WELCOME TO THE 2024 HIMSS CHANGEMAKER IN HEALTH AWARDS PUBLIC VOTING SITE. PLEASE REVIEW THE NOMINEES WHO HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS FINALISTS FOR THIS AWARD. TO CAST YOUR VOTE:
To view all finalists by award category, use the Group Dropdown Box and click on Submit. Division Dropdown Box should remain “Any”.
- Click on the Read More button on the finalist you would like to vote for. This will bring you to their individual page.
- Above their photo, click on Click here to Create an Account to Vote (username is your email and then you create a password). This will only need to be completed once.
- Once your account is created, a gray Thumbs Up icon will appear at top of the photo.
- Click on Thumbs Up and your vote is cast! Please be careful voting as votes cannot be retracted.
- Voters may select a maximum of ten (10) finalists; voters are limited to one vote per finalist.
- To return to the finalists listing, click on the double blue arrows to the right of the finalist’s name.
Award Category Health Equity: Marina El Khawand, a youth ambassador for health equity at 18, founded Medonations NGO after the Beirut explosion, marking the genesis of her journey as a passionate humanitarian and human rights advocate. The core purpose of Medonations is to provide free, equal, and equitable medical assistance to all individuals across the nation. In 2022, Marina embarked on a new chapter by initiating the construction of Medonations' Free Clinic in Beirut. Marina aims to equip her free clinics with state-of-the-art early detection, treatment, and healing equipment.
Award Category Health Equity: Gabriel is a mission-driven Health IT professional with 16 years of experience in health IT/IS, specifically non-profit HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ healthcare. Gabriel is a recent MSHI graduate from UIC and currently oversees the health informatics ecosystem for the world's largest LGBTQ+ services provider, whose mission is building a world where LGBT people thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society.
Award Category Women in Health IT: Rachelle is an accomplished healthcare leader who brings over 25 years of clinical and executive experience transforming patient care and driving clinical impact via nurse driven initiatives and solutions. She has proven capabilities to problem solve, scale processes across an enterprise and drive value: clinically, financially, and operationally. Rachelle is board certified in healthcare management as an ACHE Fellow and certified lean healthcare professional. She is actively involved in multiple nursing and healthcare organizations.
Award Category Chapter Advocate Volunteer: Christopher is a visionary changemaker dedicated to health equity and developing the next generation of healthcare leaders. He’s dedicated his career to implementing innovative solutions and driving meaningful change. Christopher addresses some of the most pressing issues facing healthcare, including access to quality care for underserved populations, advocating for women’s and rural healthcare. His inclusive teaching methods have ignited a passion for learning in countless students. Christopher's impact on healthcare and promises to inspire a new generation of leaders and drive meaningful societal change.
Award Category Policy Influencer: Cátia Sousa Pinto is a Medical Doctor, specialist in Public Health. She served as Head of Department of epidemiology and public health surveillance at the Directorate-General of Health in Portugal, coordinating digital transformation of the country core public health surveillance systems for mortality and infectious diseases that later became cornerstones of national pandemic surveillance. Currently, she is responsible for coordinating SPMS's global digital health and MyHealth@eu services and is working to develop health information globally.
Award Category CXO/Senior Executive: Dr. Karras is a long-standing leader in public health informatics for the great State of Washington, an innovator in health IT and a Davies award winner. He is a tireless advocate of public health and digital health tools. He engages at HIMSS Global Conferences as a session speaker, Interoperability Showcase participant, and SME. He also actively serves on ONC’s Health IT Advisory Committee and CDC’s Data and Surveillance Workgroup Advisory Committee to the Director.
Award Category Women in Health IT: MaryAnn Connor leverages decades of nursing informatics expertise to transform complex clinical processes into streamlined workflows for optimal patient care. An active HIMSS member, MaryAnn was the inaugural chair of the NYS Nursing Informatics Committee and is a member of the Education Task Force and the Alliance for Nursing Informatics Policy Committee. With a passion for nurturing the future of healthcare transformation, MaryAnn is an adjunct professor preparing the next generation of nursing informatics leaders.
