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2026 Public Health Champion – Individual Category: Ian Speers

Ian Speers is a Burlington-based public health leader and CEO of Pacto Medical, an award-winning firm recognized by the World Health Organization for its contributions to global health. A former Vermont EMT, Speers now supports the community by serving on the boards of All Brains Belong VT and Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community, while volunteering with the Medical Reserve Corps and COTS.

2026 Public Health Champion – Group Category: The Vermont Medical Reserve Corps

The Vermont Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is a statewide network of 600 medical and non-medical volunteers. They support public health through emergency response—such as flood relief and vaccinations—and innovative community programs like Stop the Bleed. This small but mighty team ensures Vermont remains resilient during both daily operations and major crises.

2026 Lifetime Achievement: Dr. Harry Chen

Dr. Chen’s distinguished career spans global health and high-level public service, including serving as Vermont’s Health Commissioner and leading international emergency medicine residencies in Uganda. A former state representative and University of Vermont Trustee, he has spearheaded major initiatives in reproductive liberty, child welfare, and rural health.

2026 Exemplary Contributions to VtPHA: Burton Wilcke, Ph. D., M.S.

Burt has been central to VtPHA’s story from its very beginning. As a VtPHA co-founder, Burt acted on a clear conviction that Vermont needed a public health association—and that the absence of one simply could not continue. His vision and commitment helped the Association take root and establish a strong foundation.

For more than twenty five years, colleagues share Burt has been a constant and reliable presence. He consistently showed up—attending meetings, leading key efforts such as policy and position statements, and contributing thoughtfully to the planning of annual meetings and other Association events. His steady engagement set a powerful example of what effective board service looks like.

Burt was beyond vigilant in being VtPHA’s ‘conscience. As a financial steward, Burt encouraged thoughtful, long term thinking through in both good times and challenging ones. His wisdom, institutional memory, and preparedness strengthened Board discussions and helped guide the organization forward.

Burt is invested in developing the next generation of public health leaders. He is generous and someone who recognizes the potential in others, inviting them into leadership, strengthening VtPHA through mentorship and connection.

The Vermont public health community is fortunate to have benefited from Burt’s decades-long contributions and leadersihp.

2026 Exemplary Contributions to VtPHA: Sally Kerschner

Sally has served as a Vermont Public Health Association volunteer and Board member since our founding in 2002. She is a passionate, organized and innovative PH advocate. Sally is constantly connecting ideas, people, and possibilities to strategies for action. Her enthusiasm and energy are matched by her warmth, kindness, and collaborative spirit.

Colleagues note her incredible intellectual curiosity and a lifelong commitment to public health. Sally’s passion for VtPHA is evident in her constant engagement—keeping Board members informed, strengthening partnerships, and championing the growth of the Public Health Nurses Section.

Throughout her board service, Sally has served in multiple leadership roles, including Board Chair and Secretary. She has consistently demonstrated dedication, reliability, and setting a high bar for excellence.

Above all, Sally has never stopped being a nurse, bringing compassion and humanity into every decision she makes.

VtPHA is deeply grateful for Sally’s leadership and service. As she steps off the Board in 2026, Sally leaves an amazing legacy. The Vermont public health community is fortunate to have a champion like Sally in our corner.

2025 Public Health Champion – Group Category: THRIVE

THRIVE is an Accountable Community for Health (ACH). Its mission is to optimize the health and wellbeing of our community through informed, collaborative and innovative solutions to achieve its vision to build thriving communities. This is achieved by convening healthcare, public health, social services, and other local partners. Its members represent a multi-sector partnership working to improve health outcomes and contain costs by identifying and addressing social drivers of health for the communities in Washington and northern Orange counties. THRIVE is led by a Board of Directors with Central Vermont Medical Center serving as the convener and fiscal sponsor.

2025 Public Health Champion – Group Category: VT Cultural Brokering Program

The Vermont Cultural Brokering Program offers integrated prevention education and care management to Vermont’s former refugee and immigrant communities, aiming to enhance health equity. Their objectives include raising awareness about mental health and substance abuse treatment, connecting community members to services, and implementing universal screening models to reduce stigma. Five cultural brokers from the Somali/Somali Bantu, Congolese, Bhutanese/Nepali, and Arabic-speaking communities serve as effective liaisons with schools, social services, clinics, community agencies, medical providers, and mental health agencies, contributing to a reduction in suicidal ideation and risk.

