Jean McGuire, Emeritus Professor of the Practice, Northeastern University

Paul Revere Awardee

The Paul Revere Award is MPHA’s highest honor and is reserved for those who have made an outstanding impact on public health in the Commonwealth. The recipient of this award shall have made a significant contribution to the promotion and development of public health in Massachusetts, as well as consistently demonstrated initiative, ability, leadership, and a commitment to equity in their work in the field. 

Jean McGuire has worked in the inter-related fields of public health, disability, human services and healthcare delivery and financing for fifty years.  Having started in direct care, her efforts have always been informed by the lived experience of individuals, their families, and their communities.  She has worked in many different settings, including local non-profits, large multi-state proprietary groups, national advocacy organizations, and state government. Equally diverse have been the policy, care delivery, community organizing, and public and private administrative arenas she has contributed to. These have included: special education; infectious disease and other public health education, behavioral, and community interventions; addiction and mental health related coverage and care delivery; long term services and supports for disabled and elder populations; pharmaceutical drug development and pricing; disability and other civil rights protections; public health planning and governmental reorganization; and healthcare delivery and financing reform.  

Over time, significant federal and state policy developments that she has contributed to have included: education and vocational rehabilitation policies for people with disabilities; many Medicaid transformation efforts, including the development of state plan and waiver related authorities; evolution of disability-related protections through the Fair Housing Act, the Civil Rights Restoration Act, and, most significantly, the Americans with Disabilities Act; changes in FDA drug development approaches, including use of historical controls and surrogate markers for efficacy determination; national and state level leadership of HIV related mobilization, surveillance, prevention, care, financing, and legal protections; housing development and financing related policies, including the Low Income Housing Tax Credit; and ACA related marketplace and Medicaid-related legislative and regulatory developments.  

Since returning to academia in 2010 as a Professor of Practice at Northeastern University, her research has focused on the important intersection between public health, healthcare, and human services.  That work has involved both the investigation of financing mechanisms that would move healthcare ‘upstream’ as well as service delivery and consumer and provider engagement strategies that could optimize individual and community health and wellbeing.  She has been particularly interested in how improving the intersection between government and private public health, healthcare and human service entities can support healthier communities.  Her most recent work in this arena looked at equity-related innovations at the state and county levels. 

Jean has an MPH from Harvard and a PhD from the Heller School at Brandeis.  She has held numerous governmental and non-governmental public health related positions over time, including as Executive Director of the national umbrella advocacy group, AIDS Action Council; co-chair of the HRSA & CDC HIV Advisory Committee; Assistant Commissioner of Public Health and Assistant Secretary of EOHHS here in Massachusetts; and co-founder and ongoing facilitator of the Chronic Illness and Disability Partnership, a 15 year-old collaboration between Harvard Law School and a broad group of national poverty, chronic illness, and disability organizations.  

Jean’s work continues to be informed by the independent living dictum, ‘nothing about us without us’. 

Miriam Komaromy, MD, Executive Director, Grayken Center, Boston Medical Center

Augustus Hinton Awardee

The Augustus Hinton Award for Public Health Leadership in Medicine is reserved for those who have made an extraordinary commitment to bringing public health principles and partnerships into the practice of medicine, combining the clinical and public health side of the equation in their delivery of services or programs.

Miriam Komaromy, MD, is Professor of Medicine at Boston University (BU).  She is Executive Director of the Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center (BMC), and is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine. The Grayken Center oversees and supports all aspects of work focused on substance use disorders at BU/BMC, including treatment and harm reduction programs, addiction-focused fellowships, research, and public policy/public health. Komaromy’s public health advocacy focuses on upholding humane and de-stigmatizing treatment of people who use substances, and on the importance of access to evidence-based treatment and harm-reduction interventions. Each year she and her team implement an interdisciplinary addiction-focused conference, including this year’s Together for Hope conference at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, April 29-30. 

Komaromy’s current research focuses on how to make addiction treatment more appealing, effective, and equitable for Black patients.  She co-leads a clinical trial funded by NIMH on the impact of Collaborative Care for co-occurring opioid use disorder and mental health disorders in primary care settings. She previously served as the Associate Medical Director of the ECHO Institute in New Mexico, where she pioneered the use of the ECHO model to teach primary care teams to treat addiction, both in the US and Internationally. She has served as the Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance use and Addiction (AMERSA), and as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). She was Medical Director of New Mexico’s state-funded addiction treatment hospital, and of Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless. 

