Unity CHW Awards: Recognizing your peers in the community

Community Health Workers are doing hard work on the frontlines in our communities, serving as trusted advocates for empowerment and social justice. That’s why NACHW wants to recognize exemplary CHWs Hope & Care Awards, to be presented live at the Unity Conference during the celebratory gala on August 1, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. As the eyes and ears of our national organization, we’re counting on you to share the stories of the CHWs you know going above and beyond. We invite our CHWs, partners and allies to nominate all deserving CHWs who embody our organizational values of self-empowerment, social justice and equality, self-determination, dignity and respect, unity, and integrity.

DEADLINE: June 27, 2025, 11:59pm HST

Hope and Care Awards

CARE IN OUTREACH AWARD:

Honoring CHWs who went above and beyond for community support through education and outreach for chronic or infectious diseases.

“Claudia hit the ground running and started sharing the COVID and health information we disseminated and put herself out there to meet community members where they were at – grocery stores, work sites, and food distribution sites.” – Nomination for 2023 winner, Claudia Cordero

EQUITY AND JUSTICE VISIONARY AWARD:

Honoring CHWs who made strides in the advancement of racial equity and social justice.

“She is a constant advocate for the equity in the healthcare system as well. Making sure any resources they go to they are treated with dignity and respect no matter of their language, origin of birth or legal status.” – Nomination for 2023 winner, Margarita Cabrera

HOPE IN HEALTHCARE AWARD:

Honoring CHWs demonstrating exemplary work towards achieving health equity.

“She assisted patients by clinic visit, home visit or by phone to help them manage their chronic illness such diabetes, high blood pressure and even mental illness. She provided community resources to help pay for medications, utility bills, housing and transportation to help the patient live a productive life.” – Nomination for 2023 winner, Roxana Lopez

CHANGE AGENT AWARD:

Honoring CHWs who have dedicated their lives to community violence intervention and/or returning citizens.

“Chris encourages offenders to get on the right track. He conducts field trips for students to witness firsthand how the justice system works and how making poor choices can have a lasting impact on their lives. He mentors at-risk youth and has been key in helping communities address youth violence.” – Nomination for 2023 winner, Chris “Champ” Napier

OHIO CHW AWARD:

Honoring a CHW doing exemplary work in the state of Ohio. This is to highlight and honor the host state for Unity 2025.

If you know a CHW in Ohio who is doing exemplary work, be it in outreach, chronic disease management, program coordination, health insurance navigation, health equity, or any of the many sectors and services provided by CHWs, please nominate them. We want to help you recognize and honor them.

Click to Nominate a CHW

Naomi Cottoms Lifetime Achievement Award: “Shining Bright Light in the Darkness”

The Naomi Cottoms “Shining Bright Light in the Darkness” Lifetime Achievement Award honors a CHW with at least twenty years of experience whose contributions to community, service, and the CHW movement embodies the legacy of Ms. Naomi Lynette Cottoms. 

Naomi Cottoms was deeply involved in creating the National Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW) and served as a pivotal leader of our organization from NACHW’s inception in 2014 to the time of her passing in 2024.  She drew upon her vast experience to ground the  planning of NACHW in the values of justice, service, community connection, and love.  She brought light to the national CHW movement that will never be extinguished.

Ms. Cottoms was a committed and visionary CHW.  She was the founder and director of the Tri-County Rural Health Network, based in her home of Helena, Arkansas, which employs CHWs to serve residents of the Mississippi Delta region.  She also served as founder of the Arkansas Community Health Worker Association and led development of the first CHW training program in her state.  She served as a research partner with the University of Arkansas Medical Center, Dean of Student Affairs for Philander Smith College, and as a member of the National Institutes for Health (NIH) Council of Public Representatives.  She published articles, spoke at national conferences, and received a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation National Community Health Leaders Award, among many other honors. 