Over the years, the team has supported thousands of community members, empowering them to share their stories and address concerns impacting their communities. They have organized numerous community education and outreach sessions on topics such as mental health promotion, substance use prevention, youth development, juvenile law, COVID-19 vaccines, Narcan administration, language accessibility, and housing resources. Cultural brokers are recognized as a best practice model for serving culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

2023 Public Health Champion – Individual Category: Jill Lord

Beginning her 45+ year nursing career at Mary Fletcher Hospital in Burlington as a staff nurse in the mid-1970, she has been a community health nurse in Woodstock, a nurse leader at the VA Medical Center in White River Junction, a nurse educator at Norwich University, the Chief Nursing Officer of Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center for 24 years, and then for the past 7 years before her retirement in January 2023 Mt. Ascutney Hospital’s Director of Community Health. In 1998, Jill Lord was instrumental in creating the Vermont Nursing Internship Program and served as President of their Board. She is a Past President and Member of the Vermont Organization of Nurse Leaders. Jill has had a strong community health influence through the Windsor Health Services Area (HAS) Community Collaborative (the region’s Accountable Community for Health – ACH), the Windsor Area Community Partnership, the Blueprint for Health, the Windsor Area Drug Task Force, the PATCH Network, the Greater Upper Valley Integrated Services Team Executive Council, and myriad other community health initiatives. She’s been responsible for her hospital system’s Community Health Needs Assessment and subsequent Community Health Improvement Plans to address gaps in services and programs based on community need. She has been responsible for oversite of the disease prevention and health promotion programs and workgroups in the region, including the Spiritual Health Work Group. Somewhat unique for public health, Jill has championed an understanding that our values, relationships, hope, and a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives contributes to wellbeing just like sufficient food, adequate physical activity, and stable housing. Of course, these latter needs (and others) are also ACH workgroup’s that she’s helped to support for the Windsor HSA. Jill is a master collaborator and over the years has brought together literally 100’s of individuals and organizations to address the health priorities impacting the greater Windsor area. She has led the Multi-Facility Ethics Committee and has helped in the development of the Windsor Community Health Clinic, School Nurse program, Volunteers in Action, and the Complementary Alternative Medicine Program. In September 2011, Jill was appointed to the Governor’s Blue-Ribbon Commission on Nursing. Recognition by the VT PHA would be one of many times she has been acknowledged for her accomplishments in support of the public’s health over the years including the HCRS Community Partner Award (2011), Mt. Ascutney’s Foster McGaw Award for Excellence in Community Service from the American Hospital Association (2012), Vermont Medical Society Citizen of the Year (2015), Miles Jensen Award from Housing Vermont (2018), Hero and Leader Award from Vital Communities (2018), partners in Excellence Award from Support and Services at Home (2019), Certificate of Excellence in Systemic Improvement (2020), and (another) HCRS Community Partner Award (2022). Recently Jill has faced her own health challenges and has responded with the same courage, grace, and determination that has characterized her service to Vermont.

2022 Public Health Champion – Individual Category: Mark Levine, MD

Dr. Mark Levine’s dedication to the health of Vermonters has been evident through his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as his work in advocating for preventative health practices in primary care prior to COVID-19. His leadership as Vermont’s Commissioner of Health was evident in the way that he and his team activated Vermont’s emergency crisis response, resulting in outcomes that were far less severe than was seen in other states. Dr, Levine served as a catalyst for Vermont’s collective response by coordinating the actions of public and private organizations including the VT Agency of Education, VT School Nurses Association, VT National Guard, the Association of Hospitals and Healthcare systems, and many others. He also implemented plans and programs to improve surveillance efforts that recognized and responded to the unique challenges faced by underserved and vulnerable populations. Additionally, he was a steadfast voice of evidence based, data driven information which helped to inform and educate everyone from policy makers to hard working Vermonters.

2022 Public Health Champion – Individual Category: Wendy Walsh, RN, Public Health Nurse
This award honors Wendy Walsh’s 44 years of service to Vermonters as a Public Health Nurse and staff Vermont Department of Health as she assumed increasing responsibilities to meet emerging needs. Most recently she has served as co-leader of the Department’s Outbreak Prevention and Response Team coordinating dozens of public health nurses across the state to be the local points of contact and guidance for schools, businesses, healthcare organizations, and congregate living facilities as they navigated though the COVID-19 cases that impacted their organizations and facilities.