In her personal time, Miriam is an avid activist for immigration reform. She is one of the leads for the Roslindale hub of LUCE, the immigrant-led statewide network focused on resisting ICE deportations and supporting immigrants. Miriam has a long history of climate activism and has organized with 350.org, Extinction Rebellion, Sierra Club, and Mass Audubon.

Magnolia Contreras, MSW, MBA,Vice President of Community Health at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Lemuel Shattuck Awardee

The Lemuel Shattuck Award is awarded to a person who has made or is making a major contribution to the betterment of public health practice. The recipient should live and/or work in New England for the greater part of their career. 

Magnolia Contreras, MSW, MBA, serves as the Vice President of Community Health at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she advances the Institute’s mission by extending expert, equitable, and compassionate cancer care into diverse communities. She leads efforts to improve cancer outcomes in historically marginalized populations through comprehensive prevention, screening, and early detection programs.

Ms. Contreras and her team collaborate with city and state health departments, community organizations, and Boston-based coalitions to assess community needs related to cancer control. Their work focuses on eliminating disparities in breast, gynecological, and skin cancers; supporting tobacco cessation and HPV education; and strengthening services for medically underserved populations.

During her tenure at Dana-Farber, Magnolia launched the Circulo de Vida Support Group for Spanish-speaking breast cancer patients, which has continued to serve as a vital resource for many years. She also co-led the development and launch of the Community-Facing Patient Navigation Program, now embedded within multiple disease centers at Dana-Farber. Magnolia is a founding member of the Boston Community Health Collaborative and currently serves as its Co-Chair.

Magnolia began her career at the Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC), an experience she credits as foundational to her professional values and commitment to community health. Before joining Dana-Farber, she held senior leadership roles at the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, including Director of External Affairs and Director of Public Policy and Community Relations.

She is a graduate of Boston College; Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work; and Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School. Magnolia has served as Adjunct Faculty at Salem State University, Simmons College, and Boston College. She is also an alumna of The Partnership’s Next Generation Executive Program and completed the McKinsey Academy Black Executive Leadership Program.

A lifelong resident of Lynn, Magnolia remains an active and engaged community member. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Economic Development Industrial Corporation of Lynn (EDIC/Lynn), Health Resources in Action (HRiA), United Way of Massachusetts Bay, 2Life Communities, and Family Aid. She is also an Ambassador for Eastern Bank Corporation and the North Shore Latino Business Association. Her prior board service includes the Salem State University Board of Trustees and the Lynn Community Health Center, where she chaired the Capital Campaign Committee, helping to raise approximately $6M for a new building. She continues to volunteer in her community.

Magnolia’s recognitions include the Lynn City Pride Award; Boston College Father John A. Dineen, SJ, Hispanic Alumni Community Service Award; Simmons College School of Social Work Leadership Award; and the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers Employee Award. She has been featured in the Boston Business Journal’s Emerging Leaders and in publications such as Suffolk Alumni Magazine and Boston College Magazine’s Damage Control. Magnolia has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Individuals in the Massachusetts Hispanic Community. She lives in Lynn by choice, close to her family and with her husband, David.

Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers

Community Leadership Awardee

The Community Leadership Award is awarded to a Community Based Organization or individual whose leadership has made a significant impact on the community.  The award celebrates excellence demonstrated by outstanding initiative, impact of work and true partnership with the community.  

In 2000, the Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers (MACHW) became the first professional organization for Community Health Workers (CHWs) in the United States. Founded by and for CHWs, MACHW works at the state and national levels to strengthen the profession and ensure that Community Health Workers have the training, leadership opportunities, and professional support needed to improve health outcomes in their communities. With more than 1,500 members across Massachusetts, MACHW serves as the statewide hub for CHWs to connect, develop professionally, and collectively advance health equity.

Since its founding, MACHW has played a central role in building the professional infrastructure of the CHW workforce in Massachusetts. This includes leading the effort to establish statewide CHW Certification and a governor-appointed Certification Board, helping to formalize the profession and create pathways for workforce advancement. MACHW continues to collaborate with partners across healthcare, public health, and community-based organizations to ensure CHWs are effectively integrated into care teams and public health systems.

MACHW’s work focuses on strengthening the capacity, leadership, and sustainability of the CHW workforce. The organization provides statewide training and technical assistance to address emerging public health priorities, promote core competencies, and support CHWs pursuing certification through the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. MACHW hosts monthly virtual trainings for CHWs across the state, offering continuing education opportunities on topics identified by the workforce. Through its CHW Center of Excellence, MACHW also offers employers and organizations practical tools to successfully integrate CHWs into their programs, including mentorship, supervisory guidance, best-practice resources, communities of practice, and program evaluation support.