Meet the 2015 Path Award winners

The Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work (RSCPHSW) announced this month the winners of the 2015 Path Awards.

The annual Path Awards recognize distinguished individuals in public health, social work and dietetics for their contributions and commitment to promoting and protecting the health and welfare of South Florida.  The Path Award winners will be honored at a luncheon to be held at Jungle Island on Wednesday March 18, 2015.

Joseph L. Falk, policy consultant and mortgage originator at Akerman LLP, will receive the Stempel Award for the  life-changing contributions he has made to social justice and for the LGBT community in South Florida.

“Mr. Falk is truly the personification of an individual who has served the people of South Florida,” said Mark Williams, interim dean of the RSCPHSW. “His activism on behalf of LGBT human rights and equality has and continues to profoundly affect countless individuals in our community and across the nation. Put simply, denial of human rights and equality is denial of health and social wellbeing. Activists and visionaries, such as Joseph Falk, were among the first to recognize this basic public health fact.”

In addition, for the first time ever, RSCPHSW will be awarding the Lifetime Award which recognizes an individual or group who have made a significant lifetime contribution to the public health and social welfare of South Florida. This year’s honorees, Trish and Dan Bell, have demonstrated leadership, vision and dedicated service throughout their careers to numerous causes and have made a significant impact on our community.

The 2015 Path Awards winners, their organizations and their respective categories are:

• Pathfinder Award: Dr. Jill S. Waibel, Miami Dermatology and Laser Institute, for her unique contributions to the Wounded Warriors, and for her work with Project C.A.R.E.
• Innovation Award: Javier Hernandez-Lichtl, Baptist Health South Florida, for his innovative responses to emerging health and social challenges, specifically the Healthy West Kendall coalition.
• Advocacy Award: Carol Marbin Miller, The Miami Herald, for her journalism which led to the passage of seven state laws, including measures that reformed the state’s child welfare system.
• Social Well-being Award: Brett and Virginia McNaught, Educate Tomorrow, for the work they have done to improve the quality of life for individuals and communities through research, policy changes, interventions and education.
• Disease Prevention Award: Kevin Kearns, from the Health Choice Network and the Health Choice Network of Florida, for his work supporting health information technology, managed care, and clinical initiatives for their Member Centers.
• Environmental Health Award: Donna Stayton, Florida Department of Health, Monroe County, for her work to foster community collaborations to gain support of key stakeholders and decision-makers necessary to create change in exposure to secondhand smoke, youth tobacco use and cessation.
• Young Professional of Promise Award: Risa Berrin, Health Information Project (HIP), for being a young professional whose work has had a significant impact on the public health and social well-being of South Florida, through the Health Information Project, a non-profit transforming the way teens engage with health issues.

For more information, visit the Path Awards website.  Tickets are now available for purchase.