With this award, we recognize Wendy’s role as a healthcare provider who has advanced health equity by addressing and reducing health disparities, inspiring and supporting strategic partnerships, working to expand public health nursing, and helping to ensure that Vermont children do not go hungry. Her achievements serve as a model for other public health leaders.

2022 Public Health Champion – Group Category: Vermont National Guard COVID-19 Mapping Team
Citizen-soldiers have been an important part of protecting Vermonters for over 300 years. The Vermont National Guard COVID-19 Mapping Team unit admirably continued this tradition as evidenced by their efforts during the pandemic. As part of the team’s charge to assist the Vermont Department of Health’s contact tracing efforts, the team sought and engaged in collaborations utilizing language interpreters, cultural brokers and other community assets to engage with communities in ways that demonstrate cultural humility and linguistic sensitivity. Not only did the Vermont National Guard COVID-19 Mapping Team collect information to support contact tracing, they served as an important source of information to individuals, communities, the Department of Health, and area healthcare centers. As a result, Vermont was spared from some of the worst impacts of COVID-19 that were experienced in other states. The team’s efforts serve as a model for other organizations and teams in advancing health equity for all Vermonters.

2020 Public Health Champion – Individual Category: Dr. Maria Mercedes Avila
Dr. Avila has been involved in grants in the state and at the national level providing consultation, training and technical assistance on cultural and linguistic competence, health equity, and social justice in healthcare to more than 152 organizations, including all mental health agencies and hospitals in Vermont. She has demonstrated commitment to advancing health equity and addressing and eliminating health disparities by inspiring collaboration through strategic partnerships to create a culture of health in Vermont, working to expand community health workers and outreach to former refugee and immigrant communities in the state, and training more than 10,000 professionals across 27 states in understanding the connection between racial, gender, social, economic, educational, and health disparities and the role social determinants of health play in populations’ health outcomes.

2020 Public Health Champion – Group Category: Dr. John Brooklyn, Dr. Harry Chen, Barbara Cimaglio, Beth Tanzman
Dr. Brooklyn, Dr. Chen, Barbara and Beth designed and implemented the Hub and Spoke system of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), supporting people in recovery from opioid use disorder in Vermont, a program that has shown significant positive impacts for MAT participants such as decreased opioid use and in injection drug use, decreased emergency department visits, and increased satisfaction with their own lives.

2019 Public Health Champion – Individual Category: Bess O’Brien
Bess is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and theater producer based in the Northeast Kingdom whose films shine a light on some of the most important public health issues. Her film “The Hungry Heart” about the opioid crisis in Vermont won the American Society of Addiction Medicine Award for outstanding media and was honored by Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin as the film that served as a catalyst for opiate addiction awareness across the state. Her other films include “Ask Us Who We Are” about foster care in Vermont; “Journey into Courage,” about women survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse, “Here Today,” about families struggling with heroin addiction, and “Coming Home,” about people returning from prison.

2018 Public Health Champion – Individual Category: Paul Bengtson
Paul embarked on a career in health and human services, working in teaching hospitals, in urban settings in NYC, at a rural hospital in the mid-south, and on a de novo hospital project in Missouri. He has served as Chair of the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Governing Council for Small and Rural Hospitals, which includes 1,700 hospitals nationwide. He served as CEO for 30 years at NVRH in St. Johnsbury, where he lives with his family, Paul has led or participated in many health reform initiatives at the local, state, and national levels. His dedication to civic life is also demonstrated by his service on many community boards, including Chair of Catamount Arts; Board Chair of the Fairbanks Museum; and lead organizer of the nationally recognized NEK Prosper!.

2018 Public Health Champion – Individual Category: Jan Carney, MD, MPH
Dr. Carney’s leadership promotes integration of public health and clinical care. Among a myriad publications, presentations, appointments, and projects focused on public health improvement, Dr. Carney served as Vermont’s Commissioner of Health for 13 years under Governors Madeline Kunin, Richard Snelling, and Howard Dean, built a program for public health in the College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, and has served in multiple leadership roles in organizations including the American College of Physicians, where she has been a fellow since 1991.