Award Category - Policy Influencer: Alexandra Mugge is a highly respected leader at CMS. She is a longtime partner of HIMSS and is always willing to share CMS’s perspectives with HIMSS members. Alex is responsible for launching the interoperability initiatives at CMS. Her work to move industry towards modern standards for interoperability will improve data exchange and patient access to health information. Alex is a dedicated expert in the areas of Medicare, Medicaid, informatics, interoperability, clinician burden, and value-based care.
Award Category HIMSS-ANI Nursing Informatics Leadership: As professor and dean, Connie is the Knowledge Generation Lead for the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education. She is the first Fellow in the College of Medical Informatics to serve as a Dean of Nursing. She is an active researcher in data and information technology standards for nursing, healthcare, interprofessional practice and education, big data science and integrative informatics. Connie is a past president of FNINR and past Vice-Chair of CGFNS, Inc.
Award Category Poliicy Influencer: Patricia is the exemplar of digital health equity and policy leadership. She is a doer, teacher, and author focused on bold, impactful efforts with tangible benefits for health equity and influencing policy. Patricia is a recognized health leader through her decades of active HIMSS engagement and in county, state and federal government, and academia. She has created innovative curriculum for future health leaders at GWU’s Milken Institute and serves on the Congressional Budget Office’s Panel of Health Advisers. Patricia is a role model for propelling bold, sustainable, and continuous positive change in health equity and policy.
Award Category Women in Health IT: As CMIO, Dr. Webber uses health IT to promote safe, equitable clinical care and digital engagements that improve clinical outcomes. Dr. Webber looks for new ways that technology to connect doctors and healthcare providers with patients and their communities, and how to improve the things that matter to them both. She is a practicing pediatrician, board certified in pediatric hospital medicine and clincial informatics, and a professor of clinical pediatrics at IU School of Medicine.
Award Category Chapter Leader Volunteer: With 25 years’ experience and 10+ years involvement with HIMSS, Kendall has dedicated her career to healthcare IT. As HIMSS South Florida Chapter President, Kendall has increased chapter sponsorship, organizational affiliates and membership. She has created a successful mentor program; achieved HIMSS Advocacy Ambassador level and Silver Chapter recognition. She was awarded the 2022 HIMSS Advocate of the Year for facilitating a bill to entrench interoperability in Florida. Kendall’s dedication to HIMSS has left a lasting indelible mark on healthcare IT.
Award Category Global Patient Innovator: Dr. Guido Giunti is renowned for developing innovative patient-centric digital health solutions, like the gamified "More Stamina" for people with Multiple Sclerosis. Utilizing participatory design methods, he bridges medical and technological expertise to ensure innovations truly serve patients. Recognized as a healthcare innovator in Finland, Ireland and Argentina, his work stands as a testament to his dedication to improving care and empowering patients through digital means. He embodies the spirit of a healthcare changemaker.
Award Category HIMSS-AMDIS Physician Executive Leader: Dr. Cunningham leads a team of 100+ caregivers and 250 providers that offer a care delivery portfolio including nine enterprise virtual care service lines, hospital-at-home, remote patient monitoring, a virtual nursing team, virtual behavioral health platform, and a digital assistant. Her team has launched virtual care services to 100+ sites across eight states. She is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Passionate about healthcare tech and transformation, Eve excels in clinical informatics, applied technologies and clinical operations.
Award Category Global Patient Innovator: With over 25 years of patient advocacy experience, Grace Cordovano understands the barriers patients face as they navigate their diagnosis and our fragmented healthcare system. Dr. Cordovano connects patients to the information, tools, and technology they need to make educated decisions about their care. As a champion for patients’ right of access, she advocates for actionable data access and leveraging digital technologies to enhance whole person care in the context of life-altering diagnoses.
Award Category Women in Health IT: My career in health IT has been significantly influenced by the guidance and support of female mentors. It is through their mentorship that I’ve cultivated a profound commitment to advancing health equity and representation of women in health IT, by means of research, education, and outreach initiatives. My unwavering dedication to harnessing technology to address healthcare issues propelled me to conduct a study on electronic health literacy among Filipino Americans.
