2022 Spring Awards Breakfast

MPHA is excited to announce our 20th Annual Spring Awards Breakfast on June 3, 2022 from 8:30am- 10:30am at the State Room (60 State Street, Boston). Please join us to celebrate the passion, integrity, commitment and heroic work of our colleagues in the public health community.   

This year, we are honored to have Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston Public Health Commission Executive Director Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, will be providing the keynote – talking not only about their strategy in addressing the COVID pandemic, but about their vision for greater health equity in the City of Boston and the importance of listening to community residents in developing their policies and strategies.  Their critical public health leadership will be recognized as they receive a special MPHA award, the Catalyst for Justice Award!

MPHA’s highest honor, the Paul Revere Award, will be given to to Ashish Jha, MD, MPH. This award is presented to an individual who has made an outstanding impact on public health in the Commonwealth. Dr. Jha is a physician, health policy researcher, and the third Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. He is recognized as a global expert on pandemic preparedness and response as well as on health policy research and practice. Dr. Jha has led groundbreaking research around Ebola and is now on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response, leading national and international analysis of key issues and advising state and federal policy makers.  

We will present the first-ever Local Public Health Leadership Award to Phoebe Walker, Director of Community Services at the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG). This award recognizes an outstanding individual working within the field of municipal public health. Ms. Walker has been involved in public health program design, evaluation and implementation in Franklin County for over 25 years. She has worked on regional public health collaborations, substance use disorder prevention and intervention, chronic disease prevention, and a wide variety of other issues. The regional health district Ms. Walker leads currently serves 16 small rural communities in Western MA with a team of regional health agents, public health nurses, and a community health educator.

The Lemuel Shattuck Award will be presented to Chien-Chi Huang, Executive Director of Asian Women for Health, a peer-led, community-based network dedicated to advancing Asian women’s health and wellbeing through education, advocacy, and support. This award is presented to a person who has made a significant contribution to the field of public health. Ms. Huang’s personal cancer journey led her to participate in national as well as local efforts on health equity and racial justice. Her remarkable passion for the community has changed the healthcare landscape for Asian women and created a pipeline of future leaders and health educators. 

A note on Public Health Precautions being taken for this year’s event: 

We are so excited to be able to plan for our first in-person event since 2019! Given the current state of the pandemic, we will be implementing some precautions to ensure that everyone is safe and comfortable. The venue has a high quality air filtration system, attendance will be reduced by 50% from past events, and all attendees will be required to show proof of vaccination. Stay tuned for updates if condition warrant and we hope to see you on June 3^rd!  

Purchase Tickets

Purchase a Sponsorship

For more information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Ana Hidalgo at ahidalgo@mapublichealth.org.

Sponsorship Levels

Thank you to our Sponsors!

Platinum Plus

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Alosa Health

Association for Behavioral Healthcare

Baystate Health

Beacon Health Options/Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership

Beth Israel Lahey Health

The Boston Foundation

Cambridge Health Alliance

Dana-Farber Cancer Insitute

Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at University of Massachusetts Medical School

Fenway Health

Lachlan Forrow

Gilead

Greater New Bedford Community Health Center

Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts

Health Resources in Action

Home Health Foundation

John Snow, Inc.

Justice Resource Institute

Tufts University School of Medicine, Public Health Program

Benefactor

Boston Healthcare for the Homeless

Health Equity Partnership of North Central Mass Inc. (CHNA9)

Massachusetts Association for Mental Health

Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association

Massachusetts Medical Society

Massachusetts Nurses Association

Neil Maniar & Ami Bhatt

Tufts University School of Dental Medicine

Patron

AAFCPAs

Alfred DeMaria Jr.

Cynthia A. Tschampl

Ralph Fuccillo

Deborah & Paul Walker

Massachusetts Association of Health Boards

Northeastern University Bouvé College of Health Sciences

Organizational Members

---

Recent Events

2021 Annual Conference & Meeting

Thank you to everyone who attended MPHA’s virtual Annual Conference & Meeting: Creating Health Equity by Building Community Power on November 16! By working together and sharing best practices, we are helping to create a healthier and more equitable Massachusetts where everyone can thrive.

Keynote Speaker

Our keynote speaker was Xavier Morales, Executive Director of the Praxis Project, who discussed the new Social Determinants of Public Health framework recently developed by the Praxis Project, as well as their focus on community power building as a strategy for achieving health equity.

While many traditional SDOH frameworks lack the explicit naming of systems of oppression that cause disparities in health determinants. Praxis’ framework aims to incorporate systems of oppression and to highlight the root causes of these determinants from a justice and community power perspective.

Xavier is a longtime advocate for community-driven initiatives to achieve health equity and environmental justice. Taking an expansive view of what constitutes good health and community wellness, he works in partnership to enable opportunities across the social determinants of health.

Panel: Power Building on the Ground

Inequity is rooted in the imbalance of power – who has power and who is able to use that power. Knowing that, how can we build community power, in order to address these imbalances and create a more equitable society? How can that work translate into achieving greater health equity? This was the focus of our panel, Power Building on the Ground. Panelists included Project Director Megan Gaydos of Human Impact Partners (HIP) and Executive Director Dwaign Tyndal of Alternatives for Community & Environment (ACE), two organizations that are leading in this area. They shared insights and lessons learned from HIP’s Power-Building Partnerships for Health project and ACE’s work organizing residents of Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood around environmental justice issues, including air quality and transportation.

Workshop: The Power of Student Activism 

How can students become more active as participants in the movement for greater health equity? How can colleges and universities facilitate this work? These questions were explored at our workshop on The Power of Student Activism, cohosted by Neil Maniar, President and Associate Chair, Department of Health Sciences at Northeastern University; and Craig Andrade, Associate Dean of Public Health at Boston University. Additional panelists included students/alumni, who shared their own experiences as activists.

Sponsors

Pioneers

Mobilizers

• Health Leads
• Massachusetts Councils on Aging
• Massachusetts Nurses Association

Benefactors

• Boston University School of Public Health
• Greater Lowell Health Alliance
• Quinsigamond Community College

Educators

• Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
• Regis College, School of Health Sciences, Undergraduate Public Health Program
• Master of Healthcare Administration, Sawyer Business School, Suffolk University
• UMass Amherst School of Public Health & Health Sciences
• UMass Lowell Department of Public Health

Community Supporters

• Bay State Community Services
• Elder Services of Merrimack Valley

Organizational Members

Visionaries

Catalysts

Stakeholders

• Association for Behavioral Healthcare
• John Snow Inc.
• Metrowest Health Foundation
• Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts

Past Events

Click here to view past MPHA events