WASHINGTON (February 9, 2026) – Each year, the Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health at the George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, in partnership with the National Association of Community Health Centers, honors young leaders whose dedication and work advance the health center mission of providing care and improving health outcomes for medically underserved communities.
The Emerging Leader Award was established in 2007 to showcase the accomplishments of a new generation of health center leaders. Candidates for the awards are nominated by the leaders of their health center, primary care association or network, and awardees are selected by a committee drawn from senior health center movement leadership.
From a highly competitive field of nominees representing organizations across the country, 14 individuals have been awarded this year’s Emerging Leader distinction for accomplishments that exemplify the health center mission and the vision of H. Jack Geiger and Count Gibson, pioneers for community health and human rights.
“The professionals recognized as Emerging Leaders truly are the future of America’s health center program. We are delighted to recognize their achievements as clinicians, managers, educators, policy advocates and public health experts, and anticipate their exceptional contributions in the years ahead, said Feygele Jacobs, Director of the Geiger Gibson Program at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health.”
Community health centers have grown tremendously over six decades, expanding their reach into underserved communities. In the late 1960s there were just two community health centers, now there are more than 1,400 operating in nearly 17,000 urban, rural and frontier locations across the country. Community health centers are a vital source of health care in under-resourced and medically underserved communities and provide culturally competent, community-based care regardless of a patient’s insurance status or ability to pay. Through their diverse and essential work, the Emerging Leaders improve the health and well-being of those in their communities and the more than 33 million people nationally who receive care at health centers each year.
As the needs of community health centers and the communities they serve evolve, so must our leadership. The Emerging Leaders program recognizes a new generation of leaders equipped with the skills, confidence, and commitment needed to deliver the best care possible to the patients who will rely on them every day,” said Kyu Rhee, President and CEO, NACHC.
2026 Emerging Leader Award Recipients
Aaron Baeza
Patient Access & Engagement Program Manager
Multnomah County Community Health Center
Portland, Oregon
Francisco Barrera
Senior Street Outreach Services Outreach Worker
San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium
San Francisco, CA
Lilibeth Andres Benitez
Operations and Health Promotion Specialist
North Carolina Farmworker Health Program
Raleigh, North Carolina
Ashleen Buchanan
Manager of Community Relations and Grants
Little Rivers Health Care, Inc.
Newbury, Vermont
Jessica Campbell
Manager of Staff Development
Harbor Care
Nashua, New Hampshire
Dr. Janelle Driscoll
OB/GYN Physician
Lynn Community Health Center
Lynn, Massachusetts
Anayeli Frausto
Director of Quality and Population Health
San Benito Health Foundation
Hollister, California
Betsy Lopez
Director of Health Center Operations
Erie Family Health Centers
Chicago, Illinois
Laura G. Lujano
Clinic Operations Manager
Aria Community Health Center
Lemoore, California
Maria Nahuatlato
Senior Patient Advocate
Cornell Scott - Hill Health Center
New Haven, Connecticut
Katherine O'Reilly
Senior Director of Public Policy and Advocacy
Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers
Boston, Massachusetts
Tierney Queen-Stewart
Director of Cover Montana
Montana Primary Care Association
Helena, Montana
Guadalupe Salgado
Director of Care Coordination
PrimeCare Community Health
Chicago, Illinois
Dr. Alexandra Zeleski
Director of Pharmacy
Heart of Ohio Family Health
Columbus, Ohio
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