Awards

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.

2026 Natalie J. Smith, MD Award

Please refer to the Natalie J. Smith, MD Award Nomination Process for more information.

To be eligible for the Natalie J. Smith, MD Award:

• The recipient will be a current or recently retired (retired January 2024 or later) immunization program manager who is designated as the person primarily responsible for actively directing one of the 66 city, state, or territorial immunization programs funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD).

Any individual or organization wishing to recognize the outstanding work of an immunization program manager may submit a nomination using the 2026 Natalie J. Smith, MD Award Submission Form.

• All nominations must be submitted using the nomination submission form. A maximum of two single-spaced pages can be submitted (three pages total, including the submission form’s front page). If a submission exceeds two pages, only the content within the page limit will be considered.
• Multiple nominations for the same individual will not be considered by the selection committee. If multiple nominations are received, submitters will be notified and allowed five business days to resubmit one combined nomination. If a revised nomination is not submitted, the first nomination received will be designated as the official nomination for consideration by the selection committee.
• Nominations from the previous three years, if still eligible, will be added to the current year nomination list. Those who submitted these nominations will be contacted and encouraged to update their nominations as needed.

Natalie J. Smith, MD Award candidates will be judged based on:

• Background and experience in public health and immunizations.
• Accomplishments (i.e., jobs or projects that have been completed).
• Impact on the field of immunization, on the community or population, and/or in the immunization program (i.e., raising coverage rates).
• Leadership within the program, as well as within AIM.

Nominations for the 2026 Natalie J. Smith, MD Award are due by 11:59 pm EST on Friday, August 21.

2026 Natalie J. Smith, MD Award Nomination and Submission Processes

2025 Winner: Andrea Romero, Section Manager, Immunization Program, New Mexico Department of Health

This year’s winner, Andrea Romero, is a demonstrated and passionate leader in her program and community.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, she organized the rollout of COVID-19 testing and vaccines and oversaw the development of an online COVID-19 vaccine registration portal. She continues to work tirelessly to forge partnerships, ensuring that rural community members are provided with vaccination clinics by collaborating with municipalities statewide to hold clinics at schools, senior centers, and libraries. Recently, her jurisdiction has been affected significantly by a measles outbreak, and this program manager ensured her team responded quickly and effectively to immunize tens of thousands of people to minimize secondary cases. AIM members have been grateful for the sharing of her experience and lessons learned in multiple AIM webinars.

• 2004 – Lorraine Duncan (OR)
• 2005 – Alice Gray (PA)
• 2006 – Beth Rowe-West (NC)
• 2007 – Laurel Wood (AK)
• 2008 – Mike Chaney (GA)
• 2009 – Greg Reed (MD)

• 2010 – Janna Bardi (WA)
• 2011 – Susan Lett (MA)
• 2012 – Kelly Moore (TN)
• 2013 – Vincent Sacco (CT)
• 2015 – Jane Zucker (NYC)
• 2016 – Bob Swanson (MI)

• 2017 – Pejman Talebian (MA)
• 2018 – Annette Aguon (GU)
• 2019 – Christine Finley (VT)
• 2022 – Molly Howell (ND)
• 2023 – Michele Roberts (WA)
• 2024 – Ron Balajadia (HI)

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.

2026 AIM Rising Star Award

Please refer to the AIM Rising Star Award Nomination Process document for more information.

To be eligible for the AIM Rising Star Award:

• The recipient will be a current permanent immunization program manager appointed to the permanent program manager position after July 2024.

The recipient will have no more than two cumulative years of experience actively directing one of the 66 city, state, or territorial immunization programs directly funded by the CDC NCIRD. Any individual or organization wishing to recognize a new permanent immunization program manager may submit a nomination using the 2026 AIM Rising Star Award Submission Form.

• All nominations must be submitted using the nomination submission form.
• A maximum of two pages can be submitted (cover page/submission form plus a one-page nomination justification).
• Multiple nominations for the same individual will not be considered by the selection committee. If multiple nominations are received, submitters will be notified and allowed five business days to re-submit one combined nomination. If a revised nomination is not submitted, the first nomination received will be designated as the official nomination for consideration by the selection committee.

Rising Star Award candidates will be judged based on the following:

• Level of AIM engagement: The individual has been instrumental in advancing the effectiveness of AIM, either through contributions to AIM leadership, AIM committees, or through representation of AIM in national policymaking initiatives.
• Peer-to-peer activities: The individual has engaged with peers and partners across their region and the country.
• Accomplishments and commitment: The individual has demonstrated successful achievement of programmatic activities and has shown dedication to public health and the field of immunization.
• Leadership potential: The individual has demonstrated a willingness to try new things or take on unique challenges and shows potential to transform vision into results.

