The AIM 2022 Leadership in Action conference took place from August 30-September 1, 2022, in Philadelphia, PA, at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown and featured leadership development and training, AIM awards, and networking events. Scroll below to explore essential resources.
Conference Highlights
2022 AIM Award Winners
AIM recognizes that immunization program managers are central to the success of our nation’s immunization efforts. AIM members ensure vaccines reach the thousands of providers who provide COVID-19 vaccination and the 44,000+ providers and physicians enrolled in the Vaccines for Children program. Members do the hard and necessary work to lead the nation’s network of immunization programs—supporting information systems that track vaccinations, monitoring vaccination progress, containing outbreaks, and informing and educating consumers. They work year-round to develop and implement strategies to ensure that immunization coverage rates remain high and that babies, adolescents, and adults are protected from vaccine-preventable disease.
AIM is proud to celebrate the hard work, innovation, and commitment to excellence shown by program managers throughout the nation.
The Natalie J. Smith, MD Award is presented in memory of AIM member Natalie J. Smith’s outstanding management and leadership skills. It was established to recognize the contributions of an immunization program manager who has demonstrated the high ideals, innovation, and commitment to excellence in immunization practices that characterized Dr. Smith’s career. The award recognizes accomplishments and visionary leadership that have had a significant impact on achieving city, state, territory, and/or national vaccine-preventable disease goals and is the highest form of recognition for immunization program managers.
2022 Winner: Molly Howell (MD)
This year’s award recipient has over 19 years of work in the field of immunization and is an active member of AIM. Her efforts to increase HPV rates in rural North Dakota have resulted in male/female up-to-date rates of 70.3%, while the national average vaccination rate is only 58.6%. Under her leadership, the North Dakota Immunization Information System (NDIIS) has become one of the top registries for provider and public participation, with 100% of North Dakota’s adult population (19+ years of age) documented in the IIS.
The AIM Rising Star Award recognizes a new program manager who demonstrates effective leadership and potential for growth within AIM. Awardees are engaged with peers and partners across the country and demonstrate a desire to impact the broader immunization community.
2022 Winner: Emily Messerli (KY)
This year’s recipient is a program manager who is an active AIM member and is always willing to lend a hand and volunteer when needed. This program manager started in March of 2020 and jumped right in.
The AIM Partnership Award recognizes an AIM partner who has worked with AIM to address an issue important to AIM members. Award winners’ work must involve collaboration and shared responsibility with AIM to implement a project that delivers a valuable resource or service to AIM members. Past award winners have been from academic institutions, nonprofits, government, academic institutions, the public health community, and the private sector.
2022 Winner: Chris Duggar, Senior Public Health Advisor and COVID Unit Lead, Immunization Services Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
This year’s recipient worked together with AIM to keep its members and program staff informed and up-to-speed on the constantly changing information about the COVID-19 vaccine program.
The Bull’s-Eye Award for Innovation and Excellence in Immunization recognizes programs whose immunization strategies have “hit their mark,” achieving goals and increasing awareness by encouraging replication in other programs.
2022 Winners: Philadelphia, Minnesota, and Washington immunization programs
Learn more about 2022 award winners:
- Philadelphia Immunization Program, Nomination Narrative, Award Presentation (PDF)
- Minnesota Immunization Program, Nomination Narrative, Award Presentation (PDF)
- Washington Immunization Program, Nomination Narrative, Award Presentation (PDF)
- Honorable mention: Chicago Department of Public Health
The AIM Impact Award recognizes a program manager who has dedicated significant time, expertise, and experience toward achieving AIM’s organizational goals—such as fostering member connection and contributing to sound immunization policy.
2022 Winner: Michele Roberts (WA)
This individual is unwavering in her support; she is always willing to help and is usually one of the first people to volunteer. She has been very involved with her AIM region, served on multiple AIM committees, has served as an AIM mentor, and is someone to turn to for programmatic advice.
The AIM Leading Through Adversity Award recognizes program managers who have shown fearlessness and perseverance under pressure and have risen to the challenge of managing an immunization program through difficult circumstances.
