative leadership and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop a creative alternative to Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and served as Surgeon General for the State of Arkansas. In addition, Dr. Thompson continues to guide Arkansas’s innovative initiatives to improve health system access, quality and cost including a systematic, multi-payer overhaul of Arkansas’s health care payment system. 

Network Impact Award

The County Health Rankings and Roadmaps (CHR&R) program of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI) is this year’s recipient of the 2025 NNPHI Network Member Impact Award. The Network Member Impact Award is bestowed on a network member that has worked effectively in partnership to accomplish a measurable impact in the region, state, or locality. CHR&R supports action to eliminate differences in health within and across communities. For nearly 15 years, the program has worked alongside partners to shape understanding of the drivers of health and equity; disseminate timely, relevant data and evidence; identify and disseminate transformative narratives; catalyze population health research and support education/workforce training. As a national platform with more than 800,000 visitors and 3.5 million website pageviews in 2023 alone, CHR&R’s work has major impact on the public health practice and research. 

CHR&R provides trusted, accessible data and evidence-informed planning tools. CHR&R stands apart as an initiative with far-reaching local and national impact. The maturity and scale of this work, coupled with innovations to translate data to action is inspiring. Data is power, and County Health Rankings and Roadmaps is empowering our field at a key moment. 

Public Health Innovation Award

Tatiana Lin is this year’s recipient of the Public Health Innovation Award. The Public Health Innovation Award is bestowed on an organization or individual who took a risk and developed an out of the box solution or created a unique partnership resulting in new approaches, scalable ideas, and new ways of working together. Over the past two years, Tatiana has played a pivotal role in driving and guiding public health practitioners and cross-sector partners in exploring the ethical and equitable use of artificial intelligence (AI) to support the public health workforce in Kansas and across the United States.  

Tatiana collaborated with the Community Engagement Institute at Wichita State University (WSU CEI) to develop a practical, evidence-informed training curriculum tailored for public health agencies—including local, county, and state health departments, as well as elected officials such as county commissioners. This curriculum equips organizations to identify effective and ethical ways to leverage AI, solve problems more efficiently, apply an equity lens to solutions, and maximize their impact. Tatiana’s efforts extend to educating elected officials, incorporating real-world examples of public health initiatives into the curriculum to help policymakers better understand the vital role of health departments. Her work exemplifies a commitment to innovation, ethics, and equity in advancing public health through AI. 

Health and Racial Equity Award

Alison Davis is this year’s recipient of the 2025 NNPHI Health and Racial Equity Partnership Award for her work with Public Health Management Corporation in partnership with the Health Promotion Council. The Health and Racial Equity Partnership Award is bestowed on a network member and a community-based organization that together has taken courageous action in addressing the impacts of structural inequities. Alison has worked closely with the Advocacy Institute (Ai) to develop strategies to promote health equity by empowering marginalized youth, especially Black, Brown, LGBTQIA, and low-income communities, to address public health challenges through advocacy, education, and policy change. By prioritizing lived experiences and dismantling traditional hierarchies, Ai ensures that youth directly shape program initiatives, tackling issues like tobacco targeting, gun violence, and food access. Through trauma-informed and community-driven approaches, Ai fosters sustainable solutions that address systemic racism and health disparities.  

Unsung Grass Roots Award

This year’s NNPHI Unsung Grassroots Hero Award goes to Israel A. Román for his engagement as a community health worker in the community of Lajas. Israel is a community leader and Community Health Worker in Lajas, Puerto Rico. He is a co-founder of the non-profit organization Surcando La Historia Inc., a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) trainer, and a collaborator with the Emergency Management and Disaster Administration Bureau of Puerto Rico. Additionally, he serves as Puerto Rico’s ambassador to the National Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW). 

Israel elevates and supports the community by addressing their needs comprehensively, from health to education and disaster resilience. He has implemented innovative projects, such as promoting energy resilience, making his community one of the four energy resilience centers in the Puerto Rican archipelago, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy. His dedication fosters inclusion and empowerment, creating an environment where people feel valued and supported to be themselves while actively participating in the well-being of their community. 

Rising Star Award

The Rising Star Award is bestowed on a promising new leader who embodies the spirit of NNPHI’s mission. This year’s recipient, Lizmariel Tirado-Rouco, is a dedicated and emerging leader in public health who has demonstrated an impressive commitment to disaster response, health equity, and capacity-building in Puerto Rico. She has worked tirelessly to implement a variety of important community-based public health projects in underserved areas of Puerto Rico. Her dedication and commitment to serving the people of Puerto Rico through the implementation of public health initiatives is unparalleled. Lizmariel is a talented implementer, problem solver, and a master of logistics in connecting community members with the projects that have been designed to serve them. 

Strengthening the Public Health System Award

The Strengthening the Public Health System Award is bestowed on a project team that has implemented a successful initiative that strengthens the public health system. Please join us in celebrating David Meyers and Eastern Shoshone Tribal Health and their work with the Empowering the Eastern Shoshone project. The project was designed to reduce health inequities by implementing a range of targeted measures that provide the Eastern Shoshone Tribe better healthcare access and strengthened public health infrastructure. The initiative took a multifaceted approach, addressing critical social determinants of health such as education, the physical environment, community support, and access to quality healthcare. David and Eastern Shoshone Tribal Health implement a creative and insightful approach to addressing their community’s needs and developing solutions that address non-medical drivers of health. While primarily centered on the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, the project’s success provides insights that can benefit other tribal and urban Indian populations facing similar systemic health disparities.  

Special Recognition

The Public Health Infrastructure Capacity Building Implementation Branch (PHICBIB) is the newest branch to the Division of Jurisdictional Support’s (DJS) and has been with the Division for approximately two years. PHICBIB developed and implements the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) aimed at strengthening the public health system across the United States.  

The funds are specifically dedicated for advancing the respective jurisdictional needs to improve and modernize data and surveillance systems related to immunizations and other key public health disease tracking and monitoring.  By streamlining processes and fostering collaboration, these efforts enhance the nation’s ability to respond to critical and emerging public health threats more effectively – ultimately saving lives and strengthening public health infrastructure. 

The national investment of PHIG and the leadership work of PHICBIB, the Tribal Health group, and development of PHIVE are all historically significant milestones in public health. Given PHIG’s unprecedented investment in the public health infrastructure, NNPHI honors the hard work and partnership of the initiative. 

Once again, we would like to congratulate to our 2025 NNPHI award winners!

We look forward to celebrating these awardees and shining a light on their impressive work at the 2025 NNPHI Annual Conference!

Find out more about #NNPHIAC25 by visiting here.