Nominations for the 2026 AIM Rising Star Award are due by 11:59 pm EST on Friday, August 21.

2026 AIM Rising Star Award Nomination and Submission Processes

2025 Winner: Ryan Malosh, PhD, MPH, Director, Division of Immunization, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

Ryan Malosh, PhD, MPH, Michigan immunization program manager, is a member of the AIM Executive Committee,  has shared his programmatic expertise on the AIM Immunization Program Knowledge Hub webinar, engaged as a speaker at the 2024 AIM Leadership in Action Conference, and is a regular attendee and participant of multiple AIM webinars. In his jurisdiction, he developed the Michigan Adult Vaccine Program Pilot, a school exemption education module, created a Vaccines for Children (VFC) Provider Desert map, and more. His continued engagement in AIM has been inspirational to many members.

• 2016 – Michele Roberts (WA)
• 2017 – Dr. Sarah Royce (CA)
• 2018 – Shannon Bennett (NV)
• 2019 – Tom McCleaf (PA)
• 2022 – Emily Messerli (KY)
• 2023 – Heather Burris (DC)
• 2024 – Emman Parian (CNMI) and Merideth Plumpton (VT)

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. This award is presented annually to three state, territorial, or urban area immunization programs (awardees) in recognition of an outstanding immunization initiative.

2026 AIM Bull’s-Eye Award

Please refer to the AIM Bull’s-Eye Award Nomination Process Document for more information.

• Initiatives submitted must be currently ongoing or must have concluded between January 2024 and the end of the nomination period (August 2026).
• Three Bull’s-Eye Award honorees will be selected, and the awards will be presented at the 2026 AIM Leadership in Action Conference in Tampa, FL. The three programs awarded will be notified in advance and invited to give a short presentation at the conference.
• The 66 federal immunization awardees are eligible to nominate themselves or others for a Bull’s-Eye Award.
• All nominations must be NCIRD awardees.
• Programs may submit multiple initiatives; however, they may identify a maximum of three initiatives for consideration for the Bull’s-Eye Award. Only one Bull’s-Eye Award may be won per program.

All nominations must be submitted using the AIM Program Practices Submission form.

• Each submission cannot exceed three pages.
• Each of the submission components on the submission form must be addressed.
• Submissions must demonstrate effectiveness of the initiative either with evaluation data, including preliminary results, or by showing other means of assessing and interpreting effectiveness, such as observations or estimations.
• All submissions (regardless of whether they are selected as Bull’s-Eye Award winners) will be entered into the publicly accessible AIM Program Practice Database.

A review committee of AIM members (who did not submit an initiative) and a few select AIM staff will score the submissions. The components of the 2026 Program Practice Submission Form include:

• Background
• Description
• Effectiveness
• Conclusions/Lessons learned
• Potential for replication
• Innovation

2026 AIM Bull’s-Eye Award Nomination and Submission Processes

2025 Bull’s-Eye Award Winners

Maine Department of Health and Human Services for their initiative Docket for Schools 

• • Program Narrative
  • Award Presentation (PDF)

Washington State Department of Health Office of Immunizations for their initiative The HPV @ 9 Quality Improvement (QI) Project

• • Program Narrative
  • Award Presentation (PDF)

Minnesota Department of Health for their initiative Becoming a Vaccine Advocate Training Program

• • Program Narrative
  • Award Presentation (PDF)

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.

2025 Winner: Demetre Daskalakis, MD, MPH

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis has been integral and a strong force in support of immunization to awardees. Dr. Daskalakis served as the Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), where he led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) efforts to detect, prevent, and respond to vaccine-preventable and respiratory infectious disease threats. He oversaw and coordinated activities across the CDC to effectively balance public health efforts in both domestic and global arenas, and to accommodate the specific needs of various populations at risk for vaccine-preventable diseases across the lifespan. In this position, he worked with awardees, served as a visionary leader, and was a proud advocate of public health and science. His collaboration and partnership with AIM have been deeply beneficial for AIM members. 

• 2017 – Melinda Wharton, Director of the Immunization Services Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• 2018 – Amy Pisani, Every Child by Two
• 2019 – Laurel Wood, Immunization Action Coalition
• 2022 – Chris Duggar, Senior Public Health Advisor and COVID Unit Lead, Immunization Services Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• 2023 – Nathan Crawford, Awardee Coordination and Support Team Lead, Immunization Operations and Services Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• 2024 – American Immunization Registry Association (AIRA)

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.

2025 Winner: Thomas McCleaf, Director, Bureau of Immunizations, Pennsylvania Department of Health

Thomas McCleaf has served on numerous AIM committees and summits, been a featured speaker at multiple webinars and past conferences, served as an AIM Leader and Past Chair, and serves as a mentor for newer program managers. Whenever there is an opportunity or a need in the AIM community, he steps up to the plate. This year has been challenging, but he has brought a friendly face, optimism , and creativity to AIM activities.   

