We are incredibly grateful to honor the 2023 recipients of the NACHC Grassroots Advocacy Awards. All recipients were nominated by their peers for this recognition. Please take a moment to learn more about these advocates and their work.
Hall of Fame members have made lasting contributions to ensuring the creation, survival, and strength of health centers and the Health Center Movement through their dedicated and tireless efforts over many years.
Sr. Manager, Federal Policy & Communications
Colorado Community Health Network
Director of Government,
Community Affairs, & Communications
Union Community Health Center
The NACHC Grassroots MVP Award is named in honor of the late Elizabeth K. (Betsey) Cooke, whose constant effort and unflagging persistence as an advocate for Community Health Centers and health center patients set an example for all Health Center Advocates to follow. All honorees have gone above and beyond in their efforts to ensure that their Members of Congress actively supported health centers or to establish and expand grassroots advocacy efforts at their health center or in their state.
Director of Quality & Training
Special Health Resources for Texas
Health Equity Specialist
Hope Clinic
Chief Executive Officer
South Texas Rural Health Services
Chief Executive Officer
Triangle Area Network
Deputy Director
East Texas Community Health Services
Chief Executive Officer
Pueblo Community Health Center
Director of Marketing & Outreach
Community Healthcare Center
Associate Director
The Washington Community Scholar's Program
Chief Executive Officer
OneWorld Community Health Centers, Inc.
Director of Pharmacy Services
Wayne Community Health Centers
Director of Pharmacy
Hopewell Health Center
| Year Given | José Camacho Grassroots Hall of Fame Recipients |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Tara McCollum Plese (AZ), Carmen Velasquez (IL), Kim Mitroka (IL), Elvin Plank (IL/IN), Lisa Rutledge (MI), Vicki Young (SC), Pam Clark (WI) |
| 2021 | Andrew R. Behrman (FL), Berneice Mills-Thomas (IL), Linda Y. Flake (NJ), Ernesto Gómez (TX), Stan McKee (TX) |
| 2020 | Jean Sisneros (CO), Virginia “Ginger” Fuata (HI), Lee Flinn (ID), Larry McCulley (IL), Brent Wilborn (OK), Yvonne G. Davis (SC) |
| 2019 | Louise McCarthy (CA), Jim Luisi (MA), Mike Holmes (MN), Trip Shannon (NY), Roland Goertz (TX), Bobbi Ryder (TX), Grace Wang (WA) |
| 2018 | Jeff Caballero (CA), Carmella Castellano-Garcia (CA), Bruce Johnson (IL), Dennis Kruse (MO), Ernesto Gomez (TX) |
| 2017 | Sherry Hirota (CA), Vernita Todd (CA), Duane Kavka (GA), Beth Wrobel (IN), Eric Loy (KY), Ricardo Guzman (MI) |
| 2016 | Ellen Adlum (AK), Vince Keane (DC), Annie Neasman (FL), Mike Andry (LA), Paloma Hernandez (NY), Elizabeth Swain (NY) |
| 2015 | Tary Brown (GA), Howard Castay (LA), Robert Pugh (MS), Anne Nolon (NY), Teresita Batayola (WA) |
| 2014 | Lolita Lopez (DE), Henry Taylor (IL), Brian Toomey (NC), Walter Edge (NY), Paula Gomez (TX) |
| 2013 | Kauila Clark (HI), Jim Luisi (MA), Kim Sibilsky (MI), Lindsay Farrell (NY), Jose Camacho (TX) |
