2008 Award Winners

SHELLIE Y. PFOHL

Leadership in Obesity

Shellie Y. Pfohl co-founded Be Active North Carolina, a nonprofit organization working statewide to increase physical activity among North Carolinians. In 2007, Be Active North Carolina was named the best physical activity organization in the country by the National Association for Health & Fitness.

Pfohl is also a founding director of Be Active America, a national nonprofit organization that conducts advocacy trainings in cities and towns across the country. Through this medium, health professionals and citizens of diverse backgrounds come together to learn how to have a more preventive mindset.

Pfohl served as the executive director of the North Carolina Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Health (1990-1998) and was head of the Physical Activity and Nutrition Brand in the NC Department of Health and Human Services. She was also assistant director of the National Association of Governor's Councils on Physical Fitness and Sports for three years and organized the first International Conference on Physical Activity and Nutrition.

Pfohl was inducted into the prestigious YWCA Academy of Women for her leadership in the field of exercise and sports/fitness in 2003. Pfohl has also received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest award bestowed by the governor, for her public service to the people of North Carolina. In 2007, she was appointed to the Governor's Task Force for Healthy Carolinians by Governor Easley, and she also serves on the board of North Carolina Rail-Trails.

Pfohl received her bachelor's degree in community health education from the University of Northern Iowa and a master's degree in exercise physiology/fitness leadership from Northern Illinois University.

SALLY HERNDON MALEK

Leadership in Tobacco

Sally Herndon Malek has been a leader in North Carolina's efforts in tobacco prevention and control since 1991. She manages the Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch (formerly the National Cancer Institute's Project ASSIST) with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and grant resources from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the American Legacy Foundation and the NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission. She worked in health promotion and disease prevention in Maine from 1980 to 1985 and in North Carolina since 1986.

She was named a Fellow by NC State's Natural Resources Leadership Institute in 1997 and by the Advocacy Institute Leadership Program in 1999. Malek was a co-facilitator at a weeklong course for the Centers for Disease Control's Tobacco Use Prevention Summer Institute from 1995 to 1999. She was also chair of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers Tobacco Control Network from 1996 to 1997.

Malek received a master's degree in public health from UNC-Chapel Hill with a focus on policy and program planning. Malek's recent publications include articles in Popular Government and North Carolina Medical Journal.

BARBARA PULLEN-SMITH

Leadership in Health Disparities

Barbara Pullen-Smith is the executive director of the NC Office of Minority Health (OMH) and the Minority Health Advisory Council (MHAC). She has led these organizations since their inception in 1993. She provides leadership and develops initiatives to respond to the specific health needs of racial and ethnic minorities. Her work focuses on capacity building and policy, program and partnership development. She works closely with the Department of Health and Human Services, local health departments, academic institutions and other public and private agencies and organizations to address minority health and health disparity issues.

Prior to her current position, she worked as a health and human services specialist for the NC General Baptist State Convention where she developed and implemented health promotion and disease prevention programs in local black churches. Pullen-Smith started her career in 1985 as the first consultant for the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program in the Division of Maternal Child Health at NC DHHS. In 1990, Pullen-Smith was hired as the program coordinator for local services in the Division of Adult Health (now Division of Public Health). She also served the community as a district representative for the American Cancer Society from 1984 to 1985.

Pullen-Smith received a master's degree in public health from Emory University in 1984 and a Bachelor of Science degree in public health from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1981.

A. RAY ROGERS

Community Catalyst

A. Ray Rogers has been instrumental in the startup and sustainability of several nonprofit organizations including The Cornerstone Ministry, Inc., Wholistic Housing Ventures, Inc., L.I.F.E. of NC, Inc. and the Cornerstone Christian Child Development Center, Inc. He serves as executive director for two of these organizations and as business administrator of Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church.

Ray currently serves as a board member of Pitt County Memorial Hospital and as the building committee chairman for University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina. He also serves as personnel committee chairman for the Pitt Community College Board of Trustees. As a member of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust Advisory Board, he represents the 30-county region of eastern North Carolina.

Prior to his role as business administrator, Rogers worked in banking for 27 years. After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree from East Carolina University in 1972, Rogers started working at Wachovia Bank, where he stayed for nearly 18 years. Rogers culminated his banking career as vice president of commercial lending at Triangle Bank. He has also completed the North Carolina School of Banking's Mid-Management and Advanced Management Programs at UNC-Chapel Hill and the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.

FIRSTCAROLINACARE INSURANCE COMPANY, INC.
KENNETH LEWIS, CEO

Innovator

FirstCarolinaCare Insurance Company, Inc. serves 12,000 people in rural North Carolina with the goal of reducing the number of the uninsured in our community. FirstCarolinaCare was formed in 1999 by FirstHealth of the Carolinas. It was originally licensed to operate exclusively as a health maintenance organization but received licensure to operate as a health insurer in 2007.

FirstCarolinaCare primarily works with small businesses to make health coverage as accessible as possible. Its innovative group health plan, FirstPlan, offers a premium subsidy feature for lower wage workers to help them offset the amount of their contribution to their own health insurance.

Also unique to FirstCarolinaCare is its practice of offering several customized services that are not typically available to small businesses, such as work-site health screenings, wellness incentive programs and chronic care management. These programs are provided by FirstCarolinaCare on a personalized basis at no extra cost.

FirstCarolinaCare has been recognized for excellence in its operations. In 2006, a national physician practice management organization included FirstCarolinaCare at the top of its list of best payers in the industry. FirstCarolinaCare also received the 2006 Honor Roll for Coverage Award from the Healthcare Leadership Council for "exemplary community programs that have distinguished themselves as leaders in providing access to health insurance for uninsured Americans."

GINA UPCHURCH

Advocacy and Public Policy

Gina Upchurch is the founding director of Senior PHARMAssist, a nonprofit pharmaceutical care clinic that helps Durham seniors obtain and manage medications. In 2001, Upchurch was named a Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leader. In 2002 and 2006 respectively, she received the Bowl of Hygeia award for her community service work and the Don Blanton Award for her outstanding contributions to pharmacy from the NC Association of Pharmacists. In 2005, she earned the Eunice N. Tyler Award for Excellence in Public Health Education from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education. Also, she received the Elna B. Spaulding Founder's Award for making a significant difference in the Durham community in 2006.

Upchurch has appointments as adjunct assistant professor at the UNC School of Pharmacy and as adjunct instructor at the UNC School of Public Health. She is a member of the NC Division of Medical Assistance Drug Utilization Review Board, the NC Medicare Partners Committee and is on the steering committee of the Advocates for a North Carolina Prescription Drug Assistance Program. In Durham, Upchurch chairs the Access to Healthcare subcommittee of the Partnership for a Healthy Durham.

Upchurch received her pharmacy degree and master's degree in public health from UNC-Chapel Hill, where she also completed a pharmacy practice residency in geriatrics.