Ms. Cottoms was also a civic leader who led anti-poverty and housing projects and was  appointed by the mayor to lead the city’s Racial Equality Task Force. She led an annual Thanksgiving food distribution, raising funds and organizing volunteers, including some of the NACHW founders who traveled from out of state to support the event. Food distribution was a critical lifeline to many families during the holidays. In addition to the turkeys and fixings, volunteers assembled food boxes that had enough food and paper goods for multiple meals for large families, and potentially a week or more of meals for smaller families and elders. 

Ms. Cottoms served as a member of NACHW’s executive committee and chair of our nominating committee. She helped develop our organizational structure, bylaws, and operating systems, and helped identify leadership for the organization from across the country.  She built support for the organization nationally and devoted countless hours to developing and sustaining NACHW, in sickness and in health. 

By her own description, Naomi was a proud and humble Southern Black woman. She was candid.  She was discrete.  She was devout.  When asked, “How are you doing?” at the beginning of a meeting, Naomi would invariably say, “I am grateful.”  She brought a unique combination of gravity and humor to board deliberations.  She had a strong sense of decorum and a firm commitment to accountability.  She had an artist’s vision for how to inspire and include people in building the organization’s legacy.

Naomi conceived and led the ceremony that marked NACHW’s official founding at the organization’s launch in Las Vegas in April, 2019.  With 900 people present, she led a procession into a darkened hotel ballroom, holding a candle aloft, and solemnly invited everyone in attendance to light their own candles.  There we stood, bathed in light, bringing a new organization into existence.  There were few dry eyes in the house as Naomi led the assembly in reciting NACHW’s founding oath, which she had principally authored.  Naomi brought light to our organization, to the CHW movement, and to the world.  She lived in the light of God.  We love her, we miss her, and we are grateful for her life.

Click to view Naomi’s memorial program

CRITERIA

The award committee will consider the following criteria in selecting the 2025 “Light in the Darkness” award recipient:

  • Nominee is a Community Health Worker with at least 20 years of experience.
  • Specific information is provided about communities and populations served, health and service needs addressed, employment and/or volunteer work, national and/or international experience, etc.
  • Nominee has demonstrated record of leadership in national, state, regional, and/or local CHW association(s), network(s), and/or organization(s).
  • At least 2 examples are provided about the nominee’s contributions to advancing health equity, social justice, civic engagement, service delivery, and/or program development.
  • Details are provided about the nominee’s organizational affiliations, community partnerships, leadership roles, publications, speaking credits, research contributions, awards, and/or other distinctions.
  •  Anecdotes are provided to highlight aspects of the nominee’s values of love, affirmation, humility, humor, determination, and accountability that help define the legacy of Naomi L. Cottoms. 
  • A separate letter of recommendation supporting the nomination from a CHW/CHR/Promotora/o-led network, association, or organization is required.

NACHW Founders’ Award

The NACHW Founders Circle is excited to announce a new NACHW award starting in 2025. The Founders Award will be launched and awarded at Unity!

This award will be given annually to a CHW-led organization that embodies the work of the NACHW founders to elevate, advance, unify and sustain the workforce with equity. The recipient will be an organization that reflects the values, organizing, collective leadership, and determination that went into establishing a national CHW-led CHW association. This award celebrates a notable achievement or advancement towards CHW capacity and power building, demonstrating the power of CHWs to advance our workforce and the health of our communities. 

Organizations must be NACHW organizational members (as CHW networks or ally organizations) in order to be considered. NACHW’s Organizational Members are a unique and critical part of our membership. Many of our Organizational Members employ CHWs and Allies provide direct service to community members in addition to advocating for the profession. These members often join our network to share critical resources for CHWs, join our advocacy efforts, and support CHW leadership and self-determination at the national level.

Award criteria include: 

  1. NACHW organizational member in good standing at the time of application and award.
  2. CHW-led network, association, alliance, coalition, community-based organization, or similar effort. 
  3. Highlights a recent achievement or accomplishment that moved forward the CHW workforce locally, state- or territory-wide, or nationally (e.g., moving a policy forward, building capacity to serve communities, etc.).
  4. Embodies the values of the NACHW founders: NACHW values (self-empowerment, social justice and equity, unity, self-determination, integrity, dignity & respect), inclusion, CHW-leadership