2022 Winners: All AIM Members
This year, AIM awarded all the immunization program managers that worked during the COVID-19 pandemic and thanks these program managers for their extraordinary efforts.
AIM’s new Hall of Fame Award recognizes an individual’s leadership, commitment, and outstanding contributions to the immunization program manager community and the vision of a nation free of vaccine-preventable disease.
2022 Inductee: Brock Lamont, Retired CDC Chief, Immunization Services Division, Program Operations Branch
This individual served with CDC for 34 years and throughout his career always sought solutions and worked to implement visionary change in collaboration with immunization programs.
2022 will mark the inaugural reinstatement of the previously titled CDC Childhood Immunization Champion Award. Now hosted by AIM, the newly expanded and streamlined Immunization Champion Award will honor up to one Champion from each of the 50 states, six major cities, and eight territories and federated states.
View the 2022 Champion Awards page here.
2022 AIM Leadership in Action Resources
These presentations and accompanying resources were presented at the 2022 AIM Leadership in Action Conference. For any questions or additional information, please contact us.
Opening Session and Welcome to Philadelphia – August 30, 2022
Speaker - Amber Tirmal, Philadelphia Immunization Program Manager
Immunization Services Division: Protecting Individuals and Communities from Vaccine Preventable Diseases Across the Lifespan – August 30, 2022
Speaker: Dr. Georgina Peacock, Director of the Immunization Services Division (ISD) in the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Dr. Georgina Peacock is the Director of the Immunization Services Division (ISD) in the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) at CDC. Dr. Peacock formerly served as the Director for the Division of Human Development and Disability (DHDD) in the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD). Dr. Peacock served as an integral part of the COVID-19 Response on the Vaccine Task Force. She also served as the Chief Medical Officer for CDC at the Georgia Department of Public Health, supporting the state’s vaccination efforts.
In addition to her role at CDC, Dr. Peacock sees patients at the Good Samaritan Health Center and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Developmental Neurology Program, both developmental clinics located in the greater Atlanta area. Dr. Peacock received her Doctor of Medicine and Masters in Public Health from the University of Kansas. She completed her Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Fellowship at the Developmental Disabilities Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
Managing in a Hybrid Workplace – The Leneker Team – August 30, 2022
Session Description: For many organizations returning to the office can feel like a rollercoaster of worry, excitement, and uncertainty. After almost two years of working from home, many employees feel profoundly disconnected from others. This feeling of disconnect affects one’s personal performance and deeply impacts the effectiveness and cohesion of our teams. Studies have shown that human connection helps people tolerate and recover from stress and chronic burnout. During this highly interactive session, leaders will explore current best practices for leading and managing teams in the new era of hybrid workplaces.
Speaker: Corey Leneker, MPA, Leadership Consultant and Executive Leadership Coach
Corey Leneker is a Leadership Consultant and Executive Leadership Coach with The Leneker Team. Having spent over 20 years in higher education, the private sector, and state government, Corey is known for his valuable council, track record of delivering results, and uplifting energy. Corey is a certified trainer in The 5 Behaviors of a Cohesive Team, Outward Mindset, Mental Conditioning, and Mindset Mastery, Leading at the Speed of Trust, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and The 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity. As a first-generation college student, Corey believes in the transformative power of higher education and holds a Master’s in Public Administration.
Authentic Leadership – The Leneker Team – August 31, 2022
Session Description: What does it mean to be an authentic leader? Why is it important? This training will explore authentic leadership and its role in successful teams and organizations. We will also review research from around the world on what team members want in a leader. Each participant will leave with a personalized action plan for their authentic leadership journey.
Session Resources
Speaker: Corey Leneker, MPA, Leadership Consultant and Executive Leadership Coach
Corey Leneker is a Leadership Consultant and Executive Leadership Coach with The Leneker Team. Having spent over 20 years in higher education, the private sector, and state government, Corey is known for his valuable council, track record of delivering results, and uplifting energy. Corey is a certified trainer in The 5 Behaviors of a Cohesive Team, Outward Mindset, Mental Conditioning, and Mindset Mastery, Leading at the Speed of Trust, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and The 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity. As a first-generation college student, Corey believes in the transformative power of higher education and holds a Master’s in Public Administration.
