Neil Hann Leadership Award
OTPC is pleased to announce a Call for Nominations for the Neil Hann Leadership Award. This award was established in 2017 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the OTPC, while honoring one of the founding members of Oklahoma Turning Point, Neil Hann.
The Neil Hann Leadership Award annually honors an individual who displays innovation, inspiration, and leadership by fostering a culture of health in Oklahoma. This annual award winner makes outstanding contributions to protecting and promoting the health of Oklahomans well beyond their normal work duties.
Award recipients will be selected based on demonstrated achievements in the following areas:
- Provide local and organizational leadership to advance positive health practices;
- Demonstrating a degree of innovation and creativity to positively influence the advancement of public and community health;
- Inspiring diverse collaboration through strategic partnerships or communities of practice to promote a culture of health in Oklahoma
2023 Award Recipient-Debra Johnson,DrPh(c), Director, Strategy & Transformation Management Office, Oklahoma State Department of Health
Debra is a state-wide planner and leader with a servants heart. Debra was the key planner in establishing the community building/ strengthening program that included the poverty simulation, NEAR science training and community building workshops in SW Oklahoma. As the district planner for district 5, Debra implemented this plan after having staff trained in each county to support this mission that would lead to developing more supportive, healthy communities. Since transitioning to state-level planning and strategy, Debra has continued to collaborate to ensure that this important and meaningful work has carried on while simultaneously working to build state-wide strategy for health improvement in a collaborative effort.
Community Health Champion Awards
OTPC is pleased to announce a Call for Nominations for the Community Health Champion Awards.
The Community Health Champion Award recognizes the service and dedication of individuals and groups who work to improve the health and wellness of their communities through community-centered efforts.
The OTPC encourages nominations of initiatives, projects, or local events across Oklahoma that serve through strategic partnerships, coalitions, faith communities, and more. Community Health Champions should be committed to supporting community-voice, promoting health equity, and removing barriers for local participation in initiatives, projects, or local events.
Award recipients will be selected based on demonstrated achievements in the following areas:
- Impact on target population/s
- Established goals and objectives
- Demonstrated systemic, policy or behavior change
- Sustainability of efforts
- Cross-sector partnerships
- Barrier removal for participation
- Application of health equity principles
- Community-voice utilization
2023 Community Health Champion Award Recipient- Treasure McKenzie Director, Muskogee Bridges out of Poverty
Treasure provides local and organizational leadership to advance positive health practices through training peer support group facilitators nationally. She has been a statewide and national leader in the innovative practice of expanding peer support groups to address social drivers of health and increase individual, family, and community stability. Treasure has gone above and beyond for improving the health of not only Muskogee, Oklahoma, but also across Oklahoma and nationally. Treasure inspires diverse collaboration through strategic partnerships or communities of practice to promote a culture of health through her advancement addressing instability at the family, workplace, and community levels.
2023 Community Health Champion Award Recipients- Lauran Larson, MPS Lead wellness coordinator, Oklahoma State Department of Health and Jae Morrison, MPH, Obesity prevention consultant, Oklahoma State Department of Health
Lauran is committed to building partnerships and working upstream to prevent adverse health outcomes before they happen. She aims to help create environments where healthy choices are readily available and easily accessible to all Oklahomans.
Jae is Health Care Management and Outreach Specialist with a demonstrated history of connecting those in need with the services that allow them to pursue their best life. Jae’s commitment to supporting others desire’s to live fully is truly admirable, I am constantly in awe of their efforts.
2023 Community Health Champion Award Recipient-Gary Shelton, Council of Law Enforcement Education & Training
Gary has always been a strong advocate for anything school and kid related. As the manager of the School Security Institute he was always looking for new and innovative ways to protect our children in their everyday life at school. He has served on the board of Handle with Care as a law enforcement representative for several years and has always promoted the organization in a positive and necessary component of bridging the gap between law enforcement and children regarding mental health. Gary presents handle with care as a positive yet easy way to start the healing process when a child is involved in a traumatic event. As a former law enforcement officer, Gary understands for a system like handle with care to work it has to be user friendly and show a positive result.
2023 Community Health Champion Award Recipient- La’Chanda Stephens-Totimeh, Community outreach manager, OU-Health Science Center
She is a champion advocate for removing barriers for local participation in initiatives, projects, and local events. She has advocated and implemented this strategy within the OUHSC budget and other initiatives.
2023 Community Health Champion Award Recipients-Kerry D. Morgan, Ph.D., MCHES, University of Central Oklahoma and Erika Dugan, Senior Public Relations consultant
Kerry and Erika worked administratively on the problem of metabolic syndrome when Saint Francis physicians in Tulsa sought educational improvements. Together, Kerry and Erika designed a program to advance knowledge and treatment.
Today Kerry is providing leadership for Oklahoma undergraduates to bring out problems that need to be solved and show them how to do that in steps so not to just make protest for a problem. Erika is currently a Masters in Public Health candidate.
Erika is committed to connecting science to biodiversity in diabetes to help save patients limbs and lives from sepsis and to ask the scientific questions of what the biology is changing and affecting the dynamics of the pancreas in more people. Erika has served as a health communications journalist for over 30 years working in lung health communications, intervention program promotion, and promoting projects for physician improvement, among many other topics.