Award Category CXO/Senior Executive: Dr. Frase has been instrumental in leading transformational change at Ozarks Healthcare by unlocking new opportunities to enhance whole-person care. This included moving the health system’s unique programs and specialty-focused areas, among them behavioral health, onto a new EHR platform. Her work in PAC leadership, problem list management, order set governance, patient safety and quality, and ongoing provider education has contributed to increased physician satisfaction and decreased provider burnout, crucial to this rural organization’s viability.
Olga Kagan has transformed healthcare by using information and technology in her academic, consultative and leadership roles. An instrumental leader of the New York State HIMSS Chapter Nursing Informatics Committee, Olga fosters the nursing community via innovation and education. Her vision and leadership have created a successful platform for healthcare professionals to cooperate, share insights, and develop nursing informatics. Her impressive accomplishments and contributions reflect the highest standards of excellence.
Award Category Policy Influencer: As Deputy Secretary-General, Abigail is responsible for legal affairs and legislation, healthcare in Bonaire, Statia and Saba, post Covid-19 affairs, administrative/political affairs, communications, HR/facility/operations, information policy to bring the European Medicines Agency to NL and the government individual allowance program. Abigail is also responsible for the supervision of policy, general state of affairs, budgetary frameworks, continuity and quality of organizations affiliated with the ministry.
Award Category CXO/Senior Executive: Dr. Nada has innovated at the intersection of science, technology, and industry. Her research provides solutions that educate and serve globally. As CMO of a digital health company, she continues to advance health literacy and population-scale health outcomes. This work extends her success creating a novel digital platform for teen healthcare and access to underserved communities. Her Boston-area school collaborative treatment program was named one of the “Top 10 Big Ideas to Transform Education.” Her commitment to digital health literacy led to the creation of a multi-site health resiliency program.
Award Category Health Equity: Dr. Warne is Co-Director for JHU BSPH Center for Indigenous Health and Provost Fellow for Indigenous Health Policy. An expert and researcher on Indigenous Health, he is a significant voice in health & equity policies, which impact Indigenous populations. He created Indigenous health-focused MPH and PhD programs at NDSU and UND. As well as spent time working as a trustee, committee member, and adviser to national public health agencies such as CDC, NIH, and IHS.
Award Category Health Equity: AMA President Jesse M. Ehrenfeld is among the nation’s foremost experts and most respected voices on how emerging digital technologies and better data collection at the point of care can eliminate health disparities for historically marginalized communities and improve patient outcomes on a broad scale.
Award Category Health Equity: Dr. Monika Sonu leads a health-tech company with over 15 years of experience and roles spanning as a doctor, entrepreneur and social innovator. She has designed impactful digital health platforms & was named HIMSS Future 50 Innovation leader in 2021. She believes that a tech-driven healthcare future requires prioritizing healthcare workforce education and upskilling. Her mission: empowering healthcare professionals at the last mile across Africa, with free digital health education and not-for-profit digital health platforms to combat health inequities through her initiative HIT LABS 10,000.
Award Category Women in Health IT: María Carolina Aguirre Navas, a physician from the Nueva Granada Military University, specialist in project management, and masters in telehealth from UdeA, with 15 years of experience in digital health, has supported and led the institutional, government, and organizational efforts such as HL7Colombia, to promote digital transformation, putting her country Colombia and the Cardiovascular Foundation of Colombia where she currently works as CMIO, as a national and regional reference for digital maturity.
Award Category: CXO/Senior Executive: A transformative leader in the Asia Pacific health sector, Adam champions the blending of data, technology, and design to foster sustainable clinical processes. His contributions to population health highlight his deep commitment to communities. With recognition from WHO and multiple global professorships, Adam's footprint is evident from MNCs to startups and academia, leading charge in digital health innovations. Grounded and approachable, Adam's innovation, teamwork, and steadfast dedication serve as an inspiration.
Award Category CXO/Senior Executive: Emily is integral to developing Epic’s nursing, community health and social care strategy, from the company’s first inpatient EHR through global expansion. She’s a community builder, with hands-on leadership convening groups at Epic and participating in the HIT industry as a committee member, speaker, and author. She’s a patient safety champion and worked to develop EHR-integrated safety metrics. If you asked her, Emily is quick to tell people “I’ve just done my job.”