Leadership Workshop – Center for Compassionate Leadership – August 31, 2022
Session Description: These difficult and remarkable times have taken their toll. Individually we do our best to hold it together in the face of trauma, grief, overwhelm, and exhaustion. The cracks in our systems reveal not only how broken things were before, but the current state of so much that calls out for change.
Bringing a compassionate lens to leadership is a powerful, evidence-based approach to moving us forward. By acting with compassion, first for ourselves, and then for others, we find new ways to create cultures of safety, connection, and belonging. We discover how our own vulnerability and resilience are keys to inspiring teams and organizations. We change systems from the inside out. Together, we help heal the world.
This session will explore the fundamentals of compassion and leadership: what it is, how and why it works, and how we can each bring it into our everyday life and interactions.
Follow the Center for Compassionate Leadership on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram.
Session Resources
Speakers: Evan Harrel and Laura Berland
Evan Harrel is the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of the nonprofit Center for Compassionate Leadership. He leads the Center’s thought leadership efforts, the integration of scientific and business research into the work of the Center, and the development and delivery of the Center’s leadership training programs. Evan has worked extensively with leaders in the public health field from all over the world. Evan has also led compassionate leadership training for many nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Before working in the nonprofit sector, Evan was an investment manager for over 20 years. He was awarded a Master of Business Administration degree, with distinction, from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Princeton University.
Laura Berland is the Founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit Center for Compassionate Leadership. Through community, education, and research, the Center supports leaders as catalysts to open hearts and minds to our shared common humanity and to urgently develop solutions to global crises and suffering at scale. Laura developed the Center’s research-proven Compassionate Leadership Model, which has been the foundation for engaging thousands of leaders from over 60 countries to embrace the practice of compassion from the inside out. For over 40 years, Laura has been a weaver of transformative organizations and experiences as a serial tech entrepreneur, Fortune 500 executive, meditation educator, yoga therapist, master facilitator, nonprofit board member, executive advisor, and digital media creator. Laura is an alumna of Cornell University and New York University.
Leadership Plenary – Center for Compassionate Leadership – August 31, 2022
Session Description: Building on the work of the earlier session, the Center for Compassionate Leadership will bring ways to apply and practice compassionate leadership in relationships with ourselves, with family and friends, and with work colleagues. There were answers to questions such as: What is the most important cultural element for team success, and how can we create it? Why does language matter, and why is that only the starting point? How can we change systems by bringing courageous compassion?
This session will explore specific practices for use in organizational life. This deeper dive will included a formal presentation, small group discussion, and full group engagement.
Follow the Center for Compassionate Leadership on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram.
Session Resources
Speakers: Evan Harrel and Laura Berland
Evan Harrel is the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of the nonprofit Center for Compassionate Leadership. He leads the Center’s thought leadership efforts, the integration of scientific and business research into the work of the Center, and the development and delivery of the Center’s leadership training programs. Evan has worked extensively with leaders in the public health field from all over the world. Evan has also led compassionate leadership training for many nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Before working in the nonprofit sector, Evan was an investment manager for over 20 years. He was awarded a Master of Business Administration degree, with distinction, from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Princeton University.
Laura Berland is the Founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit Center for Compassionate Leadership. Through community, education, and research, the Center supports leaders as catalysts to open hearts and minds to our shared common humanity and to urgently develop solutions to global crises and suffering at scale. Laura developed the Center’s research-proven Compassionate Leadership Model, which has been the foundation for engaging thousands of leaders from over 60 countries to embrace the practice of compassion from the inside out. For over 40 years, Laura has been a weaver of transformative organizations and experiences as a serial tech entrepreneur, Fortune 500 executive, meditation educator, yoga therapist, master facilitator, nonprofit board member, executive advisor, and digital media creator. Laura is an alumna of Cornell University and New York University.