Kerry and Erica have worked together on the complex problem of metabolic syndromes. Kerry has pursued the social, kinesiology, and psychological sides, while Erika has undertaken the physical, social, and biological side of metabolic syndromes.
Health Innovator Award
The OTPC Policy Committee works tirelessly to promote positive health policy within the Oklahoma Legislature. Based on the policy priorities identified and adopted annually, members of the Policy Committee work alongside staffers and elected officials to move forward positive health and social care legislation. To acknowledge the work of our elected officials, the Policy Committee identifies the Health Innovator of the Year Award. The award is presented during the OTPC Awards Ceremony annually.
2023 Health Innovator Award Recipient- Traylor Rains,J.D., State Medicaid Director, Oklahoma Health Care Authority
Traylor Rains currently serves as the State Medicaid Director at the Oklahoma Health Care Authority. After earning his law degree from Baylor University, he began his now 17 year career in public service with the State of Oklahoma which has included leadership roles within the Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services and the Department of Human Services. In his current role, Traylor is a driver of innovation within Oklahoma’s Medicaid program and is responsible for directing several divisions within OHCA including Behavioral Health, Federal & State Authorities, Long Term Services and Supports and Tribal Government Relations.
Turning Point Trailblazer Award
Launched in 2022, during the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Turning Point, 25 individuals and entities were identified as “Turning Point Trailblazers.” The honorees were identified through the OTPC Executive Council as those who were and continue to be instrumental in the formation and sustainment of OTPC.
Beginning in 2023, “Turning Point Trailblazers” can be nominated by the broader community. Turning Point Trailblazers are individuals or entities paving the way for improvements in health and social care across Oklahoma. One new Trailblazer will be honored annually.
Nominees for the “Turning Point Trailblazer” award will embody:
- Grit, a fierce determination and willingness to do the tough stuff;
- Fire, a passion for public health and the community
- Curiosity, a drive to learn more from individuals in the communities we serve
- Balance, a commitment to ensuring we plan and act with equity-driven purpose
2023 Turning Point Trailblazer Award Recipient-Meredith Scott- Kaliki, MPH, Program Director,The Onie Project
Meredith is the true definition of a Trailblazer. She is passionate, persistent, and always willing to go the extra mile if it means that the outcome will benefit the project. Meredith understands that public health programming can be messy, complicated, and full of challenges. Rather than face defeat or compromise for a mediocre outcome, she willingly and ambitiously embraces these challenges knowing that the outcome will only improve much needed nutrition and physical activity programming in our great state.As a public health professional, she puts the community first, and finds innovative ways to address priority issues. Meredith invests time in others and looks for opportunities to work with passionate students and young professionals who are trying to find their way. She is a Trailblazer.
2023 Turning Point Trailblazer Award Recipient-Kricia Phillips, SNAP Program, Oklahoma Department of Human Services
ricia is the Program Field Representative for Adult and Family Services Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Unit at Oklahoma Human Services (OHS). She has led the expansion and innovations of the Oklahoma Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP). In 2022, under Kricia’s leadership Oklahoma moved the SFMNP participant application from a printed mail-in system to a fully online process. This update created more efficiency to improve service to our seniors and also allows seniors who do not use technology to better utilize SFMNP recruiters. This innovation paid off as demonstrated by the SFMNP utilization, the number of seniors who used their full benefits, went from 60% in 2021 to 84% in 2022.
OTPC Young Community Health Professional of the Year (40 and younger)
A new award in 2023, the OTPC would like to begin recognizing the deep impacts young professionals, 40 years old and younger, are making in community health across Oklahoma. Through honoring our young professionals, we hope to encourage their innovative spirits and provide them with a platform for elevating their work state-wide. OTPC looks forward to recognizing the talent of our young professionals in the health and social care sectors across Oklahoma.
Young Community Health Professionals of the Year demonstrate the following characteristics through their work:
- Innovative, solution-oriented, strategic
- Collaborative, inclusive, partner
- Motivator, encourager, supporter
- Dedication, commitment, determination
2023 OTPC Young Community Health Professional of the Year-Mareyba Fawad, MPH, Oklahoma Public Health Association
Mareyba spear headed the Oklahoma Public Health Association (OPHA) Conference. Mareyba built the infrastructure for the conference from the ground up in less than a year. She has found this lane between community care and public health that grows more each year since we first met in 2021. Mareyba really humanizes what is going on around her in a way that moves the healthcare field, and anyone around her, to care deeply and not just produce work. Mareyba is the number 1 person that comes to my mind when I think about “Young Community Health Professionals of the Year.”
Mareyba cares deeply about growing access to public health and shifting the way the public health sector reaches the people they serve. She is deserving of this accolade and much more.
AWARD NOMINATION & SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
- Please have all nomination information, narratives and supplemental documents prepared prior to completing application. Applications cannot be saved while in progress. All applications must be submitted online.
- Incomplete applications will not be evaluated.
- All letters of support and supplemental documentation must be submitted with the application. Any supplemental documentation received after application submission will not be evaluated.
- Awards will be given at the Rural Health Conference on November 1 at 6 pm at the Hilton Garden Inn in Edmond. You do not need to attend the Rural Health Conference to attend the awards ceremony.
