Josiah Hill Community Leadership Award

S. Renee Mitchell – S. Renee Mitchell is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated former newspaper columnist, poet, playwright, teacher and small business owner and speaks passionately against verbal, sexual and physical violence. Since leaving her career as an award-winning journalist, Renee has been on the ground serving her community by healing and empowering women through poetry, plays, writing workshops and spoken word presentations to a variety of audiences, from low-income teenage girls to professional women to Rotary Club members, in order to help raise awareness and encourage others to start talking about their experiences. A domestic and sexual violence survivor herself, Renee co-founded the Healing Roots Center, a four-year-old referral center for black women who are experiencing domestic violence. She co-chairs the center’s advisory committee and has helped raised thousands of dollars to support outreach and awareness campaigns.

Katie Jeans – Gail Award for Young Heroes

Multnomah Youth Commission – The Multnomah Youth Commission (MYC), the official youth policy body for both Multnomah County and the City of Portland, is a group of young people, ages 13-21, that strives to provide a voice for youth in the County and City's work. In 2006, the MYC created Our Bill of Right: Children + Youth, the nation’s first Bill of Rights written by and for youth and adopted by local government as official policy which gives the youth of Multnomah County the right to access appropriate physical, mental and spiritual wellness. The MYC also developed the YouthPass program which expanded in 2009 and provided free Trimet passes to all high school students in the Portland Public School district. The MYC continuously works to change policy affecting young people and is committed to expanding access to school-based health care for young people and engaging the delivery of health services and promotion as well as increasing access to public transportation for youth.

Community-Based Organization or Program Award

Coalition for a Livable Future – Coalition for a Livable Future (CLF) unites 100 diverse organizations to promote health and wellness in the Portland-Vancouver region by working to improve physical and social environments at a systemic level so that exposure to health risks decline, making it easier for individuals to adopt healthier behaviors in the future. Through research, policy advocacy and public education, CLF works to create and preserve affordable housing; ensure clean water; protect open space, wildlife habitat and farmland; create living wage jobs; provide real transportation choices; and end hunger in our community. CLF has a 15-year track record of public policy wins and community building and strives to promote “regionalism”, which recognizes that the community within our urban area is interdependent and that cooperation will improve the economic, social and environmental health of the metropolitan region as a whole.

John Kitzhaber Public Health Leadership Award

Renee Hackenmiller-Paradis – Renee Hackenmiller-Paradis is the Environmental Health Program Director at the Oregon Environmental Council and works to unite health professionals and environmental advocates in developing and promoting policies to protect children’s health from toxic pollution. She works tirelessly to reduce sources of exposure by educating decision-makers and citizens about the costs of contaminants; organizing Healthy Environment Forum series; and rallying support behind policies such as fitting diesel school buses with filters and instituting safer pest management policies in schools. In 2009, Renee championed the “Children’s Safe Products Act” which included a bill that tackled Bisphenol A (BPA). She created a successful campaign that put pressuron lawmakers and manufacturers to find solutions to reduce children’s exposure to this dangerous chemical, opening the door to further discussion with businesses and health care providers.

Business/Corporation Award

OMSI – OMSI’s mission to make science accessible and meaningful through exhibits, programs and hands-on experiences to all community members has recently focused on ensuring public health work is front and center in their community-based work. Beginning in 2007, OMSI has collaborated with the Multnomah County Health Department through the SciencePub Program in bringing important public health topics to the community. This collaboration began on the subject of the pandemic influenza far before anyone was concerned about the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus. This continued with hosting community panels on H1N1 and this year, OMSI chose a public health book entitled, “The Ghost Map” to encourage a community dialogue about public health through partnerships with the Multnomah County Library and the Health Department

Multnomah County Employee Award

Susan Kirchoff – Susan Kirchoff is responsible for overseeing the operations at the Department’s health centers where approximately 60,000 Multnomah County residents, representing the county’s most vulnerable communities, depend on high quality care delivered at these sites. Susan is the architect of the Building Better Care model, which promotes a patient-centered approach to health care services. She has led the campaign for significant improvements to the health center program with funding provided by the county and through the 2009 Recovery Act. Her leadership in the county’s dental program has led to an increase in access by at least 9% per year for the past 2 years. Susan is a champion for assuring that every client has a high quality experience with the county’s primary care services by identifying and removing barriers to care so that clients can have strong personal relationships with their care team.

More winners from previous years»

Public Health Heroes

Questions?

Contact Jaimee Mayfield

503-988-3663 ext. 28327
jaimee.mayfield@multco.us