Press Release: Association of Immunization Managers Announces the 2025 AIM Award Winners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 18, 2025
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Association of Immunization Managers Announces the 2025 AIM Award Winners
[ROCKVILLE, MD] – December 18, 2025 –The Association of Immunization Managers (AIM), representing the 66 federally funded state, territorial, and urban area immunization programs, announces the winners of the following annual AIM Awards: The Natalie J. Smith, MD Award for Excellence in Program Management, the AIM Rising Star Award, the AIM Impact Award, the AIM Partnership Award, and the AIM Leading Through Adversity Award.
Natalie J. Smith, MD Award for Excellence in Program Management: Andrea Romero, Section Manager, Immunization Program, New Mexico Department of Health
The Natalie J. Smith, MD, Award for Excellence in Program Management recognizes visionary immunization program manager leaders who significantly advance city, state, territory, and national vaccine-preventable disease goals. Award winners also demonstrate Dr. Smith’s noble ideals, innovation, and commitment to excellence in immunization practices. This year’s winner, Andrea Romero, is a demonstrated and passionate leader in her program and community. She organized the rollout of COVID testing and vaccines and oversaw the development of an online COVID vaccine registration portal during the COVID pandemic. Ms. Romero ensured her team responded quickly and effectively to immunize tens of thousands of people to minimize secondary cases. AIM members are grateful to her for sharing her experience and lessons learned in multiple AIM webinars.
AIM Rising Star Award: Ryan Malosh, PhD, MPH, Director, Division of Immunization, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
The AIM Rising Star Award recognizes new immunization program managers who demonstrate effective leadership and potential for growth within AIM. This year’s Rising Star Award recipient is a member of the AIM Executive Committee, spoke at the 2024 AIM Leadership in Action Conference, and is a featured expert and regular attendee in multiple AIM webinars.
AIM Impact Award: Thomas McCleaf, Director, Bureau of Immunizations, Pennsylvania Department of Health
The AIM Impact Award recognizes immunization program managers who have dedicated significant time and expertise to advance AIM’s goals. The 2025 Impact Award winner is no stranger to AIM. He has served on numerous AIM committees and summits, been a featured speaker for multiple webinars and past conferences, served as an AIM Leader and Past Chair, and serves as a mentor for newer program managers.
AIM Partnership Award: Demetre Daskalakis, MD, MPH
The AIM Partnership Award recognizes a collaborator who, with AIM, implements a project that delivers a valuable resource or service to AIM members. The winner of this year’s Partnership Award has been integral to awardees and a strong force in support of immunization. Dr. Demetre 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. His collaboration and partnership with AIM have been deeply beneficial for AIM members.
AIM Leading Through Adversity Award: All AIM Members
The AIM Leading Through Adversity Award recognizes dedicated program managers who fearlessly manage immunization programs despite difficult circumstances. AIM confers this award to all the immunization program managers and thanks them for their extraordinary efforts.
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2025 AIM Awards!
Visit the AIM awards webpage for additional information and to learn more about the inspiring work of this year’s recipients.
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About Association of Immunization Managers:
The Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) is a nonprofit membership association comprised of the directors of the 66 federally funded state, territorial, and local public health immunization programs. AIM is dedicated to working with its partners nationwide to reduce, eliminate, or eradicate vaccine-preventable diseases. AIM also works to ensure the success of its members by providing support in their programming interests. Since 1999, AIM has enabled collaboration among immunization managers to effectively control vaccine-preventable diseases and improve immunization coverage in the United States. For more information on AIM, please visit www.immunizationmanagers.org/.