Pandemic Lessons Learned Workshop – September 1, 2022
Session Description: This important 3-part workshop documents the challenges and achievements of the pandemic.
Part I: Dr. Nancy Messonnier and Washington state program manager and former AIM chair Michele Roberts kicked off this session with a fireside chat to energize our members. The chat inspired members to grow as leaders in public health and offered kudos for their tremendous accomplishments in the COVID-19 vaccine program.
Part II: Attendees broke out into guided round table discussions to share their lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Part III: This session ended by hearing from program managers facilitated by Brock Lamont. The larger group reflected and shared their lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine response.
Supplemental Materials
Speakers: Dr. Nancy Messonnier and Brock Lamont
Dr. Nancy Messonnier began her public health career in 1995 at the CDC as an epidemic intelligence officer and held several leadership posts at the CDC, including deputy director and director of the National Center of Immunization and Respiratory Diseases from 2014-2021. Dr. Messonnier led the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and its response to an unknown respiratory disease in China in late 2019 and then to the COVID-19 pandemic. She served as the CDC’s chief architect of the COVID-19 vaccine implementation program and helped develop, evaluate and distribute COVID-19 vaccines across the United States. While at the Skoll Foundation, she helped lead efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic and build a global response and preparedness system to prevent future pandemics.
Dr. Messonnier began as the Dean of UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health on September 1, 2022. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her doctor of medicine degree from the University of Chicago School of Medicine. She completed her internal medicine residency training at the University of Pennsylvania.
Brock Lamont retired from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after 34 years of federal service. For the last ten years of his career, Brock served as Chief of the Immunization Services Division’s Program Operations Branch (POB). As POB Chief, Brock managed the Immunization and VFC Cooperative Agreement. Before becoming POB Chief, Brock was the Director of CDC’s Public Health Associate Program (PHAP). Brock has served in multiple CDC immunization field positions, including assignments in Houston, Washington State, and Missouri. Brock also served as the Deputy Associate Director of Management and Operations for CDC’s National Immunization Program, the precursor of the National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases. Brock dedicated his career to supporting state and local immunization programs and, specifically, immunization program managers. He is an original member of the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) and has served on AIM’s Executive Committee.
Bull’s-Eye Award Winner Presentations – September 1
Session Description: The 2022 AIM Leadership in Action Conference ended on a high note! Attendees heard presentations from the three Bull’s Eye Innovation and Excellence in Immunization award winners whose immunization strategies have “hit their mark,” achieving goals and increasing awareness by encouraging replication in other programs.
2022 Bull’s-Eye Winner Philadelphia presented how their immunization program increased access to COVID-19 and routine vaccines for individuals experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia. The presentation contains background and vaccine rollout details, how the immunization program addresses gaps, the Mobile Strike Team model, and the outcomes of these efforts.
Facilitator: Claire Hannan, MPH
Claire Hannan joined the Association of Immunization Managers as its first Executive Director in 2004 and has spent her career working to support immunization policies and practices. She is responsible for the overall administration and management of AIM, as well as representing AIM at conferences, meetings, on committees, and in workgroups. She also represents AIM in Congress, communicates with the CDC, and facilitates coordination among AIM members in addition to preparing AIM positions, policy papers, reports, letters, and presentations.
Claire holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Wagner College and a Master of Public Health in health policy from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Before joining AIM, she worked on Capitol Hill, lobbied for children’s health issues, and was the Director of Immunization Policy for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
Conference Exhibits and Sponsorships
AIM would also like to extend another huge thank you to our amazing Corporate Alliance members, who make these valuable events possible. We encourage you to keep in touch and work with these committed partners all year long.
Click here for more details about joining the Corporate Alliance Program and receiving our valuable annual membership benefits. Please contact Katelyn Wells, Chief Research and Development Officer, for additional information.
If you have questions or need additional information about the AIM 2022 Leadership in Action conference, please contact AIM.