• 2016  – Ronald Balajadia (HI)
• 2017 –  Dave McCormick (IN)
• 2018 –  Michele Roberts (WA)
• 2019 –  Molly Howell (ND)
• 2022 – Michele Roberts (WA)
• 2023 – Amber Tirmal (Phila)
• 2024 – Sarah Leeds (ID) and Dave McCormick (IN)

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.

2025 Winners: All AIM Members

This year, AIM awards all immunization program managers and thanks them for their extraordinary efforts.

• 2022 – All AIM Members Working During the COVID-19 Pandemic
• 2023 – All AIM Members

The AIM Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures from the AIM community who have made significant contributions to AIM, the jurisdictions they served, and the broader immunization community. Induction into the Hall of Fame is a rare honor bestowed on selected candidates who have served as a leader in the immunization space for at least 25 years and made a profound impact on the AIM organization, its mission, and goals. A class of at least one individual is inducted each year.

2026 Inductee: Kristen Ehresmann, RN, MPH
Retired Director, Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Division, Minnesota Department of Health

Kristen Ehresmann served for more than 30 years in the Minnesota Department of Health in various roles including immunization program manager and director of the infectious disease division. Kris served as AIM Chair in 2007 and played a key role in guiding AIM through the pursuit of hiring its first staff. She fought for AIM to secure a liaison seat on the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) and represented AIM as the ACIP liaison and liaison to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC). She also served as a voting member of both the ACIP and NVAC.

2026 Inductee: Molly Howell, MPH
Director of Disease Control and Forensic Pathology, North Dakota Health and Human Services and Former Immunization Director and Assistant Section Director, Disease Control and Forensic Pathology, North Dakota Health and Human Services

Molly Howell serves as the director of the Disease Control and Forensic Pathology for North Dakota Health and Human Services after being promoted from her position as immunization program manager. As a program manager and member of AIM, Molly was dedicated to the success of all program managers and the AIM organization. She served as AIM Chair, on the Executive Committee, as a mentor, and chaired several AIM committees. She has been honored with multiple AIM awards, including the AIM Bull’s-Eye Award, the AIM Impact Award, and the prestigious Natalie J. Smith, MD Award for Excellence in Program Management. Molly represented AIM as a liaison member to ACIP and NVAC and also served as a voting member of NVAC.

2026 Inductee: James (Jim) Lutz, MPA
Retired Senior Public Health Advisor, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Immunization Program and Former Program Manager, City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Division of Disease Control, Philadelphia [MP2.1][TA2.2]Immunization Program

Jim Lutz served as the first immunization program manager in Philadelphia, a founding member of AIM, and on AIM’s first Executive Committee. Jim played an important role in the development of the AIM bylaws and other guiding principles. He developed the first AIM logo – the building blocks – which was AIM’s official logo for several years. Jim was also an integral part of recruiting AIM’s first executive director by sitting on the selection committee and interviewing all candidates. As a vocal champion for AIM, Jim helped establish credibility, respect, and recognition of AIM with CDC and other partners.

• 2022: Brock Lamont, Retired CDC Chief, Immunization Services Division, Program Operations Branch
• 2023: Dan Hopfensperger, Retired Wisconsin Immunization Program Manager, Former AIM Consultant
• 2024:
  • Ron Balajadia, Immunization Branch Chief, Immunization Branch, Hawai’i Department of Health
  • Pejman Talebian, Immunization Division Director, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
  • Beth Rowe-West, Retired Immunization Program Manager, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
  • Laurel Wood, Retired Immunization Program Manager, Alaska Division of Public Health
  • Jane Zucker, Retired Assistant Commissioner, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Bureau of Immunization
• 2025:
  • David Lynch, Retired Assistant Director, New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Immunization
  • Gregory Reed, MPA, Senior CDC Public Health Advisor, Center for Immunization, Maryland Department of Health
  • Natalie J. Smith, MD, MPH, Former Deputy Director of the National Immunization Program for CDC and Former Chief of Immunization Branch, California Department of Public Health
  • Robert (Bob) Swanson, MPH, Retired Director of the Division of Immunization, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

2022 marked the inaugural reinstatement of the previously titled CDC Childhood Immunization Champion Award. Now hosted by AIM, the newly expanded and streamlined Immunization Champion Awards honor up to one Champion from each of the 50 states, six major cities, and eight territories and federated states.

• View the 2026 Champion Awardees here.
• View the 2025 Champion Awardees here.
• View the 2024 Champion Awardees here.
• View the 2023 Champion Awardees here.
• View the 2022 Champion Awardees here.