| 2012 | Charles White (AL), Velma Hendershott (MI), Joseph E. Pierle (MO), E. Benjamin Money, Jr. (NC), Patricia Deitch (PA) |
| 2011 | Castulo de la Rocha (CA), Stephen W. Schilling (CA), Theodore J. Boesen, Jr. (IA), William B. Wagner (KY), David L. Brown (MI), Lathran J. Woodard (SC) |
| 2010 | Sip Mouden (AR), Alfreda Turner (CT), Scott S. Graff (ND/SD), Barbra E. Minch (NY), Miguel (Mike) Trevino, Jr. (TX) |
| 2009 | Eligio White (CA), Phillippe Largent (IL), Mike Wurtsmith (MI), Tess Kuenning (NH/VT), Tom Sak (OR) |
| 2008 | John Gressman (CA), Annette Kowal (CO), James Scarborough (LA), Betty Jean Kerr (MO), J. Nolan Hollingsworth (MO), Katherine Grant-Davis (NJ), Roderick V. Manifold (VA) |
| 2007 | Jack Cradock (MA), Henry Granger (MS), Lil Anderson (MT), John Mengenhausen (SD), Anita Monoian (WA), Greg Nycz (WI) |
| 2006 | Janie B. Geer (MD), Doug Smith (NC), Ann H. Peters (NH), Dolores J. Lindsay (OH), Thomas Trompeter (WA) |
| 2005 | Janice DeBose (AL), Dale Galassie (IL), Lois Baker (KY), Gary Wiltz (LA), Mary Bufwack (TN) |
| 2004 | Harry Foster (CA), Stanley J. “Jerry” Brasher (CO), Cornell Scott (CT), Elsie Brown (GA), Lynn Clothier (IN), Jim Hunt (MA), Bernard Simmons (MS), Roland Gardner (SC), Rachel Gonzales Hanson (TX), Horace Sarabia (TX), David Reynolds (VT) |
| Year Given | Elizabeth K. Cooke Advocacy MVP Recipients |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Steven Sera (AZ), Yamilet Valladolid (CA), Bev Harbin (HI), Jerry Isikoff (IL), Joan Bondi (IN), Nakeisha Cleveland (LA), Brendan Riley (NC), Andrea DeMeo (NY), Linda Thomas Hemak, MD (PA), Patty Stubber (PA), Harvey Laas (TX), Carrie Gordon (TX), Patricia “Trish” Sarvela (WI) |
| 2021 | Margarethia G. Bledsoe (GA), Sarah M. Franḉois (WI), Michael Glas (TX), Celeste Harrison (TX), Perla Herrera (IL), Beth Keeney (IN), Amber Kirchhoff (IL), Helen Labun, MSc, MFA (VT), Sara LeMaster (CT), Katherine K. McLeod (GA), Jody Sahota (CA), Marielys Santiago Matos, MS (PR), Kimberleigh Joy Smith (NY), Megan Spinelli (NJ), R.B. Tucker, Jr. (GA), Edgardo Joel Vazquez-Fonseca (PR) |
| 2020 | Kimberly Chang, M.D. (CA), Gail Diggs (SC), Timothy Fraser (CA), C. Dean Germano (CA), Felicita Monteblanco (OR), Serena Muniz (NY), Teresa Rios-Bishop (OH), Laura Ringer (GA), Libby Thurman (TN), Felix M. Valbuena, Jr., M.D. (MI), Cyrus Winnett (IL), Leslie Wolcott (NC) |
| 2019 | Lupe Vela (TX), Chris Vann (NC), Andrea Morales-Williams (NC), Ryan Grinnell-Ackerman (MI), Fatima Groom (CO), Aaron Todd (IA) |
| 2018 | Whitney Allen (KY), Mike Baker (ID), Michelle Carter (TX), Alecia Cyprian (LA), Alan Freeman (MO), Alice Gibbs (CO), Kate Graetzer (NY), Jim Platten (MN), Jennifer Self (CA), Janice Sherman (MS), Jonathan Watson (MN), Deborah Woolford (MD) |
| 2017 | Tyler Clark (AR), Alexandra Conde (PR), Emily Fetterhoff (NY), Stan McKee (TX), Steve Messinger (NV), Kenny McMorris (NE), Rich Napolitano (MA), Sue Veer (SC), Jose Cruz Gonzales (DE), Chris Rodgers (NE) |
