SOPHE recognizes professionals, practitioners, researchers, faculty and students with awards at SOPHE 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 21, 2020 – The Society for Public Health Education, Inc. (SOPHE) will present more than 30 awards and scholarships to health education researchers, faculty, programs, practitioners and students during its evening awards ceremony at SOPHE’s 71st Annual Conference in Atlanta, March 17-20, 2020.

The awards and scholarships recognize significant achievements in the health education and health promotion profession and outstanding contributions of veterans and rising stars to improve the health of all.

Join SOPHE in congratulating the following individuals on their award and recognition.

Dr. Patricia Dolan Mullen, DrPH, MLS will receive SOPHE’s highest honor, the Distinguished Fellow Award. Mullen is a University of Texas System Distinguished Teaching Professor. Mullen has more than 40 years of experience in teaching and research at academic institutions in which she is credited for many contributions to health promotion and behavioral sciences. Noted by her colleagues as a thought leader and mentor, she has forged a career as a lead senior investigator in public health research studies with the CDC and NIH. She is known for her passion and advancements in cancer prevention, patient education, health education, health promotion and disease prevention. She continues to dedication to the field – receiving honors and recognition, most recently as the 2019 Piper Professor by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation.

Stacey Yvonne Abrams, MPA, JD, founder and chair, Fair Fight, is awarded SOPHE’s Honorary Fellow Award. This award is presented to non-members who have made significant and lasting contributions to health education and the public’s health. Abrams was minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives from 2011 to 2017. She was also the first African-American woman to deliver a response to the State of the Union address in 2019. Throughout her career, she demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to health equity, the elimination of health disparities, and advances the field by pursuing issues – voter rights, fair election policies, social determinants and social justice.

The 2020 Karen Denard Goldman Health Educator Mentor Award recipient is Jagdish Khubchandani, PhD, MPH, MD, professor in the Department of Nutrition and Health Science at Ball State University. The energy, dedication, and investment that Khubchandani has demonstrated in his teaching illustrates the meaning of a health education mentor to his students. Known for empowering his undergraduate students in health care, community service, and addressing larger issues in public health, Khubchandani soars above in both scholarship and mentorship.

Clarence E. Pearson Program Excellence Award
Ranelle Brew, sHaPe Camp: A Community and University Collaboration in Developing a Pipeline into Health Careers, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Graduate Student Research Paper
Evi Addoh, MS, University of Arkansas

Helen P. Cleary Scholarships (2019)
Katherine Drewiske
Kimberly Pierre
Samantha Posada
D. Rose Ewald
Gabrielle Diaz
Victoria Donnelly

Horizon Award
Katie French, MPH, CPH, University of South Florida

Technology Award
Janice L. Krieger, PhD, ALEX (Agent Leveraging Empathy for eXams), East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina

Vivian Drenckhahn Student Scholarship
Tyler James, MS, CHES®, University of Florida
Stephanie Machado, MPH, University of California Berkeley

SOPHE Chapter Award for Excellence
Iowa SOPHE

SOPHE House of Delegates Chapter Student Recognition Award
Celine LaBelle, NJ SOPHE Chapter

SOPHE/CDC Injury Prevention Student Fellow
Sarah Febres-Cordero, BSN, RN, Emory University
Brian Pugliese, MA, University of Idaho

SOPHE Patient Engagement Fellow
Jessica Woodard, Emory University

SOPHE’s 21st Century Student Scholarships
Juan Aguilera, MD, MPH, The University of Texas at El Paso
Nicole Batista, Southern Connecticut State University
Bree Bode, MPH, CHES®, Wayne State University
Gabriela Cardoso de Paula Rocha, San Jose State University
D. Rose Ewald, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Jessica Graber, Western Michigan University
Jonathan Isbill, MS, RD, Ball State University
Dennis Nyachoti, The University of Texas at El Paso

SOPHE’s 21st Century Practitioner Scholarships
Michelle Carvalho, MPH, MCHES®, Emory University – Region IV Public Health Training Center
Tiffany Neal, MPH, MCHES®, Health Educator, NJSOPHE
Katrina White, CHES®, Rockingham County Department of Health and Human Services

SOPHE Papers of the Year

Health Education & Behavior – Lawrence W. Green Paper of the Year – “Exploring the Potential of Participatory Theatre to Reduce Stigma and Promote Health Equity for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) People in Swaziland and Lesotho.” (Health Education & Behavior, February 2019, 46(1), 146-156.

Carmen H. Logie, PhD; Lisa V. Dias, MA; Jesse Jenkinson, MSc; Peter A. Newman, PhD; Rachel K. MacKenzie, MSc, MPH; Tampose Mothopeng, Veli Madau, BA; Amelia Ranotsi, PhD; Winnie Nhlengethwa, PhD; and Stefan D. Baral, MD, MPH

Health Promotion Practice – Sarah Mazelis Paper of the Year – “The CHAMPIONS NETWork: Training Chicago High School Students as Health Advocates to Improve Health Equity.” (Health Promotion Practice, January 2019, 20(1), 57–66.

Sara Heinert, MPH; Marina Del Rios, MD, MSc; Arjun Arya, MSc; Ramin Amirsoltani, MPH; Nasseef Quasim, BS; Lisa Gehm, MD; Natalia Suarez, MA; and Terry Vanden Hoek, MD

Pedagogy in Health Promotion Paper of the Year Award – “Development of a Community-Engaged Classroom for Teaching Health Communications: Lessons Learned From Nine Semesters of Implementation.” (Pedagogy in Health Promotion: The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, December 2019, 5(4), 246-253.

Elizabeth M. Felter, DrPH and Sara Baumann, MPH

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Contact: Jordan Buckley, MPH, CHES® 202.408.9804,

jb******@so***.org











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