Esther M. Holderby Award

The Esther M. Holderby Extraordinary CHW Award honors mid-career (7 or more) CHW, CHR or promotor(a) who has overcome personal adversity to promote health in their community. In addition to promoting health in his or her community, the recipient of the award will have advocated for funding and/or services needed in their community to promote health. The recipient does not need to work in cancer education or prevention.

Ms. Holderby was a 4-time, 25- year cancer survivor and a dedicated CHW. She lost her battle with breast cancer in 2005. Until shortly before her passing, Esther continued to educate people about the importance of early detection. Ms. Holderby was passionate about reaching as many community members as possible. She was a celebrity on local television and radio broadcast, taking every opportunity to educate the community. Additionally, she advocated for sustainable funding for CHWs and public health as an active member of the Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers and the Massachusetts Public Health Association.

The Esther M. Holderby Extraordinary CHW Award, formally known as the Esther M. Holderby Dedicated CHW was established by the Holderby family in 2006. Since establishing the award, a CHW has been honored each year at the Unity Conference. Unity was an important event in Esther’s life. She described Unity as a “family reunion” after attending her first conference. She also presented at Unity several times, often with her daughter, Lisa Renee.

The recipient of the receives a recognition award, certificate, and a 1-year CHW membership for the National Association of Community Health Workers. The award, certificate and membership are provided by the Holderby Family in memory of Esther.

Since 2006, many additional extraordinary CHWs have been awarded Certificates of Honorable Mention for their dedication to improving community health.

• Be a community health worker, community health representative or promotor(a) de salud.
• Have at least 7 years’ experience as a CHW, CHR or promotor(a) de salud.
• Have made a significant contribution to community health.
• Be an advocate for the community served.
• Be active in local, state, or national CHW, CHR or promotor(a) de salud organizations or groups.
• Have a completed nomination packet submitted by Wednesday, August 7, 2024.

CHWs, CHRs, or promotors meeting the qualifications must have a nomination submitted via the form below and 2 letters of recommendation sent to [email protected] by 11:59 pm EDT on August 9th to be considered.

Letters of Recommendation are required in addition to the nominator’s statement. Letters must meet the following parameters:

• One (1) letter must be written by a peer or colleague who can speak to the impact of the nominee in the community.
• One (1) letter should come from a local, statewide, or national CHW, CHR or promotor(a) organization, whenever possible. Where there is no CHW organization, a peer or colleague may submit a second letter.
• If emailed, letters must be sent with the subject line “Extraordinary CHW” and timestamped before the deadline.

The selection committee is comprised of members of the Holderby family and others who knew Esther Holderby. The committee is chaired by Carley M. Desillier, Esther’s granddaughter.

The recipient will be honored during the NACHW Annual Meeting & Unity Conference on August 21, 2024.