| 2016 | Wayne Linscott (KY), Carla Belcher (GA), Andrea Able (TX), Erika Martinez (AZ), Christian Munoz (TX), Anna Kinsey (NC), Eva Turbiner (NJ), Margarita Ollet (FL), John Salazar (CO), Kerry Haydash (CA) |
| 2015 | Mike Caudill (KY), Julie DiRossi-King (OH), Terry Langston (MI), Garry Rotto (CA), Grace Wang (WA) |
| 2014 | Kathleen Alexander (CA), Verona Greenland (NY), Kim Hancock (MS), Mike Maples (WA), Jordan Powell (IL), Dante Rosh (CA), Vernita Todd (IN) |
| 2013 | Deborah Tucker (AL), Brooks Miller (MO), John Reid (CO), Rich Watson (WA), Beverly Grossman (NY), Brent Wilborn (OK), Grace Sonia Melanio (CA), Maria Escalera (NY), Lisa Davidson (WI), Michael Curry (MA), Jennifer Morse (CO), Barb Malich (WA), Peg Hopkins (WA), Amanda Palmore (VA) |
| 2012 | Andrea Adams (KY), Teresita Ignacio Batayola (WA), Stephanie Berry (CA), Warren Brodine (IL), Cynthia Carmona (CA), Howard J. Castay, Jr. (LA), Thomas G. Chase (NV), Stan Chavis (AL), Julie DiRossi-King (OH), Lindsay C. Farrell (NY), Mary Beth Frideres (MT), Jill Hayden (IL), Manual A. Lopes (MA), Ken Loving (WI), Phillip L. Morphew (IN), Robert MtJoy (PA), Warren S. Parker (NC), Deano Thornton (LA), Katherine S. Yacavone (CT), Jean Young (OH) |
| 2011 | Jesus Blanco (ID), Thomas G. Chase (NV), Trilla Frazier (OK), Karen Larson (ND), Eric E. Loy (KY), Maureen Kay Maxwell (CO), Louise McCarthy (CA), Forrest N. Olson (IL), Tara Plese (AZ), Brian Toomey (NC), Jason S. Vega (CA) |
| 2010 | Ellen Adlam (AK), Tary L. Brown (GA), Rev. Robert T. Carlson (ME), Suzanne Cohen (PA), J. Lorraine Estradas (CA), Jane Garcia (CA), Blake Hall (FL), Dana Hughes (MI), Dennis Kruse (MO), E. Benjamin Money, Jr. (NC), Sarah K. Noonan (DE), Kim Schwartz (NC), Steve Shattls (WV), Soren Tjernell (CA), Beth Wrobel (IN) |
| 2009 | Alan Pruhs (UT), Howard Chapman, Jr. (VA), Catherine Warner (SC), Tom Petri (WI), Leslie A. Morris (NJ), Burt Waller (TN), Susan Ward-Jones (AR), J. Michael Baker (NC), Stephanie Wiersma (OH), Emily Walsh (DC) |
| 2008 | Carolyn Allison (NC), Allain Ainsworth (UT), Jana Blasi (TX), Ted Boesen (IA), Dave Brown (MI), Lindsay Farrell (NY), Shelley Hughes (AK), Susan Piccirilli (PA), Joe Pierle (MO), Marguerite Salazar (CO) |
| 2007 | Michael Andry (LA), Toni Estep (IN), Beth Eveland (WY), Steven Hansen (NV), Sherry Hirota (CA), Mary Jones (RI), Kevin Kearns (FL), Phillippe Largent (IL), Temetry Lindsay (CA), Alfreda Turner (CT) |
| 2006 | Joe Liszak (OH), John Rugge (NY), Joseph D. Feaster, Jr. (MA), Kerrie Jones Clark (RI), Kevin Lewis (ME), Laura Sisulak (OR), Merrie Aipoalani (HI), Rick Shinn (VA), Shawn Frick (OH), Steven Miracle (GA) |
| 2005 | Barbara Minch (NY), Betty Gay Shuler (AR), Greg Nycz (WI), Jay Belber (NY), John Gressman (CA), John Mengenhausen (SD), Lalai Hamric (FL), Lil Anderson (MT), Nora O’Brien (CA), Ron Dwinnells (OH) |
| 2004 | Angel Obregon (CA), Betsey K. Cooke (FL), Bette Vierra (UT), Bill Wagner (KY), Katherine Grant-Davis (NJ), Kevin Lewis (ME), Mark Masseili (CT), Patricia Deitch (PA), Stephen Schilling (CA), Tess Stack Kuenning (NH/VT) |